All Nighters at the YMCA

Is your best memory of the YMCA a three-decade old song from the Village People? If so, it's time to take another look at one of the largest nonprofit community service organizations in the United States. The "Y," as it's affectionately referred to, is a $5.96 billion organization with close to 21 million members and over 2,500 sites. Apparently, the "Y" is alive and kicking.

Dale Culp is a writer for The Weekender and fellow Tweeter. He tweeted last week that he was heading out for some volunteer work. I returned the tweet: "Oh yeah, what are you doing?" It turns out his church organizes a yearly event — called a Winter Blast — at the local YMCA. It's a free way for families to gather for sports, food and games.

Dale gave me the full report. "We spend the night playing basketball, swimming, watching movies and playing games. One of my jobs is to set up the video games and make sure the kids are having fun and sharing." Culp is the perfect guy for the job. "It's pretty cool because we hook up a projector and aim it at a wall with the lights off so you get the impression of playing video games on a 50-foot screen. The kids love it."

These annual events are the real deal. It's not a simple gathering during which people show up for a couple hours, eat a couple slices of pizza and head back home. Oh no. This past Winter Blast started at 10:30 p.m. and lasted through the night ending at 7 a.m. the next day. Can someone say pass the pancakes, please? I really had no idea that the YMCA held such events.

"This year's Winter Blast was our biggest, so far. We had around 50+ kids, while last year was closer to 30." Dale encourages people to contact their local Y: "I don't know how it varies in different areas, but I think just about any YMCA will allow a group to do this and the cost isn't that high."

According to the YMCA web site, "Despite its name, the YMCA is not just for the young, not just for men and not just for Christians." It is "an association of members who come together with a common commitment to building strong kids, strong families and strong communities." It's for everyone, it's for you, and it's strongly encouraged for you take another look at the YMCA. And no one will mind if you head over to iTunes and download the Village People. I promise to keep that between you and me.