A Message from the CEO
Apr 03, 2020Thank you to the hundreds of members who have chosen to stay with us by converting their monthly membership fees to a donation until we re-open our facilities. During these uncertain times, every member we retain helps ensure we can continue to provide critical services in our community and be here for you all when this crisis subsides.
Our staff have called over 1,800 member households so far, and we intend to call every member in our database. We’re heartened by the feedback we’ve received from these calls and how this small bit of interaction has been a bright spot for so many. We encourage you to take our call to let us know how you are doing.
Also, remember to complete the online form to tell us how to manage your membership during our closure. We hope you stay with us, so that we may continue to serve you and the community during this difficult time! We genuinely care how you are doing and if there is anything the Y can do for you and your family.
If you have not yet spoken with a Y staff member over the phone or filled out our online form, please do so here:
Your sustained membership fees will support our Y For Good Fund and help us deliver on our mission in innovative ways through three main areas: Community Care, Youth Care, and Staff Care. Learn more about the Y For Good Fund here.
CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY
This week, the Y began its partnership assisting the Newton Food Pantry with grocery deliveries to families in need. Utilizing the West Suburban YMCA’s large passenger van – typically used for afterschool pickups – Y staff spent Wednesday morning loading and unloading bags of groceries. In total, our staff delivered 210 pre-packaged grocery bags to 70 families. Bags were left outside of doors in order to maintain safe social distancing practices. Our Y will be utilizing our staff and vehicles for grocery deliveries every Wednesday to ensure the food pantry has the manpower needed to safely deliver to all families and individuals in need of their services.
We are happy to report that our 26 Newton Corner Place residents are staying safe and healthy during the pandemic. We've partnered with the Rotary Club of Newton to provide them with gift cards, and Community Cooks, who provides home cooked meals. We will continue to support our residents' wellbeing by providing food, cleaning supplies, and other resources.
VIRTUAL YMCA: ENGAGE WITH US ONLINE
Virtual Wellness and Exercise Classes
We are expanding our virtual options every day! Workouts are livestreamed on Facebook every weekday at 12:00pm, and additional written and video workouts are posted throughout the day. View the full schedule and check back often for the latest class updates.
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and join our WSY Wellness Facebook Group to keep in touch with our Y community through workouts, nutrition tips, guided meditations, and more. You can also sign up to receive our new Wellness Weekly email to get content delivered directly to your inbox.
Virtual Service Learning For All
We are also providing remote learning activities for our Preschool and Out-of-School Time children. Currently they are engaging in a service-learning project in which we would like to invite all our members to participate. Our students are participating in Hearts for Healthcare Workers, a national initiative to show support for the dedicated healthcare workers who report to work on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic every day. We’re inviting our entire Y community to partake:
- Create a heart and post it on your front door.
- Snap a photo of yourself with the heart display.
- Share with us by posting on social media and tagging the West Suburban YMCA! Use the hashtags #HeartsforHealthcareWorkers and #WSYhearts.
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
1. If you have the means, consider making a donation to our Y for Good Fund. Our building may be closed, but our commitment to helping people and inspiring action for the greater good is stronger than ever. Your donation will support these efforts.
2. Put your extra Amazon purchases to work! Shop on Amazon at smile.amazon.com and select the West Suburban YMCA as your Amazon Smile nonprofit. Your checkout total doesn’t change, and Amazon donates 0.5% of the cost to the Y!
3. Are you employed by Tufts Health Plan? Employee donations to nonprofit organizations affected by COVID-19 will be matched two-for-one by Tufts Health Plan Foundation.
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Lastly, please know that if you need assistance, we are here for you. We’ve put together a list of local resources to help you find the support you need, be it food or financial assistance or access to social services and health resources. If you have needs that are not being met, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. If the Y is unable to help directly, we can refer you to a resource that can.
We are all in this together, and we must continue to lean on one another for support.
Jack Fucci
President and CEO
WEST SUBURBAN YMCA