Hello friends,

As you may know, the Annual Campaign is all about reaching out to the community through Y programs. For the last four years that I have known about the Casino Road Community Center I have been consistently impressed by the work done there for youth and adults with various needs. Currently, they teach English speaking and GED classes to adults and offer a variety of enrichment programs for their children. 

In the last couple of years I have also had a rather unique opportunity to make a difference in the community through Aquatics programs:

In June 2016, an apartment complex just a few miles from my branch opened their pool for the season. Within just two or three hours, a nine year old boy was found at the bottom of the deep end.

The adult that found him ran to get help, not being able to swim herself, but by the time that someone was able to get the boy out it was too late.

This event started a wildfire of community outreach programs offered by the YMCA, starting with free swim lessons being offered at the same apartment pool, and followed up with Spanish speaking adult swim lessons at the Y.

In 2017, I reached out to various apartment complexes and ultimately went to a new complex, again offering free swim lessons to the residents. We also offered a new Y water safety program to 120 low-income children.

Have you ever witnessed a child overcome an intense fear or learn a new life skill? What about an adult? I have had the opportunity to witness and actively participate in both this year, and it helps drive me to do more. I remember growing up on my swim team, I would always hear my mother say that "money should never be a reason that a child doesn't swim." At the Y, I have been able to accomplish more to this end than I could have imagined. 

This is my favorite part of the Annual Campaign: The gift I’m given to reach out and offer the skills and resources of the Y to the community, supporting the safety and wellness of children and their families.

I am glad to be a contributor of this work, but of course I can't teach all of these lessons alone. Will you join me in my support of this cause?

Carl Funnell – Director of Aquatics and Recreation