Why the Y
Annual Campaign
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Your Gift in Action
Volunteer Hub
Build Belonging
Healthy Living & Membership
Best Summer Ever
Camp & Aquatics
Bright Minds, Bright Futures
Education & Leadership
Extend Your Impact
When a person joins the Y, their passion and purpose are added to our mission as we slowly and steadily become a stronger, healthier community.
Yet when that same individual gives to the Y, they extend their impact exponentially through the support the Y provides our neighbors each and every day. Like tossing a stone into water, individual generosity creates a ripple effect throughout the community that allows more people to belong, more healthy lifestyles created, and more young people finding a safe space to learn, grow, and thrive.
The YMCA Annual Campaign invites every member of our community to multiply the mission by casting their stone and start a chain reaction of impact that transcends what the Y could do on its own.
Your Gift in Action
$25 gives young people a safe space to belong, grow, and thrive.
A $50 gift helps a child gain life-saving skills and confidence around the water.
$100 helps two young athletes play a new sport, creating a lifelong love for fitness.
$150 provides a student a positive role model and a safe place to go afterschool.
$250 sends a child to day camp, giving them a summer full of adventure and friendships.
$500 helps a middle schooler find their true and authentic self through their first summer at overnight camp.
$1,000 supports active lifestyles for all, allowing everyone to stay healthy for years to come.
The YMCA’s giving societies recognize our friends who provide foundational support to our programs.
$2,500 gives our infants, toddlers, and preschoolers access to safe and enriching care in our early learning centers.
About the Campaign
The YMCA Annual Campaign is a yearly fundraising effort that allows us to fully realize our mission, especially as it relates to the last two words: “for all.”
The Y recognizes the importance of financial accessibility and is determined to make membership and program fees affordable for everyone in our community. This annual fundraising initiative serves as the backbone of our philanthropic efforts by securing charitable gifts from the YMCA community to ensure our programs and services remain accessible.
We are one of Washtenaw County’s leading non-profits, acting as a catalyst to transform lives and community. In 2021, the Y provided just over $400,000 in support, services, and program subsidies to kids and families-in-need in Washtenaw County and southern Livingston County. Investing in people of all ages and backgrounds, particularly those who are farthest from opportunity, is key to advancing equity and justice while building whole-person health for all.
Our Mission
The Ann Arbor YMCA’s mission is to put our core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility into action through facilities and programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. We are an Association made up of people from every walk of life, working side by side to strengthen communities.
Together we strive to ensure that everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, gender expression, gender identity, income, faith, sexual orientation or cultural background has the opportunity to live life to its fullest. Membership dues cover the costs of operating YMCA facilities, but they do not support additional costs for outreach programs and financial assistance for the less advantaged.
Campaign Volunteer Hub
BUILDING BELONGING
At the Y, we believe that without Belonging, our work to create a more just and inclusive community for all will never be realized. Our welcoming network of support helps people from all walks of life find the encouragement and tools they need to thrive not regardless of who they are, but because of who they are.
Take Action!
Every day, the Y supports kids, adults and families who need us most with programs that protect, teach, connect, heal, nourish and encourage. It’s how we empower communities and the “us” who live in them to realize their incredible possibilities and full potential. We can’t do it alone. We count on the generosity of our donors to make a better us possible. Every dollar donated stays local and helps address our community’s most critical needs.
Healthy Equity
Health equity is achieved when everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible and no one is disadvantaged because of race, gender, socio-economics or other circumstances. The YMCA is focused on creating equitable and sustainable solutions that address both the immediate needs of the community and the systemic root causes that lead to inequalities.
The YMCA’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and global engagement (DIG) serves as a compass for the Y as it works alongside communities to address health disparities, systemic racism, and other forms of institutionalized bias. Through empathy and relationships, we work with the community at a grassroots level building trust, reputation, and partnership to create positive change.
Healthy Living
The YMCA aims to improve our nation’s health by providing programs and activities that promote overall well-being, no matter where you are on your journey toward better health. And when people feel their best and have fulfilling lifestyles, their communities become stronger, too.
At the heart of the Y lies the power to transform—both yourself and the world around you. From our wide range of fitness, personal training, sports and aquatics programs, to our group social activities, as well as fun family and community events, we offer an array of options focused on strengthening spirit, mind and body.
Access for All
To ensure equitable access for all, income-based financial assistance allows everyone to access to the Y’s life-changing programs and services regardless of economic barriers.
The Y is a non-profit health and human services organization committed to helping people grow in spirit, mind and body. We focus on nurturing kids and teens, improving people’s health and well-being, and giving back to our neighbors. The Y believes that every person should have an opportunity to participate and pursue their own personal goals regardless of skill or financial status. Generous donations to the Y’s Annual Campaign provide funds for scholarship assistance to those who may need support.
best Summer ever
For some kids, summer means family vacations, playing with friends, and taking a dip in a nearby pool or lake. Yet for others, it means a lack of supervision, a widening of the achievement gap, or a loss of the critical support systems that allow them to be happy, healthy, and thriving. The Y is here to change that.
Take Action!
We envision a summer where all kids have equitable access to welcoming spaces to belong, safe opportunities to swim, and fun activities that help build lifelong memories. YMCA summer day camps overnight camps focus on the social-emotional learning (SEL) of kids and teens to help them find a true sense of belonging, while our swim lessons and water safety programs give kids the skills and confidence to safely enjoy the many bodies of water throughout our community.
We’re working along side our partners, donors, and neighbors to increase opportunities for kids to safely have the best summer ever… and we need your help.
Summer Camp Ingredients
Summer Camp
We believe that the camp experience is transformational. YMCA camp gives kids the chance to make new friends, learn new skills, and interact with nature.
The Y offers many enriching camp programs between our day, overnight and specialty camps. Serving hundreds of thousands of kids and teens, while offering a great first job for young adults, our camps teach young people how to be more independent and contribute to a group as they engage in physical, social and educational activities.
Lily’s Story
Water Safety & Swimming
Drowning can happen nearly anywhere with standing water — but as a parent or caregiver, you can’t keep your kids sidelined. By equipping kids with the tools they need to be confident in and around water, they’ll be able to reap the health benefits of exercise, bond with family and friends and take pride in their new skills — safely.
More than 100 years ago, the Y created the concept of group swim lessons and to this day, teaches more than 1 million children invaluable water safety and swimming skills every year. The Y’s size and reach as a vital community asset uniquely positions the organization to bridge the gap in the delivery of swim lessons and water safety education.
Bright Minds, Bright Futures
Take Action!
Watch Jaiden’s story
Early Learning Centers
YMCA Early Education programs inspire kids and families to be the best they can be in mind, body and spirit. Kids receive a foundation of learning while integrating the Y core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. We are committed to helping children become lifelong learners, have fun, and make new friends.
The Y believes that each child should be recognized as an individual, and treated with respect and inclusivity in regards to gender, race, socioeconomics, family status, faith, and abilities. We offer developmentally and age-appropriate activities that ensures children gets the most out of their Y early education experience.
Watch Jackson’s Story
AFTERSCHOOL & OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME PROGRAMS
As the nation’s leading nonprofit child care provider, the Y believes all children should have a safe place to explore, grow and thrive while they’re away from school.
School-age kids spend 80 percent of their waking hours outside of school. Our after-school programs provide a space for transformative learning experiences in a caring setting during these critical hours that help young people discover what they love to do. We provide continued structure for kids all while encouraging skill building, creative exploration, physical activity, and most of all, fun.
Watch the Eco Leaders Story
TEEN LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS
At the Y, we understand that investing in our young people is one of the best ways we can strengthen the future of our community. That’s why we offer a variety of programs and experiences that allow teens to express themselves, engage with the world around them, and learn how to build healthy relationships with their peers and the world around them.
Our teen programs connect young people ages 12-18 with trusted adults to develop their leadership potential while fostering a culture of service. With the help of role models and mentors, these teens develop the skills they need to lead positive change in their communities.
Make your impact today
Your contribution will ensure that those who need us most have access to quality programs, activities, and resources to achieve their full potential in spirit, mind, and body. The Ann Arbor YMCA is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our tax identification number is 38-1525162. Contributions to the Ann Arbor YMCA are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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