2024 is fast coming to a close. 2025 is just around the corner. For those of us who have been around awhile, I still can remember the turning of the year from 1999 to 2000. That seems just like yesterday. We are a quarter of the way through the “new” century. That is hard to believe.
Like the years that fly past us, this year at the Y has flown by as well. I wanted to share so many great things that are happening in our YMCA locations and the communities that we serve.
We started the year as two separate organizations, the YMCA of Cass and Clay Counties and the Fergus Falls Area Family YMCA. Since then, we have completed a merger, renamed the organization as the YMCA of the Northern Sky, completed all the transfers of the staff to our parent organization, and reintroduced ourselves to the community. That’s a lot!
Our YMCA Food Program continues to go strong and serve in new and exciting ways. Many of you see the impact of our partnership with Valley Senior Services through the senior community dining sites at our branches. What you might not see is the thousands of meals that we serve to kids in the broader community. This year, we are on pace to serve over 800,000 meals to youth in our communities. The USDA, the managing organization of the Summer Food Program, recently changed some rules that allow us to serve meals in rural communities. When the rules changed and we saw the need that existed, we felt the time was right to expand our Summer Food Program to several rural communities. We started the second week of July and wrapped up by the middle of August as the kids headed back to school. In that time, we served over 35,000 meals. When serving in Fergus Falls, we ran out of food after giving out meals to 125 children. With kids still in line waiting for meals, we knew we needed to do more to ensure that no child goes hungry. This has spurred us to fundraise and buy a refrigerated truck so we can transport more, helping us serve more children.
We believe in youth development and have shown our work and dedication over the last year. In August, we opened a brand-new Early Learning Center at Urban Plains behind Scheels Arena. The new building can hold up to 257 children in it. Another way to look at it is that we’ve opened a small school. The building was built with kids in mind. I was over there today, and while the building is full, it is quiet because of how the rooms are arranged and the learning that is happening. It also includes a one-of-a-kind infant gym, like nothing else in our community. It is going to serve the organization and families for years and years to come.
Over 1,000 children participated in overnight camp at YMCA Camp Cormorant and 300 of those children, mostly foster children, went to camp for little or no cost through our scholarship program. We believe that children deserve an outdoor experience. Camp makes that happen. The 1,500 children in our summer learning center programs all went to camp, another 100 children went to camp weekly as part of our Camp Koda day camp program, and we hosted Kamp Kace, a youth cancer survivor camp, with another 100 children. YMCA Camp Cormorant has been updated with new buildings and new ADA pathways. It is a special place!
With the passing of Christmas, we officially just put the proverbial bow on the 2024 YMCA Giving Tree. Thank you to those who have donated to bring Christmas to the families of our community. Over 640 families had presents under their tree this year because of our community’s generosity.
The Y is also known for healthy living. A lot of you know the Y because of a treadmill or exercise class, and as you can see from above, we are so much more. However, these programs and facilities are just as important. We have spent the last two years updating our facilities, including completing a large renovation at the Schlossman YMCA this fall. The renovation consisted of new equipment, lights, turf, carpet and tiling, and seating areas. Our facilities are ready to serve for another 20 years! As I shared with our leadership team earlier this week, our facilities demonstrate that we are a community for so many, with over 35,000 people entering our doors.
And, believe it or not, this is a short list. There are a ton of things that aren’t mentioned, or like this year, have flown by and are in the annals of YMCA lore.
I am blessed to work for this organization that cares so much for its communities. I am also blessed to be surrounded by staff and volunteers who make the Y all that it is.
I can’t wait to see what we do in 2025!
I’m guessing that when we look back, 2024 will look like a slow year.
Happy New Year!
See you at the Y!
Steve Smith, President and CEO
Posted on: December 27, 2024