The 2019 Annual Campaign is upon us and this year the Moultrie YMCA is raising $175,000 for the children, teens, seniors and families that rely on the Y for Fitness, Family and Fun for All. We need your help to ensure that we reach that goal and are able to make a difference in our community in 2019. If you already give to the Y, consider increasing your gift. Even the smallest increase can make a huge difference. If you have never given to the Y campaign, make this the year! Let’s work together to ensure the Moultrie YMCA continues the great work they are doing in our community.

This past December, the Y held its Annual Patrons Dinner and Rich Gallagher, Moultrie YMCA President and CEO, shared a starfish story. The story goes:

One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?”

The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

The man laughed to himself and said, “Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said … “I made a difference to that one.”

You can be a star fish thrower. It only takes one person to make a lasting difference in someone’s life. Just imagine what YOUR gift could do for a child in our community. An investment of $50 would allow a child to play a season of soccer and learn life skills that may help them reach their full potential. $100 would allow a child to attend PRIMETIME Afterschool for an entire month—keeping them off the streets and out of trouble. A gift of $500 would provide as many as 15 children with lifesaving swim lessons. Your gift may make a difference that you are never even aware of. For one family, our Annual Campaign has made a lasting impact on four young children and their mother.

Isabel Nunez, a single mother of four children who works at CA Gray Junior High School, moved back to Moultrie to be near family after her husband passed away. Isabel’s children, Christian (10), Aiden (9), Ethan (6) and Isabella (3), needed to stay active, make friends and be encouraged. What better place than the Moultrie YMCA? The boys have loved playing soccer for the Y. All four Nunez children have played basketball and enjoy swimming in the pool. The youngest Nunez, Isabella, loves gymnastics. Isabel enjoys the occasional work out in our Wellness Center and appreciates that she can trust our Child Watch staff with her children while she takes some much-needed time for herself.

“I’m so grateful for the scholarship program the Y offers,” said Isabel, “without it my children wouldn’t know what it’s like to accomplish a new sports skill, make new friends on the court or on the field or even win a championship. The experiences they have had because of this scholarship are priceless and the opportunity to have them involved really means so much to me.”

The need for assistance has grown dramatically over the years and now more than ever we need the support of our community, members and friends to lend a hand to help others. We need more starfish throwers. Without you, we simply cannot do what we do. Your gift makes a difference. YOU make a difference. Give today, because there is a Y is every familY.

Sincerely,

Jim Lowry

2019 Annual Campaign Chairman