We are excited to announce that Ross Andrus is the Sammamish Community Y’s Volunteer of the Month!
Ross Andrus is a software developer by day and YMCA Tai Chi instructor by night – but what makes his commitment to the Y so extraordinary? Ross is not just an instructor at our Sammamish Community YMCA, but a volunteer who gives his time and shares his passion with others. For 5 years now, Ross has given us the beautiful gift of his time, skills, patience, practice and passion which the community at large is now able to experience in his class every Wednesday evening.
Ross grew up in Seattle, moved to the East Coast where he spent 10+ years and after starting a family, found himself back home. Through all of this, Ross has continued his practice of Tai Chi and has been a student himself for over 15 years now. There are many reasons why Ross shares his skill with others.
“It makes me a better student when I teach. It is my main form of exercise and the only thing I do really that’s not work or family,” Ross shared.
His students enjoy learning from him as much as his enjoys teaching them. Our Y members enjoy Ross’s teaching and his class and especially appreciate how he helps members one-on-one and really focuses on helping each person develop and make progress.
In addition to volunteering his time at the Y through our Tai Chai classes, Ross and his children participated in our Adventure Guides program, a family program designed to help dads and their kids bond and connect. Ross says, “They’ve aged out now, but I still am grateful to the Y for making that possible.”
As for the Y, we are very fortunate to have Ross give his time HERE, share his skill with OUR members, and make the Y his escape. We would like to thank Ross for his continuous gift to us and his family for sharing him with us every Wednesday evening.