Bank of America Renews Service Commitment

Bank of America recently announced a $35,000 grant to advance youth development programs at the Indian Boundary YMCA and to support the West Side Future YMCA and the YMCA Alliance. The Indian Boundary YMCA has long benefited from the board leadership of Bank of America employees and has attracted the bank’s youth development program support for many years. The support for YMCA Alliance advances the Customer Service Employment Training program and the support for the West Side Future YMCA strengthens maternal and child wellness programs on the city’s near west side.

Michael O’Grady, Managing Director-Investment Banking for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, serves on the Metro Board of Managers. The bank gave the YMCA’s Street Intervention Program one of its Neighborhood Excellence Initiative’s service awards in 2008 and has brought bank employees as volunteers to YMCA centers.

For further information, contact Mark McKelvey, Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations.

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Harris Bank Helps Youth Get to Camp

Harris Bank renewed its service partnership with the YMCA, committing $25,000 to the 2009 Kids to Camp (KTC) campaign. KTC helps guarantee that Chicago area youth of all economic backgrounds have the opportunity to attend one of the Association’s four residential camps. Going away to camp can be a transformative experience and for many youth, it is their first opportunity to go away from home and meet other youth of different backgrounds.

Peter McNitt, Vice Chair of Harris Bankcorp, currently serves on the Metro Board of Managers, continuing a long tradition of YMCA/Harris community service. Harris Bank has provided capital support that helped the South Side YMCA build its child care center, sponsored many YMCA events, including the Players Invitational Golf Outing and the 2008 Gala, and provided grants for human service programs.

For further information, please contact Kim Daniel, Director of Board Relations.

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Volunteering Across the Association

In October, 418 volunteers from 16 companies and organizations contributed a total of 1,438 hours of service throughout the Association. Dell and Wrigley Company both provided volunteers for the McCormick Tribune YMCA’s Produce Day, and Manager’s Investment Trust sent volunteers to the YMCA Community School program at Libby Elementary School to assist with their Produce Day. At both locations, volunteers unloaded the fresh produce and other food items from the Greater Chicago Food Depository trucks, and then sorted and distributed the food to hundreds of disadvantaged area residents in each community. 

Northern Trust volunteers enjoyed playing bingo and sharing lunch with the residents at the Fred C. Matthews III YMCA Senior Housing center. Heineken USA volunteers painted residence hallways at the Austin YMCA, along with a financial contribution to cover the costs of the paint and all the painting supplies. Two groups of AT&T volunteers painted the pre-school room, ‘Mazing Kids area, aquatics viewing area, and hallways at the Foglia YMCA. Two groups of UPS volunteers selected YMCA service projects in October – one group helped clean and organize storage areas at the North Lawndale YMCA, and the other group helped the Foglia YMCA  decorate and prepare for the “Halloween at the YMCA” community family event. 

In fact, many of the volunteer groups we hosted in October helped us with our “Halloween at the YMCA” community family events: Target-Glenview and Great American Insurance Company had volunteers at the Leaning Tower YMCA; Federal Express Customer Information Services had volunteers at the Lattof YMCA; RR Donnelley and Elmhurst College sorority had volunteers at the Elmhurst YMCA; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois had volunteers at the South Side YMCA; One Brick had volunteers at the Irving Park YMCA; and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had volunteers at the High Ridge YMCA. In addition to their volunteer service, the PwC group made a financial contribution to cover the costs of the materials and supplies for the High Ridge event. The Federal Express group also made a financial contribution toward the costs of supplies and materials for the Lattof event, and the Target-Glenview group donated bags of candy and treats for the Leaning Tower event.

Our Teen Reach program staff worked with a group of PwC volunteers to offer an afternoon of workshops for teens from Rauner Family, McCormick Tribune, Kelly Hall and the Y Network. The workshops included tips for job-hunting and resume-writing, personal finance and interviewing skills. The volunteers and teens also enjoyed a pizza and salad lunch, and they ended the afternoon participating in friendly games of basketball and volleyball. PwC made a financial contribution to cover the costs associated with this special event for our Teen Reach participants.

Park Community Church partnered with us again for their annual city-wide day of service, “For One Chicago." The Austin, Irving Park and Rauner Family YMCAs hosted groups of Park Community Church volunteers to complete a wide variety of tasks, including painting, cleaning, organizing and making scarecrows to give the YMCA an autumn feel.

For more information about group volunteer projects, please contact Linda Dean, Director of Volunteerism.

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New Online Program Registration
The YMCA of Metro Chicago is currently engaged in an exciting new project to vastly improve our online program registration system. The target date for the first release, Feb. 1, 2010, is set to coincide with our Spring session. The new system will not only have an updated look and feel, it will also greatly change how people find and buy classes online. It will make the registration process much easier for members to use. The new system will help branches generate additional revenue by allowing anyone to register for programs online, even if they are not currently a full or program member. Marketing and IT will be providing more details throughout the project, so stay tuned!

For more information, please contact Judith Sol-Dyess, Sr. Director, Information Systems.

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Irving Park YMCA Hall of Fame
On Oct. 24, The Irving Park YMCA honored Jim Davis, Robert "Mr. Bob" Friedrich, and the Lerch Family for their years of service and loyalty to the Irving Park YMCA by inducting them into the Irving Park YMCA Hall of Fame. Together, these individuals have contributed more than 140 years of service to the Irving Park YMCA.

This inaugural event was an evening of reflection, recognition and remembrance. The dinner included a silent auction, food, live entertainment, and a series of speeches giving recognition to these pillars of the Irving Park YMCA and surrounding community. All proceeds from tickets and auction items were donated to the center's Strong Kids Campaign.

For more information, please contact McCamie Cole, Member Relations and Marketing Director.

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YMCA Alliance Awards Scholarships 

The YMCA Alliance recently awarded its Lorraine Cardwell Memorial Scholarship to three former trainees: Janice Dudley, Cleshawn Hopes and Pamela Washington.

Janice attended the Administrative Support program in 2009 and is currently enrolled in Centura College online, pursuing an associate’s degree in medical assisting with a concentration in management. Janice is a mother of six and has held many positions in the medical field, including dictaphone typist and document specialist. She is interested in pursuing a career in medical records.

Cleshawn is a second semester senior at Chicago State University. She received the scholarship in 2006 and 2008. After college, she plans to pursue an MBA and own a real estate business. Cleshawn participated in the CSET, GED, Data Entry and Entrepreneurial Development programs in 2002 and 2003. She is a married mother of six and volunteers in the Englewood community.

Pamela attended the Data Entry class in 2004 and 2005. She is a second semester junior at Chicago State University and is interested in health science. Previously, she held clerical jobs and is now interested in becoming a health services manager. Pamela is a single mother of three and volunteers at LaRabida Hospital and at local nursing homes through her church.

This year’s scholarship awards totaled $2,500 as a result of an estate gift from former Alliance board member Lorraine Cardwell.

For more information, please contact Laura Pleasants, YMCA Alliance Executive Director.

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Foglia YMCA Staff Rally

Foglia YMCA held its annual staff rally on the evening of Nov. 8 to rally their troops behind the upcoming Strong Kids Campaign. More than 150 employees turned out for the food, fun and informative speeches. The night began with thank yous from Executive Director Sean Nelson, and Board Chair Rob Bialk. Foglia employees were able to relate to the campaign when they heard a fellow employee speak about her personal experiences with the Strong Kids Campaign. Rona Roffey, Camp Director from Camp Duncan, also provided the employees with a snapshot of how the camp fulfills the YMCA mission.

Employees also were able to see the favorable results of the 2009 SEER Member Satisfaction report, which reflected their high performance during this tough economic year. Staff were formally asked to make pledges for the upcoming year's Strong Kids Campaign. Foglia employees gave about $11,600 that night ($200 more than the total collected in 2009). It was a fabulous and successful evening for all, leaving many excited and re-energized for our upcoming year.

For more information, please contact Bonnie Caputo, Member Relations and Marketing Director.

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Greater LaGrange YMCA Pre-Teen/Teen Activity Night

The Greater LaGrange YMCA kicked off its Pre-Teen/Teen Activity Night with a group of 11 11-year-olds who were looking for something to do. The Activity Night event will alternate activities monthly between field trips and in-house activities. Most recently, the kids went on a field trip to Haunted Trails.

For more information, please contact Debbie Strus, Program Director.

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YMCA and Morton School of Excellence in AT&T Documentary
The YMCA and the Morton School of Excellence were mentioned in the recent AT&T U-verse documentary, The Cause with Ali Larter. The documentary features Heroes and Obsessed star Ali Larter as she discusses the Feeding America organization and the efforts being made to help millions across the country. The YMCA was featured in the documentary for its work with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and our involvement in their Snack Bag program.

The YMCA is featured approximately 13 minutes into the 30 minute piece. The documentary can be found at the folloing link: http://www.att.com/gen/sites/iptv?pid=14099\

For more information, please contact Antwon Mallory, Site Director.

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McCormick Tribune Active Older Adults Create The Giving Tree
The McCormick Tribune YMCA Active Older Adults recently created "The Giving Tree." The snowmen hanging on the tree represent a dontated item such as mittens, gloves, scarfs and hats.

The items will be dontated to members of the community in November before the colder temperatures arrive.

For more information or to donate, please contact Karen Keenley, Fitness Director.

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Greater LaGrange Active Older Adults Cook, Visit Casino
The Greater LaGrange YMCA Active Older Adults visited Hollywood Casino in Aurora on Nov. 7, followed by dinner at Ballydoyle Restaurant and Pub.

Look out, Julie and Julia! The Greater LaGrange Active Older Adults and some YMCA Children came together and created "Cook this... color that!" It is a collection of kitchen-tested recipies and coloring book pages created by the YMCA kids.

For more information, please contact Karen Keenley, Fitness Director.

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High Ridge YMCA Gives Back During the Holidays

The High Ridge YMCA recently assisted "Care for Real," an organization that provides food, clothing, household items and referral services to the Edgewater community. The High Ridge YMCA collected 65 coats for distribution.

The High Ridge YMCA wishing tree program began Nov. 26. The program provides a child with one "want" and one "need" during the holiday season.

For more information or if you are interested in providing a wishing tree gift, please contact La Verne Mayomi, Membership and Marketing Director.

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Trick or Trunk at Irving Park YMCA a great success
The Irving Park YMCA hosted it's annual Trick or Trunk event complete with its after-school haunted house and "Dragon's Island" haunted obstacle course.

The event hosted more than 350 people from the neighborhood, including local businesses and independent vendors. The night included games, prizes, and of course, lots of candy.

For more information, please contact McCamie Cole, Member Relations and Marketing Director.

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Black and Latino Achievers (B.L.A.) Tour NIU Campus

On Nov. 11, B.L.A. took approximately 40 teens to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb for their annual open house event. This trip marks the first of three college tours that the program will host this upcoming program year. Students were able to learn about the college admissions process, speak with various department chairs, visit the dormitories and see the campus. They were even lucky enough to attend a class with a former Achiever and scholarship recipient, Rachel Bradley. The teens really enjoyed their tour, and who knows, maybe a few of the Achievers will be future Huskies!

For more information, please contact Tequilla Lopez, Program Coordinator.

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