YMCA of the Pines

by Donna Wells, Executive Director of the Gloucester County YMCA When Suzanne mentioned that World Basketball Day was December 21st, I was immediately inspired. After all, the YMCA invented basketball — this is our holiday! But there was one small challenge: it fell on a Sunday, and with turnaround time so tight (and I recently started as the new Executive Director), pulling off something big just wasn’t realistic. Still, I couldn’t let the moment pass. So, I called in a favor. Our Adult Men’s Basketball League has a longtime rental partner, and he graciously connected me with his Sixers representative. [...]

Medford, NJ (February 12, 2026) – YMCA of the Pines is proud to celebrate its 120th anniversary this year, marking more than a century of serving children, families, and communities across southern New Jersey and the greater mid-Atlantic region through camp, youth development, outdoor education, and community programs. What is now a vibrant, 800-acre campus in Medford, New Jersey, began in the early 1900s as an abandoned mill and cranberry bog, tucked deep within a forest of pine, oak, cedar, and laurel. In 1906, the YMCAs of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Monmouth counties established what was then known as YMCA [...]

By: Jessica Trozzi, Business / Communications Intern, YMCA of the Pines As the curtain rose on the 17th season of Dancing with the Gloucester County Stars, hosted by the Greater Woodbury Chamber of Commerce, the excitement in the air was palpable. The event features participants paired with professional dancers. Judges critique performances and share special routines. The night’s personal stories and heartfelt motivations highlighted the community spirit, making it clear that the event was much more than just entertainment. This year, Joel Dougherty is representing the Gloucester County YMCA branch of YMCA of the Pines as he took the stage [...]

By Jessica Trozzi, Business / Communication Intern, YMCA of the Pines I can hardly believe how fast the past three months have flown by! I've been lucky enough to dive into the role of Business/ Communications Intern at YMCA of the Pines and it’s been such a rewarding experience. I’m now heading into my senior year at Rowan University, where I’m majoring in Communications. Initially, I was uncertain about my career direction, it was in my sophomore year that I found my path in communications. The creativity, the ability to connect with people and the opportunity to make a difference [...]

By: Jessica Trozzi, Business / Communications Intern, YMCA of the Pines Madison Robb recently graduated from Elizabethtown College with her doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OT).  She realized her love for OT in high school when she watched her grandmother benefit from it. Madison was searching for somewhere to conduct her own community-based project when she discovered Gloucester County YMCA located in Woodbury, NJ, which is part of YMCA of the Pines. For this project, she explored the role of OT in a community-based organization to help the chronic disease population. During her experience, she had to create her own program [...]

Dear Members, I am excited to announce that Cherokee Beach will be open on select dates for members during the 2024 summer! Please see details on operating dates and hours, below. For members who have not experienced Cherokee Beach before, it is the waterfront on camp used by Lake Stockwell Day Camp (upper camp) during the summer and is the closest waterfront to the Stokes Road entrance with a large picnic area and bathroom facilities adjacent to the waterfront. Cherokee Beach will be open for members of YMCA of the Pines at no additional cost, and guest passes may be [...]

Medford, NJ, September 21, 2023 – YMCA of the Pines announced today that Greg Keresztury has been deemed a Certified Praesidium Guardian (CPG) by Praesidium, a national leader in risk management of sexual abuse of vulnerable populations. He joins a community of professionals who have demonstrated that they are committed to creating a culture of safety through risk management and best practices in sexual abuse prevention. The CPG certification was created to recognize individuals who are dedicated to the prevention of sexual abuse of vulnerable populations. To attain certification, Greg successfully completed a robust certification process, where he became proficient [...]

My name is John Henry McNamara Yonce but I like to go by ‘JH’ and I am a rising senior at Rutgers University New Brunswick. My major is political science and my dream is to someday become a politician of some sort so that I would be able to help people on a large scale. That is why I am so happy of what I was allowed to do this summer. This Summer I was given the opportunity of becoming a Business Intern at YMCA of the Pines. As someone who is an alumni from both the day camp and [...]

By Reese Taylor This summer I was especially fortunate to gain meaningful experience working as an Operations Intern at YMCA of the Pines. Throughout my ten weeks, I had the opportunity to learn about the business management, compliance standards, and procedural systems integral to the successful operations of camp. I enjoyed helping gather applications for the Summer Camp Opportunities Promote Education (SCOPE) program. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to gain practical work experience in such a positive environment.

  By Betsy Lockett, Summer 2022 Communication Intern. From playing in an elementary school and watching little smiles grow, to bleaching toys and monitoring temperatures, to now, taking phone calls, filing papers, and writing this blog from the Welcome Center, my time spent at the YMCA of the Pines has been extraordinarily fruitful in reward, knowledge, and experience. Beginning in 2019, I worked for the Y’s School’s Out program at Cranberry Pines here in Medford. Still a kid myself, I had the chance to grow alongside my students, as they taught me patience, responsibility, adventure, creativity, and how to make [...]