Free summer YMCA memberships draw 3,000 Chicago teens
<p>Hailey Weathers likes to spend her summers playing volleyball in the sand with her friends at Chicago’s beaches, taking breaks in between games with dips in Lake Michigan.</p><p>But sometimes the 14-year-old feels like adults are scrutinizing everything she and her friends do, especially if they are in a big group. Hailey knows that’s because some large gatherings of teens have become disruptive.</p><p>But being watched and unfairly judged like that makes her feel uncomfortable, she said.</p><p>“Why do teens get blamed for stuff that we’re not doing?” Hailey said.</p><p>That’s why this summer Hailey is also at the South Side YMCA three days a week.
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<p>Hailey Weathers likes to spend her summers playing volleyball in the sand with her friends at Chicago’s beaches, taking breaks in between games with dips in Lake Michigan.</p><p>But sometimes the 14-year-old feels like adults are scrutinizing everything she and her friends do, especially if they are in a big group. Hailey knows that’s because some large gatherings of teens have become disruptive.</p><p>But being watched and unfairly judged like that makes her feel uncomfortable, she said.</p><p>“Why do teens get blamed for stuff that we’re not doing?” Hailey said.</p><p>That’s why this summer Hailey is also at the South Side YMCA three days a week. She’s in the gym, in the computer lab or chatting with friends.</p><p>Hailey is one of thousands of teens who signed up to be a member this summer through the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago’s Get Summer program, a partnership with the city offering free memberships to 12- to 18-year-olds. It's Hailey’s first time being a member.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-fb0000" name="image-fb0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a055a87/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+0/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F22%2Fc1%2F009494e5482f837c2a57ee63868f%2Fymcateens-260811-10.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5347ca8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+0/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F22%2Fc1%2F009494e5482f837c2a57ee63868f%2Fymcateens-260811-10.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b8b4439/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F22%2Fc1%2F009494e5482f837c2a57ee63868f%2Fymcateens-260811-10.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="Hailey Weathers pictured outside the South Side YMCA." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b8b4439/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F22%2Fc1%2F009494e5482f837c2a57ee63868f%2Fymcateens-260811-10.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cf1caca/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+0/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F22%2Fc1%2F009494e5482f837c2a57ee63868f%2Fymcateens-260811-10.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b8b4439/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F22%2Fc1%2F009494e5482f837c2a57ee63868f%2Fymcateens-260811-10.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Hailey Weathers, who is starting ninth grade at Gary Comer College Prep, said her grandma signed her up for a free summer membership at the South Side YMCA to encourage her to “get out of the house.”</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>Nearly 3,100 teens have registered through the program since June at seven Ys across the city, with the South Side location receiving more than a third of signups.
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- <p>Hailey Weathers likes to spend her summers playing volleyball in the sand with her friends at Chicago’s beaches, taking breaks in between games with dips in Lake Michigan.</p><p>But sometimes the 14-year-old feels like adults are scrutinizing everything she and her friends do, especially if they are in a big group. Hailey knows that’s because some large gatherings of teens have become disruptive.</p><p>But being watched and unfairly judged like that makes her feel uncomfortable, she said.</p><p>“Why do teens get blamed for stuff that we’re not doing?” Hailey said.</p><p>That’s why this summer Hailey is also at the South Side YMCA three days a week.
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Free summer YMCA memberships draw 3,000 Chicago teens
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times