No school? No problem as Chicago kids have warm fun at the YMCA
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With classes canceled because of the cold weather, many parents were forced to find an alternative for their kids.
That's when the YMCA stepped in.
CBS 2's Noel Brennan reports from the Y in Irving Park about how they're helping.
Because of the extreme cold, Chicago Public Schools are closed, empty, and quiet on Tuesday.
But that's not the case for YMCA locations like the one in Irving Park.
They've had kids since 7:00 Tuesday morning.
The Y has been a reliable alternative when schools unexpectedly close. The Irving Park YMCA took in 40 kids from local elementary schools today.
It's part of the Y's School Day Out Program.
It's open to kids ages 6 to 12.
The executive director of the Irving Park YMCA says his staff got word from CPS on Monday about Tuesday's closure.
They had plenty of staff ready to go and made plans for programming on Tuesday. In the afternoon, the kids played dodgeball in the gym.
They made and experimented with slime and competed in games of Mario Kart.
It's not the same as school but the activities keep the kids engaged and give parents some peace of mind.
"Kids not having somewhere to go creates ripple effects for families, for communities. And like we always do is we want to be that first place that parents think of when something like this happens. Where it's kind of crisis mode of 'What am I going to do with my kids today?' The Y is always a place that we want parents to know that they can go to," said Ron Anderson, Executive Director of the Irving Park YMCA.
Parents had to register their kids to take part in the program on Tuesday. It's $65 for members and $85 for non-members.
For many working parents – it was the best option in this extreme cold.
