The Kernersville Family YMCA’s Annual Impact Fund Kickoff Lunch provided first-hand accounts of how the organization’s mission is being felt across the community.
Love at the Kernersville Honeybee Festival
A new romantic comedy by playwright Scott Icenhower, running Feb. 6-22 at Stained Glass Playhouse in Winston-Salem.
Centering on the YMCA’s Annual Impact Fund, which supports programs designed to remove financial and logistical barriers for children and families in the area, leaders emphasized that 100 percent of AIF donations stay local.
The first example highlighted at the event was the Safety Around Water program, which has benefited local children like Charlie, a local second grader on the autism spectrum whose participation was facilitated by instructors willing to adjust their approach as necessary to help him feel secure in the water.
His grandmother said that the “exceptional patience and understanding” demonstrated by YMCA staff made all the difference, adding: “By the third lesson, his initial trepidation had completely evaporated and was replaced by genuine excitement.”
In addition to the potentially life-saving skills, she said the “positive ripple effects extended far beyond the pool” and “profoundly boosted his overall confidence.”
Kernersville Elementary School principal Teresa Rose highlighted the YMCA’s long-standing partnership with local schools, particularly the Bright Beginnings initiative that provides students with new attire and supplies ahead of each academic year.
Out of the school’s roughly 575 students, Rose said more than 400 live in poverty or experience housing instability. But Bright Beginnings gives students in need an opportunity to participate in an annual rite of passage.
“That does something magnificent to their self-esteem,” she said. “To show up at school with new clothes and new things that are theirs makes them feel like they really belong and are ready for school to start. Day one, when they come though those doors with that big smile on, wearing their outfit — that’s beautiful. That’s because of our community.”
Rose echoed praise for the Safety Around Water program, as well as after-school opportunities and Camp Hanes scholarships, which give many students experiences that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them.
The final testimony came from a mother whose adult daughter, Amy, was diagnosed with heart failure. Because of AIF-funded financial assistance, Amy and her daughter were able to remain connected to the YMCA during an incredibly difficult chapter for their family.
“When her heart disease made it impossible for her to continue working, she carried not only the weight of her illness, but also the fear of what her absence might mean for her child’s future,” Amy’s mother said, describing the local YMCA as “a place of stability, compassion, and hope” amid so much uncertainty.
“Knowing her child is surrounded by a caring community has given Amy comfort during some of the hardest moments of her life,” she said, thanking donors for generosity that is “changing lives in ways you’ll never fully see.”
The AIF Kickoff Lunch looked toward the future, including an update on funding for a 10,000-square-foot airnasium scheduled to break ground in just a few weeks.
Capital Campaign Chair Whitney Hunter said the project is being funded in part by a state grant, with plans for an open-air, covered facility that will expand space for summer camps, youth and adult sports, senior activities, and inclusive programming for individuals with disabilities.
To date, the YMCA has raised just under $1.1 million toward the project’s $2.5 million goal, which covers both the airnasium and a second phase to include outdoor restrooms, additional athletic fields, and storage space.
Click here to donate to or learn more about the Annual Impact Fund.
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