CEO: North Suburban Y helps residents become 'healther, more connected and confident'
Editor's note: As Giving Tuesday approaches next week, there's something you should know: There's never been a better year for charitable donations. The CARES Act - the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery and Economic Security Act - passed by Congress in March gives additional tax incentives to donors, according to schwabcharitable.org. Because of that, and also because this traditionally is the time nonprofit organizations are working hard on year-end giving campaigns, we've profiled three organizations that serve the Glenview and Northbrook area: Family Service Center, Jewish United Fund, and the North Suburban YMCA. You can learn about what they do and where your donations go, as well as what their needs are and how they - and other nonprofits - have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
An interview with CEO Kathy Fielding of the North Suburban YMCA. For information, visit NSYMCA.org.
Q. Give me a snapshot of the North Suburban YMCA: What do people need to know about it? A quick history, what it does, who does it serve, and why it's important to the community.
A. The North Suburban YMCA services Northbrook, Glenview and 13 surrounding communities with programs and tools that help its residents become healthier, more connected, and confident, ensuring that everyone, regardless of age, income, or background, has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.
The Y promotes values that build strong families and the health of each individual's spirit, mind, and body in an inclusive, welcoming environment. We're so much more than a gym - the NSYMCA changes lives and works to better everyone in the community filling in the need gaps and partnering with dozens of nonprofit agencies to share resources.
This holiday season for example, the Y is partnering with the Hunger Resource Network to collect food items and restaurant gift cards for 160 local students and their families. The food drive is aimed at making the holidays more impactful for local families while supporting local businesses and restaurants during the pandemic. We also partner with the Hunger Resource Network to collect food for the Northfield Food Pantry and use our vans to transport seniors to the food pantries.
The Y's Focus: The YMCA is a community-based organization with three primary focus areas: Youth Development, Healthy Living, & Social Responsibility.
Charity: We believe that the Y's programs and services should be available to everyone. Our scholarship program ensures that no one is turned away due to the inability to pay. We're a 501c3 nonprofit charity. Scholarships, free programs, outreach and transportation services are all funded through community support and grants.
Q. Of all the things the Y does, where does most of your effort go?
Most of the Y's effort goes to serving the community for the greater good, anticipating needs before they arise, and creating new programs and services for those that need it most. Some of our most popular initiatives are our large offering of adult and senior programs through our Adult Education Series; a swim safety program for children to help prevent drowning called "2 Seconds 2 Long"; and providing the special needs community with peer workout buddies, yoga, exercise connection, and a Special Olympics Swim Team.
Sharing resources with other nonprofits is high on our list. When other organizations need our help, we respond with social responsibility collections and creating partnerships with partners like the Hunger Free Northbrook. We're also helping our local artist community who have been hit hard during the pandemic by hosting a holiday pop-up virtual art sale for over 30 artists.
Q. One thing that is really interesting to me, from the outside at least, is I would've assumed the pandemic would've affected your ability to offer programs, because most people think of the Y as a place to work out. But you still have had a pretty full slate of other kinds of programming, including a day camp that I believe had zero cases of coronavirus. So it seems like you're meeting the challenge pretty well. Would you agree? How has that been? How have you been able to do that?
A. As a national organization, the Y has always had an amazing ability to pivot, and we saw the strength of the Y's versatility during the shutdown. We never really stopped doing what we do best: we served the community with food, electronics, and blood drives; we ran free virtual fitness programs to keep people healthy in mind and body; we conducted well-being checks on members and the community; and we partnered with Covenant village and other senior centers to brighten someone's day with inspiring notes and video visits.
The shutdown gave us time to change the way we operate, ensuring we could open safely. Our staff went through a rigorous safety training program prior to reopening, and we worked hard to make sure kids could have a little bit of "normal" at summer camp, and we created a "Remote Learning" program so parents have a safe place to drop their kids off if they are unable to have them learn from home.
These times have been some of the most challenging in our existence - our cleaning supplies, staff, air filters, and building maintenance cost a lot of money, but we're committed to holding to our high standards and keeping the Y as the safe community center that we have always been. We work with YUSA and IDPH to ensure that we're following guidelines, and we have a dedicated team that is committed to finding creative ways to safely move forward.
Q. With so many people donating to coronavirus-related charities and also record unemployment due to the pandemic, are your donations down this year? If so, how does that affect your organization and its programs?
A. We've experienced the same issues that all nonprofits have - overall donations are down this year. However, our generous community members have stepped up to donate what they can because they believe in the life-changing programs that the Y offers. Plus, we've discovered that more community members are donating at lesser amounts. Many people think that donations need to be thousands of dollars, but the reality is that every dollar helps. When donations are down, it's a challenge to run all of our programs and continue to give financial aid. As part of our mission, we provide scholarships and other programs that don't break even, but we're working on fundraising to sustain our Y through this pandemic and beyond.
Q. Let's say I donate $100 to the Y on Giving Tuesday. Where will that money go?
A. Your donation will go directly to operations and scholarships. The operations cover our increased cleaning and sanitation, as well as the programs that we offer for free or at a discounted rate. Special services programs, Adult Education and support groups, and swim safety education are all programs that benefit from the operations of the Y. As you can imagine, there's a greater need for scholarships now more than ever, and any donation helps make it possible. A Giving Tuesday gift will ensure our Y will continue to be here for all our community members in need for generations to come.
Q. What is your greatest need?
A. For us, anything anyone can do to give back is helpful. A donation, a matching gift from an employer, becoming a member, or keeping a membership are all ways that the Y can continue to serve the community.
Q. I can't afford to give cash. Do you have volunteer opportunities?
A. We LOVE our Y volunteers! COVID has made the volunteer pool smaller, but we're currently working with high schools to utilize students to help out with the needs of our seniors and other vulnerable populations.
Q. What are your concerns about your annual giving campaign this year?
A. The decline in donors and restrictions on programs have caused decreased revenues. But we welcome any gift. We understand people are unemployed and worried about the state of their finances, which influences what they are able to give. For those who are in a position to give a larger gift, it will not go unnoticed. We truly need our community more than ever right now.
- Melinda Shamie