Drive In To Fall

Oct 21, 2020

On October 17th, the West Suburban YMCA drove into fall with our first ever Double Feature: A Mission and a Movie fundraising event. The event provided an opportunity to update the community on the state of the Y after the cancellation of the 2019 Annual Meeting scheduled in May, as well as replaced the Annual Gala that typically takes place in early November.

Groups of friends and families gathered around the big screen right from their cars or by setting up camp on our track, grabbed a giant bag of popcorn courtesy of West Newton Cinema, and enjoyed dinner from Better Life Food in a COVID-safe environment.

President & CEO Jack Fucci congratulated new board members and recent community and employee award winners, as well as talked about the critical needs of the Y both during our facility closure and upon reopening. Jack reinforced how the Y went into overdrive during the facility closure to make sure we can still be there to support our community, including our virtual fitness offerings, grocery delivery to our most vulnerable neighbors, and saving summer camp for hundreds of children. Nick “Fitzy” Stevens shared some jokes as well as underscored Jack’s message about the key role the Y plays in our community. We closed the night with a screening of The Princess Bride.

The drive-in event was designed to safely bring together the community to support the Y. Says Vice President of Mission Advancement Sara Pollock DeMedeiros, “Typically we hold our Annual Meeting in May, which was of course cancelled. When it became clear that we also wouldn’t be able to host our Annual Gala in October, our team got creative. We’re really proud that we were able to host a safe and fun event.” The program portion of the evening was also livestreamed for those who wanted to participate from home.

To date, the Y has raised $60,000 from the event. These funds will allow us to ensure a safe and healthy space for our members and program participants moving forward, including our online and remote learning center for our Preschool and Out-of-School Time students.

Thank you to our sponsors, The Village Bank, JPMorgan & Chase, Deloitte, All CPAs, Boston College, Commodore Builders, People’s United Bank, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Karen DiGiovanni, the Morse family, and the Gluck family, and all of our supporters for helping us build a stronger us, together. To quote Jack, “This Y has been here for 143 years, and will be here for 143 years more because of you.”