VENTURA COUNTY — The Southeast Ventura County YMCA has kicked off its annual fundraising campaign with a goal of collecting $630,000 between now and March 12. Funds raised during the campaign provide financial assistance to low-income individuals and families who cannot afford YMCA programs and resources. The Y hopes to offer financial assistance to 20 percent more individuals and families this year.
A portion of the funds will also go to two of the Y’s signature programs: Safety Around Water (SAW), designed to teach children water safety and basic swimming skills and Find My Genius, a five-week summer achievement gap program for low- and moderate-income students who are not reading at grade level. Both programs are provided at no cost to participants.
“The Y is committed to teaching children vital water safety skills and to reducing the achievement gap in our community,” says Ronnie Stone, Southeast Ventura County YMCA CEO. “Our once-a-year fundraising campaign makes a tangible impact on thousands of kids, adults and families throughout our community who participate in our fitness, enrichment and academic programs, camps and sports leagues.”
The three Southeast Ventura County YMCA branches are Yarrow Family YMCA (serving Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Oak Park) Conejo Valley YMCA (serving Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Moorpark and the Santa Rosa Valley) and Simi Valley Family YMCA (serving Simi Valley).
For the second year, the Valentine Foundation announced it would match the first $250,000 in donations.
As part of the community since 1964, the YMCA is a nonprofit charitable organization. Its mission is to build relationships, impact lives and strengthen the community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The three YMCA branches served over 20,500 residents last year including more than 7,000 who were able to participate because of money raised during the annual support campaign.
YMCA volunteers are contacting individuals, businesses and foundations to request donations. Donations go to the Southeast Ventura County YMCA or can be designated to a specific YMCA branch.
To contribute, contact the YMCA corporate office at 805-497-3081 or visit http://www.sevymca.org to make a donation online.