The 2022 Strong Communities
Annual Giving Campaign

Strong Communites. Strong connections.

Seniors living with chronic health conditions achieving better outcomes. Youngsters having a safe place to come after school. Families who having opportunities to play together. Teens learning positive leadership in the Y’s welcoming environment. Individuals who are isolated, finding a place where they are supported and can make new friends.

Those are just a few of the people you support when you give to the YMCA of Eastern Ontario’s Strong Communities Annual Campaign. 

For more than 160 years, the Y has been in Eastern Ontario, evolving to meet the needs of our communities. The pandemic has shined light on how vulnerable we can be when we lose our social networks. This is why over the past two years, your Y has continued to build partnerships and offer new programs.

Here are a few.

• Work Hard Eat Well has been a popular new offering in the Rideau Court area, a free program, offering kids the opportunity to learn that nutrition and being physically active can be fun. They enjoy a nutritious meal too! WHEW will be offered in Brockville soon.
• The Teen Drop-in program launched during the pandemic, giving teens a safe space to go after school – a place where some receive their first meal of the day and where they can rest or hang out with friends in a positive environment.
• Fitness classes travelled to rural seniors with Mobile Y, a new program began in Sydenham and we are hoping to expand. 
• The Berm-out ran for the first time in summer 2021 in partnership with Gananoque police and fire services and RNJ Youth Services to provide safe and healthy activities to area teens. It was a tremendous success with police reporting fewer negative interactions with youth.
• Funds raised through the Strong Communities Annual Campaign goes to programming and to our financial assistance program.
• As a charity, the YMCA provides financial support to about one in five memberships. The demand for support is increasing as individuals struggle with the mental and physical aspects of the pandemic.  

By donating today to the YMCA Strong Communities campaign, you are:

• Helping a child learn to swim
• Helping a teen to learn to lead and feel successful
• Enabling a child to participate in a recreation program or in physical activity
• Providing a safe and welcoming after-school program for at-risk teens 
• Enabling a family to access trusted, quality childcare
• Helping a senior maintain or regain mobility and have better health outcomes

​

At the Y, we recognize that each person’s charitable journey is unique, so we have many ways for you to give. Please visit our donation page at Canada Helps or contact our director of fund development and relationships, Amy Kirkland at amy.kirkland@eo.ymca.ca or 613.888.7109.

Please make a donation today to provide much-needed resources to people of all ages to access healthy and inclusive programs regardless of their ability to pay. Donations may be made at any time during the year or during specific events: 

• Send a Kid to Camp, launching May 9
• The Gord Brown Memorial Golf Tournament on August 17
• The George E. Smith Memorial Fire Truck Pull on October 15

Donate