The Greater Austin YMCA Celebrates Welcoming Week with Free ‘Try the Y’ Open Houses September 13!
Welcoming Week, an initiative of Y-USA’s national partner Welcoming America, is an annual event that celebrates communities coming together to promote cross-cultural understanding and raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone. From September 12 to 21, new and existing members can visit austinymca.org for a full schedule of activities and offerings at each location.
WHEN: Saturday, September 13 | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
WHERE: 7 Locations across Travis & Hays Counties
Join us for a celebration of community, connection, and belonging! Free & Open to the Public – bring a friend, neighbor, or family member! Whether you’re a current member or brand new to the Y, this is the perfect opportunity to explore all we have to offer.
Try One or Try Them All!
🏋️ Group Fitness Classes – A fun atmosphere building social connections, lead by expert instructors
🏀 Youth Sports Showcase (9 AM-11 AM)– Exciting demos and activities for all ages
💪Strength, Cardio and Swim – Enjoy our state of the art equipment and amenities
👧 Kids Play – Childcare while you workout, 6 weeks – 12 years old.
🏠 Tour The Y– Discover our facilities, programs, and welcoming community
Register with your center to secure your sport today!
City Events:
📅 September 12th
- Naturalization Ceremony
- 🕦 10:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M., Austin Public Library – Special Events Center, 710 W. Cesar Chavez
- The City of Austin will host a naturalization ceremony to officially kick off Welcoming Week 2025. We will welcome dozens of new U.S. citizens. Immediately following the ceremony, there will be refreshments, and our newly naturalized citizens will have the opportunity to register to vote.
📅 September 14th
- 🎨 Refugee Arts & Crafts Bazaar
- 🕙 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Townlake YMCA
- In partnership with Global Impact Initiative, we’re proud to host the Refugee Arts & Crafts Bazaar—a vibrant marketplace featuring handmade goods, beautiful décor, and delicious traditional foods created by talented local refugee artisans.
✨ Every purchase goes directly to the vendors, helping support refugee families and uplift diverse voices in our community. Come shop unique treasures, connect with neighbors, and experience the rich stories and cultures that make our community stronger.
All are welcome—stop by, support, and celebrate with us!
- Free Citizenship Clinic
- 🕦 9:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M., Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Rd
- Hosted by the City of Austin Office of Equity & Inclusion, this clinic will provide the first 55 eligible participants with free one-on-one help to complete the N-400 application for naturalization. All attendees can visit tables at the resource fair to learn more about programs and services for immigrant communities. Attendees can also practice their citizenship interview with volunteers.
📅 September 15th
- Creating a Welcoming Community Luncheon
- 🕦 12:00 P.M. – 1:00 P.M., Mt Zion Baptist Church, 2938 East 13th Street, Austin, TX 78702
- Community Advancement Network (CAN) will host Mayor Watson, Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion and other community leaders as they recognize Welcoming Week and raise support for the Central Texas Language Access Fund. The fund supports development of multilingual resource guides (in 10 languages) and facilitates mental health workshops for non-English speakers and other community services. Registration open now.
Join the Fun!
So, what are you waiting for? Invite your friends and family to join us during Welcoming Week. It’s a fantastic opportunity to get involved, try something new, and connect with the community.
See you there!
The Greater Austin YMCA® is a dynamic force elevating quality of life in Greater Austin by boldly expanding access for all children, adults, families and seniors in our rapidly growing community. For nearly 75 years, the Greater Austin YMCA has evolved to address each community’s greatest needs, touching every phase of life and nurturing happier, healthier people, a stronger community and a better world.
We believe everyone deserves access to quality programs that are keeping our community strong. As a proud 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we provide financial assistance to expand access for our community members to learn, grow and thrive through our early learning childcare centers, fitness centers, youth programs, future workforce development, adult programming, mental health counseling and more.
The Y serves nearly 140,000 people each year across Travis and Hays counties in eight fitness and wellness centers, 60 licensed campuses in four school districts and two new YMCA Tomorrow Academy™ locations. Globally, the YMCA is one of the oldest and largest youth-serving organizations in the world. More information is available at www.austinymca.org.
