Operation Holiday Basket 2008

First of all, a Happy New Year to all of you from all of us here in the Financial Development Department. We wish for the best for you and your family in 2009.

You may remember a piece we did last year on Operation Holiday Basket, a community service project held at the Hiawatha YMCA. We wanted to give you an update on that program, which had its 39th edition on December 19 of last year. About 300 needy families received a turkey meal basket, courtesy of our corporate supporters Cub Foods and SuperValu.

In the picture at left, you can see some of the volunteers gathered at the Hiawatha YMCA, ready to provide a helping hand for those in need. As Gedric Merritt, an Intervention Specialist with the YMCA, put it, "I love helping folks."

Below, we offer a couple of pictures demonstrating the scene at the Y, as volunteers prepare to assemble the baskets of donated food. In looking at this, one is struck not only by the dedication of the volunteers, but by the generosity of those who donated to this cause.

Once again, we offer our appreciation to our corporate partners, and to all those who gave freely of their time and efforts to make Operation Holiday Basket a success once again!

Does My Contribution Really Make a Difference?

Sometimes it's hard to tell, until you get a note like this:

THANK YOU so much! I really appreciate your help and this program as a whole! The YMCA organization does great things! My kids really like going to SACC [School Age Child Care] and I'm so glad I don't have to worry about their care. I would not be able to afford it if it weren't for this assistance. Thanks again for everything!

Let this be encouragement to you - your efforts do make a difference!

Youth in Government - Your Y Partners Contributions In Action!

For those of you who wonder if your Y Partners contribution really makes that much of a difference, check out this testimonial from a parent whose child recently received a scholarship to Youth in Government:

I just received word that my daughter received a scholarship and I am so very thankful for the help. I am recently divorced and am struggling to keep life "normal" , as much as possible, for my daughters. I truly truly appreciate this wonderful Thanksgiving Gift! Your generosity means very much to me. I know I will be
offering a prayer of Thanks for this and for this program. My daughter is learning so much already and I am very impressed with the way it is run.

Again, I thank you so very very much for your help. I have been blessed beyond measure. I pray that your kindness will be returned to you 10x!

The Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government program is among the top programs, nationally, in terms of quality and number of students. 60% of participants and 55% of youth program leaders are girls. Additionally, nearly two-thirds of all eligible students return the next year.

Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government builds a sense of responsibility and passion for issues, the desire to make a difference, citizenship skills, and values in the lives of teens. Ultimately, Youth in Government programs help mold character in students with a strong focus on leadership development and citizenship-building.

Check out more about this program here. And remember that your contribution to the YMCA of Metropolitan Minneapolis really does make a difference!

John R. Mott - Living the Mission of the YMCA

One of the great leaders in YMCA history is John R. Mott. During the late 19th and 20th centuries, Mott was a living representation of both the work and mission of the YMCA, and his legacy unsurpassed. Here is a brief excerpt from the Rev. Tom Welch's "Spiritual Legacy Series" biography of Mott:

In September of 1888 he began a service of twenty-seven years as national secretary of the Intercollegiate Y.M.C.A. of the U.S.A. and Canada, a position requiring visits to colleges to address students concerning Christian activities.

From 1915 to 1928, Mott was general-secretary of the International Committee of the Y.M.C.A. and from 1926 to 1937 president of the Y.M.C.A.'s World Committee. During World War I, when the Y.M.C.A. offered its services to President Wilson, Mott became general secretary of the National War Work Council, receiving the Distinguished Service Medal for his work. For the Y.M.C.A. he kept up international contacts as circumstances allowed and helped to conduct relief work for prisoners of war in various countries. He had already declined President Wilson's offer of the ambassadorship to China, but he served in 1916 as a member of the Mexican Commission, and in 1917 as a member of the Special Diplomatic Mission to Russia.

The sum of Mott's work makes an impressive record: he wrote sixteen books in his chosen field; crossed the Atlantic over one hundred times and the Pacific fourteen times, averaging thirty-four days on the ocean per year for fifty years; delivered thousands of speeches; chaired innumerable conferences, and received dozens of awards. At 81, the Nobel committee awarded him one of the highest honors given on earth - the Nobel Peace Prize. He died at his home in Orlando, Florida at the age of eighty-nine.

Jolee Molitor - Andover Community Hero!

Jolee Molitor received the Andover YMCA’s Community Hero Award at this morning’s Andover YMCA Community Board Meeting. Jolee joined the Community Board last winter, and proceeded to jump right in to Chair Andover’s Y Partner’s Wine Tasting event. This “Signature Event”, held on October 24th, attracted over 140 participants and netted over $11,000 in support of Andover’s Y Partner’s campaign. Jolee facilitated the efforts of 7 volunteers as Chair of the event.

Jolee’s commitment to the Andover YMCA, and Y Partners, became even more evident when she volunteered to Chair the event again in ’09!!

Thank you, Jolee for your dedicated service to the YMCA!!

Pictured from left to right: Raquel Berg (community board chair), Jolee Molitor and Greg Voss (Executive Director)

Confessions of a Mom on the 1st Day of YMCA Camp

Kim Heiar, one of our Financial Development Specialists, shares her "confessions" of the first day sending her daughter to YMCA Camp. For those of you who've been there before, this should bring back happy memories. And for those who've yet to experience it, it's a wonderful story of a child growing up!

As a former day camp and resident camp counselor, I was more then excited as I got my almost four year old daughter Ellie ready to attend YMCA Day Camp Streefland this morning. She was certainly more then ready and had a huge smile on her face as I put her new, mammoth backpack on her shoulders-filled with all the camp necessities (bug spray, sunscreen, swimsuit, towel, lunch, water bottle etc.).

We headed to the camp bus stop, conveniently our place of worship and waited with the older, bigger kids. Gracie came with and of course had to have a backpack on her shoulders too. As the bus came I saw Ellie moving up in line, trying to cut ahead of the bigger girl in front of her. As I reminded her that she needed to wait her turn, I marveled at how ready she was for this experience-not at all frightened but wanting it to start as soon as possible. The counselor found Ellie’s name and as I snapped photographs furiously, I noticed that other then almost tipping over from the weight of her backpack when she took her first step on the bus, Ellie did not look back. Not once. Not to give me a reassuring smile or perhaps to question the experience of a first bus ride. She put one foot in front of the other and got on the bus.

I could not see Ellie from the outside, so when another mom with a camera came off the bus, I gave myself permission to go ahead and board the bus and take a few shots myself. Ellie had found a seat with an older boy and looked up and smiled at the camera. (Yes, she is well trained!) I joked with the male counselor watching me take photos of Ellie that it would not be the last time that her mother embarrassed her in front of other kids. Gracie and I walked off the bus and away she went. Gracie cried, I think because she wanted to go with and that she would miss her big sister and I think comforting her was the only reason I did not cry myself. It seemed such a right of passage-almost like kindergarten.

That’s when it hit me. The role I had always sought to understand as the provider of youth services, I was now in. The parent. This was different then the YMCA swimming lessons and YMCA soccer Ellie has already participated in-I was not allowed to be a spectator. I needed to trust that the camp staff would take care of my baby and keep her safe, protect her and help her grow. WOW. I work for this amazing organization-other parents do this without even knowing us that well. What a privilege we have!

Making a difference…providing transformational experiences and opportunities to grow every day.

How can you not love the YMCA?

Taryn Buehring - A Giant YMCA Hero!

The Northwest YMCA has chosen Taryn Buehring as it's Community Hero! Taryn has volunteered for the Licensed Childcare once a week for many years without fail! He really knows how much the staff and kids appreciate his help at the end of the day when the kids are preparing to go home and staff is done for the day. He always has a positive attitude and really has a love for the Y and the lives it touches. He has also become very involved in the Y Partners and Capital Campaign over the past couple of years as well. Says Stephanie Thomas, interim Executive Director at the Northwest Y, "We love his sense of humor and positive spin he puts on all that he is involved with. Taryn will always make time for the Y and helps raise the funds needed to continue to support our community."

Once again, hats off to Taryn Buehring - a real Community Hero!

(Pictured: Taryn and friends)