Editor’s note: This the final of several daily profiles of tour sites on the Cancer Association of Champaign County’s Candlelight Tour of Homes in Urbana scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7 from 3-8 p.m.
Several families are graciously opening their homes and sharing their holiday spirit. The homes on the tour this year are: Robin Miller and Anthony Joy, 232 W. Reynolds St.; Doug and Cheryl Wears, 124 Tanglewood Drive; David and Kelly McIntosh, 152 Tanglewood Drive; Jim and Cheryl Cave, 111 New Haven Drive; and Jim and Mary Collier, 425 Eastview Drive. In addition, the Champaign Family YMCA, located at 191 Community Drive and celebrating its 20th anniversary, will be on the tour.
During the tour, Tanglewood Drive will be a one-way street with the entrance being at the west drive (across from SVG Motors) and exiting at the east drive (across from the Kroger Fuel Center).
Today’s featured tour site
Twenty years ago, a visionary group of citizens with a shared desire to improve the well-being of the community came together to bring a YMCA to Champaign County. In March of 1999, their dream was realized when the Champaign Family YMCA opened its doors.
This year the Y celebrates its 20-year anniversary. The Board of Trustees of the YMCA is proud of the impact that has been made on the quality of life in the community. Part of a worldwide non-profit movement, the Champaign Family YMCA is dedicated to offering programs and services that strengthen spirit, mind and body for all.
When the Y was in its planning stages in the late 1990s, the need for high-quality, affordable childcare in Champaign County led to the inclusion of a daycare wing in the building’s design. In 2013, a $170,000 renovation expanded the childcare center to accommodate an additional 28 children.
Today, the Y is the county’s largest child care provider, serving over 400 infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age kids each weekday at the on-site daycare center; at Mechanicsburg Christian Fellowship Church; and at elementary schools across the county. In 2019, the childcare center received 5-Star recognition from the State of Ohio’s Step Up to Quality Program — the highest rating available — for exceeding state requirements for high-quality early childhood education.
The Y offers no-cost enrichment programs for qualifying pre-Kindergarten (Kindergarten Readiness Camp, sponsored by United Way) and middle and high school students (Graham Local Schools FLIGHT Program, funded by 21st Century Community Learning Center).
In 2007, a local family donated 80 acres in northeast Champaign County to the YMCA for summer youth programming. The property — which boasts miles of nature trails, an artesian well, archery fields, and a fire pit — is now known as Camp Shiffer. A permanent shelter and septic system were installed at the site in 2016, and today Camp Shiffer hosts hundreds of youth each summer for traditional outdoor summer camp activities.
Nearly 5,000 members strong, the Y is the largest provider of youth development, healthy living and recreation programs in the county. In addition to the Y fitness center and group exercise classes for youth and adults, the Y offers swim lessons for ages 6 months to adults; year-round indoor and outdoor recreational sports leagues for youth and adults; and free community programs like Healthy Kids Day and SPLASH water safety classes.
In the past three years, the Y has partnered with the City of Urbana to provide management services for the city’s Municipal Pool and operation of recreational baseball/softball and soccer programs at Melvin Miller Park.
Altogether, more than 2,000 adults and children participate in the Y’s fitness and sports programs every year.
The Y also helps nurture the mind and spirit with daily coffee hours, card games and potlucks in the lobby, and weekly Bible study. The Y is truly a place where social, emotional, and spiritual health are nourished. And with the ongoing financial support from the community, the Y strives to ensure it is accessible to all. All are invited to join the cause to help everyone in Champaign County to achieve goals, build new friendships, and become part of a community.
The Y is planning refreshments for all who come by, raffles, Santa will be visiting, the Invest in Youth Silent Auction will be set up, and the Urbana 3rd- and 4th-grade bell chime choir will be at the Y to finish the evening of the CACC Candlelight Tour of Homes. Many community events and activities will converge during the Tour at the Y.
How to take the tour
Presale tickets for the tour are $10 and may be purchased at the YMCA, Perpetual Federal Savings Bank, Civista Bank and Peoples Savings Bank. Tickets are $15 the day of the tour and may be purchased at any location during the tour.
The outstanding community support of this event has always been an integral part of the CACC’s fundraising as well as these sponsors: Peoples Savings Bank, Boldman Printing, Perpetual Federal Savings Bank, CRSI, Civista Bank, Champaign County Chamber & Visitors Bureau, Security National Bank, Edward Jones, CT COMM, Phillip Edwards, Fetz Plumbing, The Medicine Shoppe, Skelley Lumber, Steve’s Market, Willman Furniture, Kyte Realty, Carpets of Urbana, NAPA Auto Parts, REMAX, Guild Galleries, Market Square Realty, Reser Motorsales and Beachy Barns, HER Realtors, and Wreck-A-Mended.
For nearly 40 years, the Cancer Association of Champaign County has provided financial assistance to county residents affected by cancer by providing payments for treatment, prescriptions, fuel cards, wigs, prostheses and other needs as prescribed.
The CACC is an all-volunteer organization designed to help the community by keeping funds local and maximizing those funds toward patient services. The tremendous support of the community, sponsors of this and other fundraisers, and the United Way make this mission possible.
Y offers activities during tour
-The Y is planning refreshments, crafts and raffles for all who come by during the Candlelight Tour.
-Santa will be visiting at 5:30 p.m.
-The Invest in Youth Silent Auction will be set up throughout the tour.
-The Urbana 3rd- and 4th-grade bell chime choir will be at the Y will perform at 7 p.m. to finish the tour day.
