A UNIFIED MESSAGE FROM THE YMCAs of CAMBRIDGE & KW | GUELPH | STRATFORD-PERTH
Your support enables us to continue showing up for our communities when they need us most.
But, barriers to access limit this opportunity for connection and engagement for many in our communities. At the YMCA of Three Rivers, our charitable purpose is to make our diverse communities healthier and more vibrant. With dignity and respect our programs and services have been designed to inspire individuals to reach their full potential.
As we emerge from the global pandemic, our communities are facing increased negative impacts on their overall emotional and physical wellness and well-being. The gap is widening. And, these increased barriers to connection and well-being supports are resulting more inactivity, increase incidences of obesity-related illnesses, greater isolation, and overall decreased mental health.
For more than 150 years, the Y, your Y, has served individuals across Three Rivers communities. Through camps, child care, swim lessons, wellness programs, and more, we’ve worked to help individuals feel seen, valued, supported, and, most importantly connected. It’s a community – one that’s been built through the generous support of individuals. People, like you, who’ve realized that we’re stronger together. People, like you, who know the value of showing up and staying connected – even when a global pandemic has challenged what that might look like.
Now, more than ever, your community, your Y, needs you. We need you to keep showing up with us. To continue meeting our communities’ needs. To continue building safe, welcoming spaces to learn, grow, and thrive. Not just today. But every day.
This is why we’re here. This is our commitment. But, we can only do it with your support. Think of all the good we’ve done. Now, imagine all the good we’ll do. Join us. Because, you can help make sure we’re here for good.
YOUTH FOCUSED PROGRAMS
Our community need: Today’s pressures and realities make being a teen hard. And, too many teens in our regions lack the opportunities and support they need to navigate these challenges. Today’s youth are experiencing unprecedented physical and mental health issues. Only 4% of regional youth get in enough exercise, while 1 in 5 are at-risk of developing depression, and the rates of self-harm are greater in our communities than the province as a whole.
How we’re responding: Youth – especially those at-risk and newcomers – represent a hidden face of this global pandemic. Through our programs and services – both in-person and virtual – they have the safe spaces they need to discuss their concerns, get homework help, receive career and life guidance, get plugged into mental health supports, and deal with the realities of isolation.
We need your support: An investment of $1 M will provide us with the opportunity to serve nearly 7,000 youth in the Three Rivers communities over the next three years.
HEALTH & WELLNESS PROGRAMS
Our community need: Places of connection and support through innovative health and wellness programs, both to prevent long-term conditions, and to learn how to live with chronic issues.
How we’re responding: The pandemic and recurring quarantine and stay at home measures have been tough on most of us, more so yet on seniors and vulnerable populations. Our targeted Health Management programs and outreach means these individuals don’t slip through the cracks. And, we know this work – from phone calls to virtual classes – is having an impact. Over 80% of participants have told us our weekly connections play an integral role in their dealing with the effects of the pandemic. What will it take to make it to 100% and to reach even more?
We need your support: An investment of $500,000 in our Health & Wellness program will impact thousands of seniors and at-risk community members across the Three Rivers when they need it the most.
You call, he answers. Every. Single. Time. Regardless of the hour or the ask, whatever it is you need – he's the one you know will be there, answering the call.
So, what do you get the guy who literally gives all year long? How about a gift that does the exact same thing?
By giving a gift to the Y, your Y, you give equitable access to Y programs and services all year long. Just like the big guys in your life – this is the gift that just doesn’t stop. This Father’s Day, thank the men in your life – who've always answered your call, by allowing the YMCA of Three Rivers to do the same for our community.
Dads come in all shapes and sizes. Some are our natural fathers, others we’ve adopted over the years. They go by all sorts of names: Grandpa, Pops, Bro, or Uncle. Or maybe even Bob, or Ray, or Guy. Regardless of what we call them, they share one thing in common: when we call – they show up.
For us at the Y, we know what it means to show up for one another. It’s exactly what the Y, your Y, is committed to doing: showing up for our communities, where and how they need us most.
For every location, for every program, there are stories of connection, community, friendship, and hope. And at the centre of it all is your Y, answering the call.
Thank you for your support!
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A UNIFIED MESSAGE FROM THE YMCAs of CAMBRIDGE & KW | GUELPH | STRATFORD-PERTH
CAMBRIDGE & KW
GUELPH-WELLINGTON
STRATFORD-PERTH
FOLLOW ALONG ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
CAMBRIDGE & KW
GUELPH-WELLINGTON
STRATFORD-PERTH
ANSWERING THE CALL
ANSWERING
THE CALL
MEND THE GAP
Now, more than ever, our communities need the Y.
And, now more than ever, your Y needs you.
There are a number of ways you can help build a stronger, safer, more connected community. Each gift to the YMCA of Three Rivers makes a positive and tangible difference for people across the Three Rivers’ communities.
Strong. Safe. Connected.
This is our goal for all who come to the Y.
For more than 150 years, your YMCA has shown up for the
Three Rivers’ communities (Guelph-Wellington, Stratford-Perth, and Waterloo Region), by addressing barriers to access head on. From newcomer and immigration supports to employment assistance, and from child care and camps to aquatics and fitness programming, your Y has worked to help everyone feel strong, safe, and connected.
But, we can’t do this alone.
It is only with the support of donors, like you, that we’re able to both continue meeting the current and emerging needs of our communities, but also to address the widening gap. With your continued generosity, we’re able to deliver high-impact, accessible, and affordable programs focused on health and wellness, aquatics, child development, chronic health, disease prevention, youth engagement, employment, and more. In short, we’re able to mend the gap – helping more individuals in our
community feel stronger, safer, and more connected at the Y.
Together, with donors like you, the Y mends the gap and makes a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people and an enormous impact on every individual we serve in Guelph-Wellington, Stratford-Perth, and Waterloo Region.
As a charity, the Y relies on our donors, people like you, to continue to root us in the communities we serve. With
you as our ally and partner, we can build stronger, safer, more connected communities, one individual at a time.
IMPACT
The YMCA of Three Rivers is committed to mending the gap by showing up for our communities where and how they need us most. In 2021 we saw:
Research tells us that belonging to a safe, welcoming, supportive, and inclusive community makes it easier to face life’s challenges.
MEND THE GAP
But, barriers to access limit this opportunity for connection and engagement for many in our communities. At the YMCA of Three Rivers, our charitable purpose is to make our diverse communities healthier and more vibrant. With dignity and respect our programs and services have been designed to inspire individuals to reach their full potential.
As we emerge from the global pandemic, our communities are facing increased negative impacts on their overall emotional and physical wellness and well-being. The gap is widening. And, these increased barriers to connection and well-being supports are resulting more inactivity, increase incidences of obesity-related illnesses, greater isolation, and overall decreased mental health.
Strong. Safe. Connected.
This is our goal for all who come to the Y. For more than 150 years, your YMCA has shown up for the Three Rivers’ communities (Guelph-Wellington, Stratford-Perth, and Waterloo Region), by addressing barriers to access head on. From newcomer and immigration supports to employment assistance, and from child care and camps to aquatics and fitness programming, your Y has worked to help everyone feel strong, safe, and connected.
But, we can’t do this alone.
Research tells us that belonging to a safe, welcoming, supportive, and inclusive community makes it easier to face life’s challenges.
MEND THE GAP
As a charity, the Y relies on our donors, people like you, to continue to root us in the communities we serve. With
you as our ally and partner, we can build stronger, safer, more connected communities, one individual at a time.
IMPACT
The YMCA of Three Rivers is committed to mending the gap by showing up for our communities where and how they need us most. In 2021 we saw:
Together, with donors like you, the Y mends the gap and makes a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people and an enormous impact on every individual we serve in Guelph-Wellington, Stratford-Perth, and Waterloo Region.
It is only with the support of donors, like you, that we’re able to both continue meeting the current and emerging needs of our communities, but also to address the widening gap. With your continued generosity, we’re able to deliver high-impact, accessible, and affordable programs focused on health and wellness, aquatics, child development, chronic health, disease prevention, youth engagement, employment, and more. In short, we’re able to mend the gap – helping more individuals in our
community feel stronger, safer, and more connected at the Y.
EQUITABLE ACCESS FOR ALL
Our community need: Safe, inclusive, welcoming and supporting spaces wherein individuals can learn, grow and thrive, free from financial or other barriers to access.
How we’re responding: In each of our regions, our facilities, programs, outreach and services are the tools we use to achieve our mission. We impact 1:5 people in our communities, which are among those experiencing the fastest growth in Canada.
We need your support: With $1 M in predictable support over the next three years, we will have the resources needed to provide equitable access to Three Rivers programs and services to at least 7,000 individuals – including 3,000 youth.