Local Voices
West Cook Y Launches 2014 Annual Campaign to Support Community Needs
The West Cook Y launched its Annual Campaign on March 1st to ensure that everyone in 10 communities it serves in the West Cook area has access to vital community programs and resources that support youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
Every day, the West Cook Y works to support the people and neighborhoods that need it most by addressing community issues, such as school readiness, chronic diseases and childhood obesity.
“Throughout the 10 communities we serve, countless people know the Y. But there’s so much more to our Y than one might think,” said Martha Rolf, Interim CEO/President, West Cook Y. “The Y is more than a gym. It’s a cause. As a charity, we’re dedicated to nurturing the potential of every child and teen, improving the nation’s health and well-being, and giving back and providing support to our neighbors.”
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This year, the West Cook Y needs to raise $100,000. Funds raised will support afterschool care, summer camp students, and scholarships for memberships so everyone can participate at the Y, regardless of their ability to pay.
Last year, charitable gifts from YMCA donors made it possible for over 900 families to have access to the Y, afterschool care, a safe place after school to be with friends, community and encouragement on paths to a goal, and so much more.
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To learn more about how you can support the Y’s cause, please contact Lillian M. Shaker, Financial Development Assistant at 708-434-0213 or lshaker@westcookymca.org, or visit westcookymca.org/main/donatedaxko/ for more information.
About the West Cook YMCA
The West Cook YMCA, located at 255 South Marion Street, Oak Park, was founded in 1903.
Annually, the West Cook YMCA serves more than 10,000 youth, families, seniors, and single adults of Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Bellwood, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Maywood, Melrose Park, River Grove and Stone Park with more than 100 weekly programs and classes focused on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
In recent years, the West Cook YMCA has been cited by the YMCA of the USA as a Global Center of Excellence, having built relationships with Ys in Kosovo and Japan and as a Diversity and Inclusion Y. It also assisted Oak Park earn national recognition from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the YMCA of the USA as a Pioneering Healthy Community.
