TRIANGLE the
summer 2015
Your YMCA at work in the community
BREAKING GROUND
BUILDING
COMMUNITY STANWOOD-CAMANO YMCA June 27 was an exciting day for the Stanwood-Camano community with the official groundbreaking of the future Stanwood-Camano YMCA. More than 400 people braved the 90-degree weather and celebrated with food, fun, and music by local band SeaStar. A day that was long in the making, the community has been planning for a YMCA facility for more than five years. The new 48,000-square-foot, full-service facility will provide aquatics, wellness and fitness, youth sports, teen, older adult, and family programs. At the event, Stanwood Mayor Leonard Kelley shared his Y story of growing up in an economically deprived area of southern California. His YMCA was housed in a single-wide mobile home. He participated in Youth & Government as a teen and later worked at that Y in college. “I know how important the Y is and how it changed my life,” said Kelley. “This is truly an amazing day.” “What I’d like to see are people enjoying themselves and looking forward to something that will enhance their lives, and their children’s lives, and maybe their grandchildren’s lives,” said Cornerstone Donor Floyd Jones. “That’s what will please me. This is an afternoon to remember.”
Floyd Jones, with the supervision of Harry Taylor, takes the ceremonial first dig to break ground for the Stanwood-Camano YMCA. Photo courtesy of Ian Gleadle
STAY CONNECTED
It was announced at the event that Mary Bredereck will be the branch executive for the new Stanwood-Camano YMCA. Bredereck is currently the Branch Executive at the Marysville Family YMCA and has worked for the YMCA for 20+ years. “Mary’s passion for the Y and her understanding of the important roles that community and volunteers play in the Y mission is why she’s the perfect person to lead the new Stanwood-Camano YMCA,” said Patsy Cudaback, Senior Vice President, YMCA of Snohomish County. GLY Construction is the general contractor on this project. Construction will begin in August 2015 with facility completion scheduled for late summer/early fall 2016. For additional information, visit ymca-snoco. org/stanwoodcamano or call 360 629 9622.
Follow the StanwoodCamano YMCA on Facebook to stay connected to events, programs, and happenings. In this Issue: • • • • • • • •
Breaking Ground President’s Perspective Big Sparks Helping Teens Heal At a Glance Draggin’ Dumbbells Safe Place for Youth YMCA Elects Officers/Board
• Armed Services YMCA
Financial Assistance: The YMCA of Snohomish County makes every effort to ensure that no person, especially youth, will be denied access to programs and membership because of financial hardship. The YMCA's Financial Assistance Program is supported by contributions to our Annual Campaign and United Way.
Mission Statement:
President’s Perspective
Scott Washburn
Dear Friends: They say that the older you get, the faster time goes by. I can truly attest to that. By the time you are reading this it will be July and half the year has quickly passed us by.
To inspire, nurture, and strengthen culturally vibrant communities through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.
As the calendar turned over for 2015, with it came the launch of our Advancing Our Cause Strategic Plan which will take us through 2017. YMCA volunteers were an integral part of developing this plan and countless hours have gone into its creation.
Everett Family Branch
At the YMCA of Snohomish County, we’re about strengthening community through our commitment to youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Our focus on these areas allows us to change lives while addressing critical community needs.
2720 Rockefeller Ave. Everett, WA 98201 425 258 9211
Marysville Family Branch 6420 60th Drive NE Marysville, WA 98270 360 653 9622
Mill Creek Family Branch 13723 Puget Park Drive Everett, WA 98208 425 337 0123
Monroe Family Branch 14033 Fryelands Blvd. Monroe, WA 98272 360 805 1879
Mukilteo Family Branch 10601 47th Place West Mukilteo, WA 98275 425 493 9622
Stanwood-Camano YMCA Initiative 9031 271st St. NW Stanwood, WA 98292 360 629 9622
Big Brothers Big Sisters 2722 Colby, Ste. 415 Everett, WA 98201 425 252 2227 The Triangle is published by the YMCA of Snohomish County to update friends and donors about YMCA news and events. Colleen Temple, editor, 425 374 5738 or ctemple@ymca-snoco.org If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please call or email the editor. For more information on YMCA programs and services, visit www.ymca-snoco.org.
Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/ymcasnoco
Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/ymcaofsnohomishco
Guided by the plan, our work will center on four strategic impact areas: • Creating community through connections • A Y without walls • Developing human potential • Building together To review the full plan, please visit ymca-snoco.org/about. It’s been a busy six months at your YMCA and the At A Glance section highlights some, but not all, of the good work being done at our family branches. As I write this, the past 30 days have been quite eventful with the purchase of the Colby property for a new Everett YMCA, breaking ground for the new Stanwood-Camano YMCA, and with the close of the legislative session, verification of a $3.2M capital grant request to support both projects. This is an exciting time for the YMCA of Snohomish County. The work we have done gives us much to be proud of and many new opportunities to explore.
BIG SPARKS Congratulations to the 8th grade Sparks Club students at Cedarcrest Middle School in Marysville. Big Brothers Big Sisters successfully completed its pilot Sparks program this spring and both Cedarcrest clubs earned the Lynnwood Rotary Youth Challenge Award, as well as an invitation to attend “We Day” in Seattle. With special thanks to College Spark Washington, Soroptimist International of Everett, and United Way of Snohomish County, Big Brothers Big Sisters is thrilled to launch five Sparks Clubs at North Middle School in Everett and four more at Cedarcrest this fall. Sparks Club is a group mentoring program for middle school students, which focuses on building relationships with peers, building social-emotional skills, bridging the achievement gap, and preparing students for high school. If you or someone you know is interested in being a Sparks Mentor, please contact Suzanne Leavitt at 425 252 2227 or sleavitt@bbbs-snoco.org.
VISIT US AT YMCA-SNOCO.ORG/NEWS FOR MORE DETAILS • • •
YMCA of Snohomish County named a Global Center of Excellence YMCA of Snohomish County to receive $3.2 million in state funding MAP scholarship winners recognized
HELPING
TEENS
HEAL Thanks to a grant from The Loeb Family Charitable Foundation, the Marysville YMCA was able to provide Art with Heart’s Chill & Spill program to Marysville teens who participate in the YMCA’s teen programs, some of who were affected by the Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting this past October. Art with Heart is on a mission to help youth overcome trauma through creative expression. A Seattle-based nonprofit, they create evidence-based, therapeutic books and programs that help children and teens facing distress and hardship. “We believe that despite the many challenges children and teens face – their hearts can mend and they can thrive once again,” said Steffanie Lorig, Founder and Brand & Publishing Director. Chill & Spill helps youth find the words to difficult issues they are faced with, while promoting positive coping and adjustment skills. The eclectic journal effectively combines guided creative writing with artistic expression activities. In short, it’s a place to put it down on paper, and work it out in your heart. While we promised to keep the identities of the participants anonymous, they were willing to share some thoughts about the program. “The best thing I love about Chill & Spill is this: any emotion that I wasn’t able to explain through words, I was able to explain through art. And people would listen, and care, and rejoice. I felt at ease every time I went there. My love for art, and the expression of emotion through any form of art, is immense.” “I wasn’t so sure about Chill & Spill at first (after all, the thought of sitting in a room of strangers, spilling your guts out wasn’t the most appealing thought), but it has fast become my favorite program that I have been a part of. Letting out emotions that I didn’t even know I had through art was one of the most gratifying experiences – and best of all – I didn’t need to be any good at it. The people turned out to be, not strangers, but friends that have long since become my family.” The teens met weekly for 10 weeks. Nicola Davies, a trained Art with Heart volunteer led the sessions. One session focused on Power. What does power mean? What types of power are there? They were asked to close their eyes and think of power. After a few minutes they discussed the images that came to mind. They also looked at various pieces of art and identified and discussed what elements of power they saw in the pages. It was agreed by the group that power has both positive and negative connotations. With music playing in the background, the room grew silent as the teens began to journal about when they feel powerful and powerless and when they suffer from self-doubt. Next they wrote about their inner critic, while doing this with their nondominate hand. There was plenty of laughter as they tried to navigate the paper and pencil wrong-handed. They then had to give a response, writing with their dominate hand, to build themselves back up. The project of the evening focused on found poetry. Each participant was given an assortment of pages from books. Working with only the words from these pages, they were to create a poem and mount it to a decorated piece of balsam wood. Speaking from their hearts, the poems came alive with deep meaning.
UPCOMING
EVENTS
• • • • • •
Marysville YMCA All-In Bike Ride Monroe YMCA Tee Up for Teens BBBS Bowl for Kids Sake Everett YMCA Auction Marysville YMCA Military Kids’ Night Out Marysville YMCA Military Appreciation Night (check website for date, not yet set at time of printing)
Aug. 8 Sept. 18 Sept. 26-27 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 November
AT A GLANCE
YOUR YMCA HARD AT WORK Miracle League baseball played its final game of the season on June 13. The Rotary Club of Monroe formed the Miracle League, a youth baseball team co-sponsored with the Monroe/Sky Valley Family YMCA, for children with special needs. Players have disabilities ranging from mild to profound, physical and developmental. These kids have never had the opportunity to do the exciting things every kid should get to experience. Miracle League offers an opportunity to suit up in a uniform, step up to the plate, and enjoy playing the game of baseball in its purest form.
The Y encourages kids and adults to have fun when in and around the water, but to always make safety their first priority. The Y offers SPLASH (Swim Play Learn Aquatic Safety Habits) Week annually in June to provide the community with a low cost way to learn water safety lessons. This year more than 1,300 youth were served during SPLASH Week.
The weather didn’t let us down as runners of all ages participated in the second annual Mill Creek YMCA Puddle Run on February 1.
Jacob Gloss (second from right in photo) from the Monroe YMCA Youth & Government delegation was elected Attorney General for the 2015-16 school year. He was elected from a state-wide pool of outstanding candidates.
More than 850 people participated in the 16th annual Everett Family YMCA Yankee Doodle Dash on July 4.
DRAGGIN’ DUMBBELLS
FOR A CAUSE
Quinton Morris has been a fixture at the Marysville YMCA for eight years. He started attending simply for something to do. Now he’s there almost every day either volunteering or working out. Staying strong is important because Quinton is in a wheelchair; born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects movement and muscle coordination. In support of this year’s Annual Campaign, Quinton trained for his inaugural Draggin’ Dumbbells event to raise money for adaptive programs. The Y offers adaptive programs to people with special needs for a nominal fee; they do not have to be a YMCA facility member. The money raised will help provide scholarships in support of these programs. Dragging a box that alone weighs 15 pounds, it was filled with 10 pounds of dumbbells. The box has its own story. A long-time Y member and Scott Ballenger, the Marysville YMCA adaptive trainer, grabbed an old pallet out of the dumpster. The member then built the box, fashioned it with carpet so it doesn’t scratch the floor, and added chains to attach to Quinton’s wheelchair. “Dragging a box is a typical training technique used by para-Olympic athletes,” said Ballenger. Quinton completed 21 laps and raised $3,300 in support of the Annual Campaign. “Quinton is impacting lives because his life is being transformed from a Y Story to a Y Campaigner,” said JJ Frank, Executive Director, Marysville Family YMCA. “Physical challenges cannot stop this man from making a push for our Y.” Each year the YMCA of Snohomish County conducts its Annual Campaign to raise funds critical to the development of children, teens, and families throughout its five branch operations, Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliate office, and Stanwood-Camano outreach initiative. Quinton’s fundraising contributed to the $1,356,321 total raised by the Association, the most ever raised in the history of the annual campaign.
PROVIDING SAFE PLACES FOR YOUTH
The YMCA of Snohomish County is supporting the Cocoon House Safe Place program, designed to facilitate access to supportive resources for young people in crisis. All five YMCA of Snohomish County family branches, with locations in Everett, Marysville, Monroe, Mill Creek, and Mukilteo will display the Safe Place signs. How It Works: • When a youth sees the Safe Place sign at a YMCA branch he or she will know it’s a safe place to go and ask for help. • YMCA staff will connect teens seeking help with Cocoon House staff who are available 24 hours a day. • Cocoon House staff are specially trained to provide assistance to youth in crisis, whether that means getting them home safely, giving them access to housing, or connecting them with other needed services. • Immediate access to those resources is critical for any youth in a crisis situation, and Cocoon House is well-equipped to provide assistance and advocacy to troubled youth. For more information about the program visit Cocoonhouse.org.
NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID SEATTLE, WA PERMIT NO. 134
YMCA OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY 2720 Rockefeller Ave. P. O. Box 419 Everett, WA 98206-9923
During the summer, the Marysville Y offers two camp programs at local military neighborhoods at Carroll’s Creek and Constitution Park. Twice a week the Y provides activities, games, and crafts.
YMCA ELECTS OFFICERS/BOARD MEMBERS On June 10, the YMCA of Snohomish County Trustee Board elected new officers for 2015-2016. The Trustee Board oversees the operations and strategic planning of the entire Association.
Scott Forslund
Chair, Scott Forslund, Providence Institute for a Healthier Community; Vice Chair, Matt Reinhard, Rhino Ventures, LLC; Vice Chair, Dr. Gary Cohn, Everett Public Schools; Secretary, Brenda Baltrusch, Wells Fargo; Treasurer, Brian Evans, Madrona Financial Services, LLC; Vice Treasurer, Monti Ackerman, Fluke Corporation; Past Chair, Leslie Lauer, The Boeing Company.
Returning members include Tracy Cumming, Precor Inc.; Judge Eric Lucas, Snohomish County Superior Court; Dawn Ollar, Key Bank; Monti Ackerman, Fluke Corporation; and Paul Pitre, Washington State University; and Dr. Gary Cohn, Everett Public Schools who is currently on a leave of absence The YMCA of Snohomish County welcomes new Trustees Dr. Jeff Bissey, The Everett Clinic; Val Henning, Cintas Corporation; and Christian Page, Trinity Lutheran College. For a complete list of the YMCA of Snohomish County Board of Trustees visit ymca-snoco.org/about.
The next Military Kid’s Night Out is October 17 and offers military children ages 3-12 the opportunity to visit the Marysville YMCA, have dinner, play games, create art, swim, and watch a movie with their peers all while their parents have four hours of kid-free time! November is Military Family appreciation month and the Marysville Y will again host its annual military family appreciation event. This event includes dinner, games, prizes and more. Details about the upcoming date will be posted on our website in September. Please contact Allison Hoot at 360 651 1607 if you have questions regarding these military family programs or visit us at ymca-snoco.org/marysville for more information.
MY Y
STORY
Has the YMCA had a positive impact on your life? Would you like to share your story to inspire others? We’d love to hear from you. Email info@ymca-snoco.org.