At the YMCA, kids come in all shapes and sizes. Everyone is a Y kid at heart. From older adults in a fitness class to tiny tots in day care, the YMCA is a place to belong. Our mission is at the heart of everything we do.

Meet Doug Burnett
Y-Cares Recipient and UMLY Branch Member

The YMCA Changed My Life

Doug Burnett is a Y kid, a self-proclaimed Y-brat. He was born at a YMCA Camp in New Jersey where his father worked after World War II. Doug’s dad was the first Executive Director of this YMCA in the 1960’s.

Last December, Doug recalls he was as healthy as a horse. An employee of Berwyn Hardware for 47 years, he used extension ladders to climb tall trees, rode a motorcycle and did all sorts of fun things. One day, he noticed that he felt weak and then progressively weaker as time passed. His doctor dismissed the symptoms as a side effect of his medication. A few days later Doug found himself in the hospital, the victim of a deadly stroke. With a paralysis of his entire left side, surgery was the only option. Doug died and was revived twice on the table before a six-inch clot was removed from a vein exiting his heart.

Doug went to physical therapy until his insurance benefits ran out. He thought to himself, “I can’t take this, when is my bad luck going to end?” That is when Doug turned to the Y for help. Through the generosity of donations of the YMCA community, Doug was able to receive a YCares scholarship to help him defray the costs needed for membership.

“When I first started coming to the Y for my recovery, I couldn’t get on the fitness machines by myself. I was only able to lift a combined weight of 200 lbs on 15 different machines. Today, I can lift a total of 56,000 lbs on those same machines.” The Y’s aquatics therapy classes also help him build strength and regain his balance skills.