YMCA helps to build ‘strong kids’

Remember a time when kids could just be kids? Not many do. Finally, there is a way to promote childhood in the neighborhood in which you live: the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign.
The YMCA Strong Kids Campaign seeks donations from individuals, corporations and foundations to be able to continue to provide access to YMCA programming to children, teens and families who would otherwise be unable to pay. This opportunity to support childhood in your neighborhood will allow children from the Jamaica area the time and place to escape their adult responsibilities and just “be a kid.”
“Strong Kids promotes the one thing missing in our children’s lives—an active and healthy childhood,” said Chris Woods, of The Dermott Group, this year’s Strong Kids Campaign Chair. “For many kids, it’s a chance of a lifetime just to go to camp in the summer or play on a soccer team that puts teamwork and friendship ahead of winning.”
Marcia Gay Harden, Academy Award-winning actor and YMCA mom, joins the YMCA again this year as celebrity spokesperson, as part of a commitment to serving kids through the YMCA.
Through the Jamaica YMCA’s 2007 Strong Kids Campaign, over 1000 people in the Jamaica area will be able to participate in Y programs that build strong kids, strong families and strong communities.
The Strong Kids Scholarship Program provides families in need with financial support to participate in membership and program activities at the Jamaica Y.
YMCA members and community volunteers hope to raise more than this year’s goal of $89,000 to provide membership assistance and scholarships to programs like summer camp, child care and teen activities, so that no one is turned away due to an inability to pay.