The YMCA of the Chesapeake (YMCA) said ‘thank you’ to top donors, volunteers and community partners Monday night at their annual Chairman’s Round Table dinner. The celebration was held at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge to celebrate the successes of the campaign, as well as an important announcement regarding the 2015 campaign.
Following a review of the organization’s expanding work into communities across the Eastern Shore, Kerry Foxwell, Director of the Strong Kids Campaign, announced that in an effort to better represent the expanding work of the YMCA, the annual campaign would be renamed from the Strong Kids Campaign to the Strong Communities Campaign.
According to YMCA CEO, Robbie Gill the name change doesn’t reflect a change in focus. “While the goal and mission of the Y has not changed – and has always included community outreach efforts – this name change better showcases our mission of making communities stronger, one child, one person and one family at a time. Our mission will always include building strong children, that’s still a top priority, but we can’t build strong children without building strong communities to support them,” explained Gill.
The 2014 annual campaign achieved several significant benchmarks in 2014 including the most prosperous campaign in the organization’s history raising $400,000–a sixteen percent increase over the 2013 campaign—from 661 donors, 361 of which were new donors. In addition, the YMCA provided $651,000 in assistance to over 7,500 children and adults.
The YMCA of the Chesapeake includes 6 branches across the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia and is the largest Human Services organization on the Eastern Shore, strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Across the United States, 2,700 Ys engage 21 million men, women and children – regardless of age, income or background – to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors.
To find out how you can support the YMCA’s Strong Communities Campaign, you can go to www.ymcachesapeake.org or contact Kerry Foxwell at 410-770-3890.
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