Y Stories

“I am a senior on a fixed income and thanks to the Reach Out Campaign, I am an active member at the YMCA. My doctor recently commented on how my physical condition had improved. He told me I was in the best condition he had seen me in and my strength and mobility had increased. He said, 'Whatever you are doing at the YMCA, keep doing it.'”

“Six months ago, we awarded a family membership to a mom and her two children thanks to the Reach Out Campaign. They come in twice a week to swim, play in the gym and eat dinner in our conference room. As shelter residents, our Y enables this mom to give her kids stability, dignity and quality family time, just like every other family here.”

Yola, a single mother of four children, knew she needed to make a change in her life after being laid off from her job of 20 years at a nursing home. She discovered that her lack of technology and office skills made finding a higher-paying job difficult in a very competitive job market. 

After graduating from YMCA Training, Inc’s 20-week intensive hands-on program, Yola wrote, “I now know Microsoft Word, Excel, I love PowerPoint and Publisher and other various skills that I have learned that will make me successful in the work place.” Yola is now employed as a Clerk for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

“My name is Rae-Jonay and I attended Y overnight camp in New Hampshire last summer through a Y camp scholarship. This was the first time I had ever gone to overnight camp and it would not have been possible without the scholarship. I can’t wait to go to camp again and I am grateful that someone gave me and other Y kids the chance to go to camp.”

“This program is so powerful and necessary for young men of color it must continue after we leave. Watching male role models that look like us inspired me to do something great with my life.”

“The decision to donate time and money was an easy one for me. The Y has given so much to us and I feel it is important to give back so that others may have the same wonderful opportunities.

I know that there are many worthy charities that need support, but the Y has so many programs, including camps, which help to strengthen the community as a whole, but also help guide young children and teens towards productive and healthy activities. And for those people who cannot donate money, there are many opportunities to donate time and volunteer. The opportunities to donate time and money are endless!”

"Shortly after joining the YMCA my daughter was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome and spent a good part of that year in hospitals and rehab. When this former healthy young woman was discharged in a wheelchair, we were just so overwhelmed. The Y became an integral part of her determination to get back on her feet. The Y is the only pool in our vicinity to have a handicapped access pool. We came on a daily basis and she worked very hard on her physical therapy program. I cannot say enough how much it meant after months of her hard work when she graduated to a walker. On that day, your staff gave her a standing ovation! The Y became part of our family... THANK YOU!”

When I was a freshman at the New England Institute of Art, I began to feel ill with headaches, nausea, vomiting and blurred vision. My mom immediately called to make an appointment with an eye specialist.During the exam, I had an MRI and passed out. I woke up in the hospital and was told that I had a brain tumor and that I might not survive the night. The next day I had a nine hour-surgery.

The Y had made a very positive impact on my life by letting me into the [Training, Inc.] program. I did not know which direction I was headed in. I was a single mother of 2 kids. I started YMCA Training, Inc in the 2001 cycle 50. The staff that was there were so helpful and positive. I've been off welfare since 2000 [since the program], I have worked at several places, now I am working part time at The Prevention Center Partnership with Boston University Public Health, Boston Medical center, Boston Public Health Commission and Boston Housing Authority.