THANKS-FOR-GIVING

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. With the fall season and the start of this holiday time, many of us get caught up in all the hustle and bustle that follows the holidays.  Instead of immediately feeling overwhelmed before we’ve even begun, could it be that this season of thanks prepares us for a season of giving? When we are truly thankful, it is natural and easy to give to others. And in giving, we receive more.

So what does all of this have to do with the Y? Reflect a minute on that first Thanksgiving. The Early Americans had just come through a very tough year. Many were lost to poor health and disease; husbands, wives, sons and daughters. The food choices in this country were different – many crops did not produce due to a different environment.  There were people here inhabiting the new world they had found.  It took humility, strength, perseverance, a change in thinking and behavior, and dependence on God, to arrive at that first Thanksgiving.

So when the time to celebrate arrived, there was so much to be thankful for: healthy children and families, good food, new friendships and gratitude to God. This is exactly what we celebrate at the Y.  A balanced life in spirit, mind and body. A newly-formed community and family.  That first Thanksgiving resembled small communities in our Ys today.  Everyone gathered in one place enjoying a meal, watching children play together while stories were told and memories were made. And they gave thanks. Their hearts were filled with gratitude and they gave to one another.

We are thankful for the tangible and intangible gifts that our community provides to support friends and neighbors. Our gratitude for your contributions inspires us to continue to provide a place where everyone is welcome, regardless of whether they can afford it or not.  If your gratitude moves you to giving to the Y this season, here are some benefits from your generosity:

• THANKS-FOR-GIVING to an 8 year old, who no longer has to go home to an empty house thanks to the Y’s After School Care program;
• THANKS-FOR-GIVING to a widowed senior, who won’t be alone for the holidays thanks to his YMCA family;
• THANKS-FOR-GIVING to the cancer-survivor who can rebuild health with support through our LiveSTRONG at the YMCA program;
• THANKS-FOR-GIVING to a teen who can rely on healthy role models that teach responsibility and leadership at the Y.  

God bless you and THANKS-FOR-GIVING to strengthen our community!