The Family YMCA located in Garrettsville (Remember, it’s for the entire community and welcomes members from all over the area—Freedom, Nelson, Mantua, Windham, Middlefield, Hiram, Newton Falls, all of you—if you can get here, you can join) is a part of the Greater Cleveland YMCA annual campaign. The Annual Campaign provides funding for the financial assistance program, which ensures that no one is turned away due to inability to pay to participate. In 2016 it distributed over $1.3 million in support so that everyone who desires can have a Y experience. In Garrettsville alone, some $2,928 in financial assistance was distributed to those in need. Visits by 1,276 members, participation of 514 kids in youth sports programs, services to 443 men in transitional housing and treatment are all part of what is provided by the funds collected. So too, are programs aimed at after-school care, youth sports teams to build confidence, teamwork and healthy habits, LIVESTRONG programs supporting strength and well-being for cancer survivors, children’s summer camps, even swimming lessons to promote fun and safety in the water.
Pledge forms are available at the Y or at www.clevelandymca.org/give if you’d like to step up to support our local programs currently in place, such as Silver Sneakers, our newly certified personal trainer, the Amish basketball tournament…or new programs in the works, added fans, TV, possible expanded (or changed) hours…all of the good stuff that the Y does. The slogan for this year’s Annual Campaign is “Give For A Better Us.” The kids on the brochure are adorable and the “US” includes everybody in the community. You can be a part of it. You can be a better You.
