Bringing Health & Fitness Out Into the Community - 92Y [Podcast Series]
[:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Katera Noviello Kapoor
Kat is Senior Director of Health Promotion, Wellness & Athletics at 92Y.
She is also a Health Coach, Group Exercise Instructor & Pre/Post Natal Certified Instructor.
[1:21] Creating community within the four walls of 92Y
“We create community, I feel, through being available, accessible, and most importantly, approachable. I feel like we really try to be welcoming to all. We're going to meet everybody where they are.”
[3:46] Creating welcoming and inclusive programming and services
“I feel like that is kind of the first step, is making sure that there's an entry point. Because if somebody sees there's only a program that's offered for 18 weeks and it's at this higher level, they're going to be intimidated, chances are, they're just going to walk away from that. So we like to have lots of different mini opportunities for them to experience something before they're fully committed to it.”
[8:16] Training staff to support welcoming and inclusive environments
“We always bring it back to mission. I'm very big on mission. You know, I kind of come back to these two words consistently. You know, they say, with mission statements, keep it simple. And I always bring it back to magic moments. We're trying to make magic moments for all of our patrons for all of our children.”
[10:34] Bringing health & fitness out into the community
“The mayor's office just recently built out the Office of Sports, Wellness and Recreation, where they're very committed to funding for children who are under served as far as athletics goes, and also providing opportunity for talented individuals who may not otherwise have the opportunity to step onto a competitive team. We want to give everybody that same opportunity.”
[12:52] Building successful partnerships with community stakeholders
“First and foremost, making sure that you're aligned in both your mission and what is going to be offered. The other thing I would say is ensuring that there's room for growth. I never like to see a program start to succeed and see excitement behind an initiative and then have nowhere for it to go. So when I'm partnering with somebody, I'm always looking 4, 5,10 years ahead and saying, is there room for this to grow?”
[14:14] Providing programming and services that meet the needs of all ages and abilities
“So I think being really creative and not having tunnel vision and oh, this just has to be a pure fitness class. How can I collaborate with other centers and other areas to really help build the mind body connection?”
[16:46] Best practices in building successful partnerships with community stakeholders
“I think with community stakeholders, it's also great to go to the table with something. So understanding what you can provide to them and what they'll provide to us and kind of, it's like working a little bit of a puzzle, almost, how can you benefit our program and our community and how can we benefit you?”
[17:57] Partnering with healthcare
“And we're currently working on becoming a medically fit organization. So that in and of itself requires a lot of partnership with hospitals and physicians.”
[18:49] Success in bringing health promotion out into the community
“I think the work that I'll be doing with our innovation center, as far as national campaigns go, we're currently working on a national loneliness campaign to bring to light the emotions that go behind loneliness, and to help provide resources to individuals on increasing their work life balance, and how to build deeper connections.”
[20:50] Expanding reach to non-exercisers
“We're just more passionate than ever about just expanding our reach to people who were not exercising prior to COVID. Because a lot of the people that were exercising, they're back with us, they're ready to go, they were hungry to be back with us. But it's those that were missing that were potentially severely impacted by COVID more than anybody else if they were out of shape. Those are the people that we're really trying to reach out to now and say ‘come be with us, it's never too late to start’.”
[23:15] Establishing expertise
“So just really expanding our reach to individuals who absolutely could benefit from our services, but maybe you just don't know about us or don't think that it's possible for them. So really being forward with patients and with hospitals that hey, we are here and we do have the expertise to serve you.”
[25:54] Building trust and long-term relationships with community stakeholders
“And I think it's really important to build a relationship with those organizations, with those hospitals and their physicians and everybody who works alongside them. Because it really, it’s not going to be a successful program if, like you said, it's just this kind of one off, you know, it's just a transactional exchange. That's not going to build a long-term relationship, and that’s what we’re all about...”
[28:06] Favorite programming
“I would also say we have stretching classes that are for all levels, all abilities. But come in and do, it’s not a yoga class, it's not a fitness or abs class, it's just stretching. And that class is really special, because you will, you'll see, maybe a 20-year-old come in who's stressed out that week and feels like they just really need to reconnect with their body. And you'll also see a senior in that class. So I think it's really special to see that crossover of generations.”
