Wilton Family Y–So Much More Than a Gym

More than a gym, more than a place to swim or play paddle tennis, the Wilton Family Y is a community institution that gives just as much as it gets. Because of the significant role it plays as one of the hearts of the town, as well as because of its generosity in making its programs available to many who are needy, we wanted to feature the Wilton Family Y as one of GOOD Morning Wilton‘s “Season of Giving” subjects.

The Wilton Y is currently running it’s Annual Appeal.

“The annual campaign is our way of raising funds for the Wilton Y outreach programs. Those include the subsidized programs, like the Diabetes Prevention program, Childhood Obesity Prevention program, our Cancer Survivor program, Senior Wellness programs, assistance for families that have children with special needs (including providing for aides for summer camp) as well as for the approximately $200,000 that we award each year for financial assistance for families in need who can’t afford to pay the regular rates. Our mission is to be open to everyone regardless of financial ability or any special needs that people have,” explained Karen Strickland, the Y’s development director.

While the Y is a membership organization, they make every effort to keep rates as low as they can and offer scholarships when possible, Strickland said.

“We try to keep our membership rates affordable, particularly our youth rates, and some of our youth programs are subsidized so that they are accessible to everybody.”

The Annual Campaign is the organizations “biggie” when it comes to fundraising, although there are other special events during the year, including the Caring for Kids Annual Golf Outing, which Strickland said usually raises about $40,000 toward the outreach program. There’s also the Community Celebration, usually held in October or November. At that event, the Y bestows their “Distinguished Citizen” awards, and usually nets about $60,000.

The goal for the annual appeal, which is just straight donations, is to raise about $200,000. Through the combination of the three major efforts, the Y raises somewhere in the vicinity of $300,000 in contributed (or non-fee) income during the year. “All of that goes into the Y’s fund for community service, and we use those funds to award the scholarships and provide the services and programs that are free or subsidized,” Strickland said.

The Y really is a community institution, and it’s so vital for what Wilton does. For instance, when Wilton was socked by the extreme weather scenarios and power outages of the last couple years, the Y opened its doors to the entire community to offer warmth, showers and shelter. It’s a Wilton mainstay, and it’s wonderful when the community offers its support back to the Y to reflect that important place it has as a Wilton institution.

Strickland said the community recognizes that. “I will say that while we do get a lot of support from the people who are members, there is also a great deal of charitable giving from people in the community who aren’t members. So it’s very rewarding to see that people recognize that the Y is such an important institution in town. Speaking of storm relief, from when I first started working at the Y in 1988, that was always the policy, that whenever there was a power outage or flooding or whatever, the Y was always open to the community. It’s something we’ve always done. We did get a lot of response and generosity from people who did come here last year to get showers or water, who really didn’t have any other connection to the Y. People are very generous when it comes to giving back, when we are providing such a needed service.”

It’s very easy to donate by going to the Wilton Y website. There’s a button on the website to “donate now” and the process is easy. According to Strickland, “People also should have gotten something in the mail that summarized where the money goes, and they can use the envelope that was sent with that mailing, to mail it in or drop it off directly. But really the easiest thing to do is go online and donate through the website. They can certainly contact me if they have any questions.”

Strickland reminded people to check if their employer has a matching gift program. “That’s a great way to double your donation, if you can take advantage of that.”

“We appreciate people’s generosity. We couldn’t do as much as we do without that support. It’s very critical to our operation each year, because we do give out quite a bit of the money each year. It has to be replenished so we can remain open to everyone.”