El Camino YMCA supporters hope to raise $135,000 this month during the Y’s annual fund-raising campaign for outreach programs and financial aid for families. The campaign, with the theme “Race for the Kids,” kicks off today with a short celebration among campaign leaders. The campaign runs through March 31.
“The whole point (of the campaign) is not just to get to $135,000, but to get the Y and its programs sold on the community,” said Los Altos Police Chief Don Johnson, this year’s campaign chairman.
Johnson, a 14-year member of the Y, has been on the El Camino board of directors the past three years.
“(The Y) does so much for so many people,” Johnson said last week. “The main point of the YMCA is getting people engaged in the community.”
Among programs that benefit from the annual community support campaign is a “Kids’ Place – Y childcare” program, which gave $22,256 in aid to 29 families from September to December last year.
The El Camino Y provides child care at Bubb, Huff, Landels, Slater and Theuerkauf schools in Mountain View, and at Almond and Oak schools in Los Altos.
The El Camino Y awarded more than $28,000 in direct financial assistance last year for its summer day camp program, which supported more than 50 children. Last summer, more than 1,200 youth participated in 13 different day camp programs over 10 weeks of summer.
Teen programs also are targeted in the fund-raising efforts. The Y’s Steps Teen Center offers clubs, field trips and special events.
Youth sports programs will receive funding. The programs provide a safe, noncompetitive atmosphere for approximately 2,100 youth annually.
A portion of the campaign’s proceeds will go toward scholarships for families who can’t afford regular YMCA membership dues. The Y offers a sliding scale of fees based on the ability to pay.
“That’s why this campaign is so important to us this year,” said Y executive director Ron Markillie. “In the past, (funding for scholarships) we never really had a problem. This past year, we weren’t able to grant financial aid to 50 or so families.”
For more information or to contribute to the campaign, call 969-9622.
