The La Porte County Family YMCA is thrilled to announce the kick-off of its annual fundraising campaign. They held a dinner party at the Waterford Inn to celebrate the occasion on Wednesday, May 22.
Brooke Christ, member of the La Porte County YMCA board of directors and development committee, describes what purpose this annual campaign serves in the community.
“The annual campaign helps support scholarships and programming for the children,” Christ said. “It allows us to keep up with the facilities to make the YMCA a better place and offer more to our members.”
For a few years, this campaign has been untraditional due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This marks the first time in a while that they are kicking off this campaign as they once did.
“We’re already building great momentum,” said Jessica Durham, Director of Association Advancement for the La Porte County Family YMCA. “Even though this is the official kickoff, we've been campaigning in the background since the beginning of the year. We're going to start engaging the public and our members more as well.”
Jenni Alexander, community engagement coordinator for the La Porte County YMCA, is one person who has made this effort to engage the community with the campaign.
“It’s great because we live in one of the best communities,” Alexander said. “I've lived here most of my life and all of our local businesses are motivated to be community partners that want to give back. Many of them had some connection with the YMCA growing up. It’s a pillar of the community and it’s important for us to know how we can assist them.”
Scott Helmkamp, who became CEO of the La Porte County Family YMCA in February, is entering his first campaign in this position. He details how this process took a team effort to come to fruition.
“I've been here for 90 days, so I've been doing a lot of listening and talking with those in the community,” Helmkamp said. “The next thing is for us to come out with our strategic plan. I just asked everyone to share this excitement with me as we look forward to what’s to come.”
Although the campaign has yet to go public, the La Porte County Family YMCA has already seen progress in the funds raised this year.
“Right now, we’re in the launching phase of our campaign,” Helmkamp said. “Before even going public, we’re at $42,000 raised with a goal of $133,000. We raise these funds for our financial aid program and to help reduce some fees,” Helmkamp said. “We try to make the YMCA a little bit more affordable so we can expand our mission, which is to be for all. It's part of our mission to be known not as a community center, but as a center of community.”
While the campaign was more than 30% of the ultimate goal coming into this event, a pleasant surprise closed out the event. Courtesy of Deserving Children’s Roof Sit Inc., the campaign left the event $10,000 closer to its goal.
Jessica Romine, chief volunteer officer for the La Porte County Family YMCA, is confident and excited about how this campaign brightens the livelihood of several local families.
“It leaves a great impact on the community and allows us to reach a greater percentage of the population,” Romine said. “We’re focused on meeting new people and understanding their needs to get them the skills, mental health, and support. It’s a great time to be a part of the La Porte or Michigan City communities and it’s only going to continue getting better from here.”
Opportunities to raise funds for a greater cause are best served with helping hands. Brian Larson, President of Larson-Danielson and board member of the La Porte County Family YMCA, shares how his company has a long history of working to support this campaign.
“As a construction company, we are constructing the buildings of the community,” Larson said. “In a related way, we see that synergy and that coordination of building communities within the YMCA. It fits with our mission of helping our communities and addressing key problems. As Larson Danielson, we support the YMCA because we see the potential in the good it does for the community.”
Along with the organizations that helped support the campaign, this event wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of some other partners. This includes Edward Jones, Meridian Title Corporation, Parkinson & Health, Duneland Media, and Northwest Health.
For more information on the La Porte County Family YMCA, you can visit their website.