Amber Zimmer has grown from an avid summer camper to a Healthy Living Director under the YMCA roof. The Y’s culture of group problem solving and commitment to healthy lifestyles are both ideals that Amber shares and strives for in her community.
The summer of first grade was the first Amber spent at the Hobart YMCA summer camp. She enjoyed physical activities like capture the flag and creative ones like talent shows. Amber’s mother raised four children with the help of the YMCA childcare.
When she went away to college, Amber kept ties with the YMCA by taking a job as a camp counselor.
“If you’re active, it typically continues into adulthood. They are patterns you’ve developed. So being at the Y, we were always active. We weren’t sitting at home a lot watching TV. We were playing with other kids, being social, being interactive. Knowing what I know about the research and knowing my background, I’d guess that it did have a big impact on where I am now,” she explained.
Amber attended St. Joseph’s College for a degree in Physical Therapy. She kept involved with sports, something she was always enthusiastic about. When she wasn’t playing volleyball or running track and field, she was coaching.
Everything was going as planned. Amber felt she was on the right path.
“Sometimes life doesn’t end up the way you think it will go,” she said.
Amber worked a few jobs as a physical therapist but it just wasn’t clicking the way she expected it to. She missed exercise science; and she missed the YMCA.
“I felt like I was running uphill and it was just not a good feeling. I really wanted to make a difference in a tangible way. I felt like God was leading me somewhere from where I was.”
So Amber’s schooling took a slight turn down another path. She earned an undergraduate degree at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Her search for the perfect job took her as far as Oklahoma before it brought her home again.
Amber has been working at the Portage YMCA for three years.
“It just felt like home. This is what I needed to be, this is what I’ve been missing,” said Zimmer.
As a Healthy Living Director, Amber supervises at least 25 staff members from a few different health and wellness programs. It is her job to keep the building safe and the department running smoothly. She also sits on committees that organize community and Y exclusive events like the Turkey Trot and Healthy Kids Day.
“The Y is a non-profit, so we not only want to help the people within our walls but everyone in our community. We have a responsibility. It is part of Y culture, the Y mission, to provide these things for all," she explained. "If people don’t know about these [programs], how can they take advantage of them?”
The people of the YMCA do their best to be visible in the neighborhood. Their Fitness Fridays program invites people of all ages to walk a 5K together, once a month, for free. It only requires time and a bit of social interaction.
“It’s important for everyone to have that social connection,” said Amber. Some people use the YMCA’s facilities just for that- chatting on a treadmill or grabbing coffee with their friends at the cafe. “It feeds the soul. People weren’t meant to be alone.”
The YMCA is an organization known for its focus on whole body health but what many people do not realize is its relationship integrity. Humanity is important to the Y culture. It is about building stronger families and creating new bonds.
That is the quality that keeps Amber close with the YMCA, its commitment to a family atmosphere. Her high school sweetheart and husband, Andrew, worked with her at the Portage Y and is now continuing his career at the Duneland location. Their daughter attends YMCA daycare and is enrolled in gymnastics.
It seems Amber has finally found a city to plant her roots in.
“It’s a thriving city, they’re growing and evolving," said Zimmer. "The vibe is different here in Portage, and I like it. We have great neighbors, great people.”
The same rings true at the YMCA, a community within and outside its walls.