The Southeast Ventura County YMCA kicked off its annual fundraising campaign with a goal of collecting $466,300 between now and March 14. Funds raised during the campaign provide financial assistance to low-income individuals and families who cannot afford the full program rate.
Last year, the SEVC YMCA distributed nearly $400,000 in scholarships.
A portion of the funds will also go to two of the Y's signature programs: Safety Around Water (SAW), designed to teach children water safety and basic swimming skills and Find My Genius, a five-week summer achievement gap program for low- and moderate-income students who are not reading at grade level. Both programs are provided at no cost to participants.
The three Southeast Ventura County YMCA branches are Yarrow Family YMCA (serving Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Oak Park) Conejo Valley YMCA (serving Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Moorpark and the Santa Rosa Valley) and Simi Valley Family YMCA (serving Simi Valley).
"This is such an important effort each year," says Ronnie Stone, Southeast Ventura County YMCA CEO. "The money raised helps us serve everyone who wants to take part in the YMCA experience—swim lessons, academic enrichment program, camps and more."
The Valentine Foundation announced it would match the first $250,000 in donations. Bruce and Becky Valentine were active in the YMCA when they lived in Redding. Becky continued to support the YMCA when she moved to Thousand Oaks after being widowed. She passed away in 2017 at age 102.
A part of the community since 1964, the YMCA is a nonprofit charitable organization. It served over 25,000 local residents last year including over 7,000 who were able to participate because of money raised during this fund drive.
Nearly 200 YMCA volunteers are contacting individuals, businesses and foundations during the campaign to request donations. All funds raised are distributed to local branches. Donations can be designated to a specific YMCA branch.
To contribute, contact the YMCA corporate office at 805-497-3081 or visit http://www.sevymca.org to make a donation online.
The Southeast Ventura County YMCA kicked off its annual fundraising campaign with a goal of collecting $466,300 between now and March 14. Funds raised during the campaign provide financial assistance to low-income individuals and families who cannot afford the full program rate. Last year, the SEVC YMCA distributed nearly $400,000 in scholarships.