Support the Y

Dear Editor:The article written by Britawna Craft, featured in the Student Life section of the Feb. 20 issue of the Patriot, was very well-written. In fact, all three of the articles in the section were very well done and those students should be commended for their work. There was one fact, however, that was omitted from her article about the Youth in Government program. That, the sponsor of this worthwhile project is the YMCA, and in this case, the Downey Family YMCA. All 2,400 students were able to attend because of their local YMCA. The 19 delegates that were a part of this delegation were from the cities of Downey and South Gate, and they were able to attend because of Christine De la Torre, Mary DeWitt (both board members of the Downey YMCA) and Jean Fiddler - unpaid volunteers - along with Cecelia Butler, who is a member of the Downey YMCA staff. This program is just one of many programs that our Downey YMCA is able to offer to our local youth as part of the Current Support Campaign now underway at the YMCA. Corporate grants, individual donations, business and service club donations are what provide the resources for so many youth programs at our Downey YMCA. Yes, there is some cost involved by the participants in the various programs, but it does not cover all the costs of the program. Even camping, long a well-known program for kids to look to and participate in, is subsidized in part by our donations. Please remember that the YMCA needs your help now, and that even in these tough economic times, the need of our youth is even greater now than before. Downey and the surrounding communities have come through in the past, and we, the Downey Family YMCA, now need all the financial help we can get to continue these programs. Your donations do not go towards the P.E. programs at the Y, but are restricted to youth programs only. - Bill Hare, Member, Downey Family YMCA, Board of Managers ********** Published: February 27, 2009 - Volume 7 - Issue 45