Partners with Youth calls help YMCA provide services for every child

McCOOK, Neb. — On the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 21, the phones around McCook and Southwest Nebraska will be ringing – ringing for a good cause.

Dozens of volunteers from the YMCA will be making phone calls on behalf of the annual “Partners with Youth” fund-drive. The Partners with Youth program provides financial aid to help cover the costs for kids to play youth sports, as well as help with membership fees for families and adults.

And it is Partners with Youth which really sets the YMCA apart from many other organizations, including for-profit businesses.

“We go out and raise funds for Partners with Youth, so that everyone can have a membership at the Y, so that every child who wants to participate in a youth sport can play,” said YMCA Executive Director Mike Gonzales.

He added, “No one at the Y is turned away because of financial hardship.”

The name of the program, Partners with Youth, can be misleading because while the program does benefit local youth, it also helps adults and entire families.

For example, Walter Chism has been a beneficiary of Partners with Youth for several years.

Thanks to the financial assistance made possible because of Partners with Youth, his three boys are able to participate in the YMCA’s youth activities. His youngest son is now old enough to play youth sports and is looking forward to his first soccer season.

His boys have also played flag football and basketball through the years, thanks to reduced rates for youth sports.

“I wouldn’t be able to afford these activities without the financial assistance from the Y,” Walter said, noting that he does not take any welfare or child support for his three boys. “I appreciate all the help from the Y and cannot thank the Y and Mr. Mayor (Mike Gonzales) enough for everything the Y does for my family.”

While Walter admits that he should be using the exercise equipment at the Y more himself, another YMCA member Wayne Hager is on the other end of the spectrum.

Wayne gets his money’s worth from his adult membership, arriving at the YMCA nearly every morning for the past decade for at least an hour.

Because of health issues, Wayne’s income is limited, so his adult membership is supplemented with funding from Partners with Youth. But he values the YMCA and the time he gets to spend there, admitting that he visits the Y both for the exercise and for the socialization.

Wayne likes to walk around the indoor track and will hop on the treadmill for a mile or two, but he also likes to visit with fellow YMCA members. “My jaw gets a workout by the time I leave,” Wayne said.

The reasons people visit the YMCA are as varied as the people themselves. Some are there because they are training for an event. Others may be trying to lose a few pounds. And for some, their trip to the Y may be their only outing of the day.

Regardless of the reason, no one is turned away for financial reasons, thanks to the YMCA’s Partners with Youth program.