Ted Wenta's Story:
Thank you for your support of the Everett Family YMCA. In 2012, the YMCA will need to respond in a new way. No longer can the YMCA merely assess the merits of financial worthiness of scholarship applicants desperately seeking assistance. In today’s economy, where family savings have been exhausted and credit limits stretched, the children of this recession are among the true victims with no relief in sight.
Today, our average YMCA financial assistance recipient earns $16,243 per year. This amount represents a 6% decrease from last year. In our licensed childcare program, one of every two families served or 55% of families with children under the age of eight are either receiving public or financial assistance compared to 48% in 2011.
In 75% of these cases, the mother is single and the absence of child support plays a pivotal role in the economic circumstances of the family. Given the current local economic conditions coupled with Washington State’s economic uncertainty, decreases in DSHS subsidies by the state legislature are being suggested as a way of mitigating declining state revenues thereby increasing financial pressure on local agencies.
I am a product of the YMCA movement. My passion and enthusiasm for the YMCA and the transformative impact it can have on a young person’s life began for me in a YMCA pool at the age of five and continued uninterrupted by attending YMCA camp as a volunteer camp counselor at age 15, working various part time positions during both high school and summers and experiencing the world wide impact of the YMCA through a cultural youth exchange while in college.
I have been privileged to serve as a professional in the YMCA movement alongside outstanding staff and volunteers for the past 25 years. I consider myself extremely fortunate to work in a career that embodies my personal value system.
I hope you will join me in this important community building work.