Heritage YMCA offers free memberships to military families

At first blush, the Heritage YMCA Group and the Department of Defense may seem like strange bedfellows.

One teaches young people how to shoot baskets. The other teaches young soldiers how to shoot.

But since the beginning of October, the two groups have been working together to help military families in Naperville, Aurora and Oswego cope with the challenges of having a loved one serving overseas.

The Heritage Y is one of roughly 1,600 across the country participating in an outreach effort that provides free memberships for military families dealing with deployments.

The membership fees are being underwritten by the Department of Defense to the tune of $31 million administered through Military OneSource, an information and referral service for military families.

"It's set up to help families with loved ones far from home," said RJ Bartels, director of branch operations for the Heritage Y.

Ten families already have registered for the program at the Naperville-area YMCA.

"We really had no idea how many people would sign up," Bartels said. "But we knew if there were families out there, we really wanted to help them.

"We're all about kids and families and this provides a social outlet for them and also a chance to experience a healthy lifestyle."

Memberships are available at the Kroehler, Fry and Field House Family YMCAs in Naperville and the Oswego Family YMCA. The program is scheduled to run through 2010.

Participating military families are eligible to renew their memberships every six months based on eligibility.

The program grew out of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which required the Secretary of Defense to develop plans to assist military families.

Bartels said the YMCA has a long history of assisting military families that dates to the Civil War.

The Heritage Y serves more than 22,000 members - and is hoping to add even more military families as the program continues.

"We really hope it continues to build," Bartels said.

For details on the Heritage Y, visit heritageymca.org or call (630) 420-6270.