2012 ASYMCA Annual Report Now Available!
Click here to see our 2012 Annual Report
Army Times: ASYMCA One of a “Dozen Doing Good” Nationwide
Army Times | May 6, 2013
Click Here to see the 5/06/13 Issue of the Army Times which includes the Armed Services YMCA as one of a ” Dozen Doing Good.”
The Power of Print: $1.5 Million Dollars Raised for Troops
The Huffington Post | April 22, 2013
Total Amount Raised to Date by Woman’s Day Readers Since 2004:
$1,585,979.68
Including Over 9,000 Individual Donors
Those that say that print is dead obviously have not seen the impact of Woman’s Day’s Operation Holiday Joy program.
On behalf of the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) National Board of Directors, the staff and most importantly the young men and women who serve our country and their families, I extend sincere thanks to Woman’s Day and its readership for supporting Operation Holiday Joy. Woman’s Day readership has contributed over $1.5 million dollars to Operation Holiday Joy in just 9 years. In addition, to maximize the number of families served, the ASYMCA donates all the staff time and overhead associated with running Operation Holiday Joy. The generosity and unwavering support shown from Woman’s Day readership has allowed the ASYMCA to purchase and distribute over 1600 pallets of toys (over 320,000 toys) as well as deliver over 25,000 baskets of food at Thanksgiving and Christmas to junior enlisted families in need.
These young heroes and their families are voluntarily serving and sacrificing daily so we can continue to enjoy our freedoms and way of life. The generosity shown from Woman’s Day readership demonstrates an appreciation for the sacrifices required of these dedicated defenders of our country.
From all of us here at the Armed Services YMCA, thank you for helping make military life easier.
To see thank you notes from military families impacted by this great program, please pick up the May 2013 issue of Woman’s Day Magazine.
Follow Mike Landers on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asymca
Over 100,000 Military Children Impacted by the YMCA DoD Initiative with the Armed Services YMCA
Do you know that over 1,481 YMCAs participate in the YMCA Department of Defense Initiative Program?
The Armed Services YMCA makes military life easier, and has partnered with YMCA’s nationwide along with the Department of Defense to offer youth development, healthy living and social responsibility to military families. Over 100,000 military children have been impacted by this opportunity since 2008. Active-duty, Guard, Reserve and their families can see if they are eligible for the free program by here.
- Fun Fact- The Armed Services YMCA also partners with 300 Y’s for the Navy Special Warfare Recruit Fitness Training Program!
Armed Services YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day® on April 20 Aims to Help Military Kids Exercise Minds and Bodies
San Diego| Scoop San Diego | April 18, 2013
On Saturday, April 20, the Armed Services YMCA San Diego (ASYMCA) is celebrating YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day® with a free community event that encourages military kids in San Diego to get moving and learning, and families living healthier. Healthy Kids Day, the Y’s national initiative to improve families’ health and well-being, takes place at 1,900 Ys and kick-starts healthier behaviors now and throughout the summer, a critical out-of-school time for children’s health.
Military children face many unique challenges such as relocations and the prolonged and frequent deployments of a parent. In addition, many U.S. children do not get the daily recommended hours of physical activity and reading, and daily amounts of healthy foods. According to the latest findings of the YMCA’s Family Health Snapshot – a survey of parents that gauges their children’s activity levels during the school year – only 19 percent of children get 60 minutes of physical activity, only 17 percent read books for fun, and only 12 percent eat at least eight fruits and vegetables daily.
“At the Armed Services YMCA San Diego, we understand that military parents have enough to worry about. We don’t think that keeping their kids physically and intellectually active every day should be one of them. We want to help ensure fewer kids are at risk of childhood obesity and more kids excel in school,” said Paul Steffens, Executive Director. “We are so excited to partner with the YMCA for this national initiative and specifically gear our ASYMCA’s Healthy Kids Day to military families. This event will get kids moving and learning while also helping families get a jump on creating a healthier summer, and ultimately a healthier future.”
ASYMCA’s Healthy Kids Day takes place at the Santo Baseball Field from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. This event will feature fun, active play and educational activities. Families will get active with an obstacle course, mini-ball games, bounce houses, and tug-o-war. Healthy snacks like trail mix and fruit pizza will provide refreshment, while resource tables and activity booths like the Rad Hatter’s silly hat making booth will provide a place to relax. Gym Ventures will also be leading gymnastic-style exercises, while Heartlight will be coordinating fitness dance routines and jump rope fun.
ASYCMA’s Healthy Kids Day is supported by Coleman University and San Diego Uptown Rotary. ASY is proud to host representatives from Cabot Creamery, Feeding America San Diego, Chicano Federation, and Sunflower Family Child Care, who will provide a variety of healthy snacks and awareness materials for attendees.
YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day is supported by national media partners Sprout and Lazy Town, who are committed to encouraging kids to lead a healthy lifestyle. Representatives from the Downtown YMCA, Mission Valley YMCA, and Borderview YMCA will join the Armed Services YMCA at Saturday’s event. The YMCA of San Diego County will be celebrating Healthy Kids Day the following Saturday, April 27th—allowing military families the chance to participate in two weekends of fun.
For more information, contact Cat Quirk at 858-751-5755 or visit MilitaryYMCA.org.
Dance strengthens bond between fathers, daughters
Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group | April 14, 2013
Capt. Derek Foster, commander, Company A, 704th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, dances with his daughters, Ruby, 12, left, and Gracie, 9, during the seventh annual Military Father Daughter Dance at the Crowne Plaza Colorado Springs hotel, Saturday.
Story and photo by Cpl. William Smith
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
Fathers held their daughters and twirled them around the dance floor, the young women dressed in gorgeous gowns, their eyes full of admiration for those who held them as they danced to “My Girl.”
The Armed Services YMCA hosted the seventh annual Military Father Daughter Dance at the Crowne Plaza Colorado Springs hotel for dads and daughters to strengthen bonds, April 13.
“The Father Daughter Dance is all about (dads) connecting with their daughters,” said E.D. Rucker, military outreach coordinator, Armed
Services YMCA. “The Armed Services (YMCA) mission is to enhance the life of the active-duty members and their Family. The dance is about them bonding; it is about the dad and the daughter having that time together.”
Fathers were raving about the opportunity to dance the night away with their daughters.
“Last year we were not able to come (to the event) because I was in Afghanistan,” said Capt. Derek Foster, commander, Company A, 704th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
“With my many deployments, just being home is great, but being able to come to the dance with my daughters is just amazing,” Foster said.
For some of the attendees the dance was the first chance to create memories.
“The bond and the memories that my daughter and I are creating are amazing,” said Sgt. James Spaulding, health care specialist, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div., as he held his daughter, Alyssa, 3.
“We don’t have a lot of memories because I was deployed and this is the first daddy-daughter date, first daddy-daughter anything, the first of many (to come).”
Foster said that events like these help servicemembers to reconnect with Family.
“Your Family is always there for you, so take advantage of the time you get with them,” Foster said.
Foster’s daughters, Ruby, 12, and Gracie, 9, both said they were excited that their dad was able to come to the dance, and enjoyed spending time with him.
Rucker said the YMCA staff looks forward to hosting events that help servicemembers.
“It is a beautiful thing, and (the dance) is my favorite event that we put on,” Rucker said. “Realizing what … military men and women do, seeing that you guys are so proud and your daughters are so proud that they are with their dads. When you see that, it touches your heart, it just touches your heart.”
Rancho Santa Fe Jeweler and artist Todd Krasovetz host May 2 event
Camp Pendleton, CA | Rancho Santa Fe Review | April 18, 2013
Steve Brower, Todd Krasovetz, painting by Todd, Kourtney Krasovetz, and Coleen Freeman.
Coleen Freeman, owner of Rancho Santa Fe Estate and Fine Jewelry, and Fine Art artist Todd Krasovetz, along with his business partner and Rancho Santa Fe resident Steve Brower, will host an event on Thursday, May 2, from 5-8 p.m. in the courtyard behind Rancho Santa Fe Estate and Fine Jewelry, located at 6024 Paseo Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe.
In celebration of Mother’s Day (May 12), a percentage of proceeds from sales at the event on May 2 and throughout the month of May will benefit the “Mommy and Me” program administered by the Armed Services YMCA at Camp Pendleton. The event will commemorate the grand re-opening of the jewelry store at its new location on Paseo Delicias and the grand opening of artist Todd Krasovetz’ interactive studio and art gallery. Appetizers provided by Dinners by David and La Reine des Macrons, wine, entertainment by Ean Corbett, opportunity drawing and a miniature military F18 jet display will be offered. The event is free and open to the public, however, reservations are required. To RSVP, contact Kourtney Krasovetz at 619-730-8104 or kourtneykrasovetz@yahoo.com by Monday, April 29.
Rancho Santa Fe Estate and Fine Jewelry was established 30 years ago and specializes in a variety of services, including the acquisition, consignment and sale of gold, diamonds, watches and all other precious metals and gemstones. The inventory of items for sale is an eclectic selection of new, antique and designer pieces. The store features an on-site Master Jeweler with 30 years’ experience in his trade and is qualified to create a wide variety of custom designs. Other services offered include expert cleaning, re-sizing, jewelry and watch repair, pearl re-stringing and appraisal capability. Owner Coleen Freeman has 25 years’ experience in the jewelry business. During this time, she has refined her taste and technical expertise in the industry. In the five years she has owned Rancho Santa Fe Estate and Fine Jewelry she has become a mainstay in the community and has established an impeccable reputation for her integrity and sincerity.
American artist Todd Krasovetz was born in Frankfurt, Germany and is internationally renowned for his contemporary abstract expressionism style of painting. Krasovetz’s influences can be tied back to the works of Sargent, Matisse, Van Gough and Pollock. Krasovetz is also recognized for his military artwork; two of his paintings, titled “Wings of Hope” and “Hidden Wings,” that depict Navy corpsmen in action were commissioned for the set of the Lifetime TV show “Army Wives.” The original paintings are on permanent display at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton and the Corpsman Field Training Center on base. “Army Wives” features hand-painted prints of the originals. Todd’s business partner, Steve Brower, is an art aficionado, as well as an accomplished pilot who flew as a Captain for American Airlines for 25 years and who now flies a private corporate DA10 aircraft.
The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) “Mommy and Me” program is a preschool parent network guided by ASYMCA preschool teachers that provides parents of toddlers from 18 months to 5 years old with tools that enable them to begin and sustain their young child’s educational development. ASYMCA Lil’ Friends and Kindertyme programs emphasize kindergarten readiness, socialization and positive parent/child interactions. Both programs meet twice a week for one hour and are offered at various locations throughout Camp Pendleton.
Call 760-385-4921 or visit http://www.camppendletonasymca.org/services.html. For additional information regarding Rancho Santa Fe Estate and Fine Jewelers, log onto www.ranchosantafejewelers.com, call 858/756-4047 or email at rsfjewelers@yahoo.com. Todd Krasovetz may be reached at 619-490-9985 or through his website at www.toddkrasovetz.com.
Armed Services YMCA Preparing For Annual Partner Member Campaign Breakfast
Lawton, OK | 7 News | April 22, 2013
LAWTON, OK- The Armed Services YMCA and 2013 Partner Member Campaign Chairman BG(R) Jim Cerrone are proud to announce the annual campaign has set a goal of $61,900.
The funds from this campaign allow us to continue providing programs and services to Soldiers and their families.
“In the Lawton-Fort Sill community, we love our Soldiers and we know the hardships incurred when young Soldiers with families deploy and redeploy to combat areas.” Cerrone states, “While these young dads and moms keep our nation safe, the Armed Services YMCA provides support vital to the families.”
“The Armed Services YMCA is the leading provider of social and support services for military families”, states Bill Vaughan, ASYMCA executive director, “Through the generosity of donors, the ASYMCA Lawton Fort Sill has provided educational, recreational, social, and inspirational support services to military personnel and their children continuously since 1942″.
ABOUT ARMED SERVICES YMCA
The Armed Services YMCA continues to maintain an increase of more than 200 percent during each of the last four fiscal years which clearly demonstrates that need outpaces resources.
The families of our military’s junior enlisted personnel carry multiple emotional and financial burdens while their loved ones are deployed overseas. When service members know their families are taken care of at home, they have peace of mind and can focus on their job of defending our country. The Armed Services YMCA plays a vital role in meeting the needs of the young military family.
The Armed Services YMCA Lawton Fort Sill is Oklahoma’s leading nonprofit organization supporting junior enlisted personnel and their families. For more information, please call Kate Whitehead at the Armed Services YMCA, 580-355-5520.
Woman’s Day Reader Donations Top 1.5 Million Dollars to Bring Holiday Joy To Our Troops
BRINGING HOLIDAY JOY TO OUR TROOPS
Woman’s Day and the Armed Services YMCA’s Operation Holiday Joy
Total Amount Raised to Date by Woman’s Day Readers Since 2004:
$1,585,979.68
Over 9,000 Individual Donors
On behalf of the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) National Board of Directors, the staff and most importantly the young men and women who serve our country and their families, I extend sincere thanks to Woman’s Day and its readership for supporting Operation Holiday Joy. Woman’s Day readership has contributed over $1.5 million dollars to Operation Holiday Joy in just 9 years. In addition, to maximize the number of families served, the ASYMCA donates all the staff time and overhead associated with running Operation Holiday Joy. The generosity and unwavering support shown from Woman’s Day readership has allowed the ASYMCA to purchase and distribute over 1600 pallets of toys (over 320,000 toys) as well as deliver over 25,000 baskets of food at Thanksgiving and Christmas to junior enlisted families in need.
These young heroes and their families are voluntarily serving and sacrificing daily so we can continue to enjoy our freedoms and way of life. The generosity shown from Woman’s Day readership demonstrates an appreciation for the sacrifices required of these dedicated defenders of our country.
From all of us here at the Armed Services YMCA, thank you for helping make military life easier.
To see thank you notes from military families impacted by this great program, please pick up the May 2013 issue of Woman’s Day Magazine.
Mike Landers
Captain, USN (Ret.)
President/CEO
Earth Day; Combat Center cleans up
29 Palms, CA | April 20, 2013
Courtesy Story
Story by:Kelly O’Sullivan
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – Josh Hurley and Stina Jacobson bonded over broken glass and rusty old cans Saturday, sharing life stories as they filled bag after bag with trash at Section 33 in Joshua Tree.
The 21-year-old private from Indiana who never saw the desert before arriving at the Combat Center a few weeks ago to attend classes at the Marine Corps Communication Electronics School and the Joshua Tree resident who loves seeing native plants and animals during her regular evening walks were among 200 Marines, sailors and civilians who spent their morning cleaning up the 623-acre site.
“We’re a good team,” he said. “He’s a nice guy,” she said. “I like working with the Marines.”
Together, volunteers collected three tons of trash that ranged from broken tile, clay pigeons and shotgun shells to weathered kids’ toys and discarded clothing.
Celebrating the planet, partnerships
The cleanup was organized for Earth Day and to celebrate the partnership that allowed land that was once targeted for a 2,400 home development and used as illegal dumping ground for years to be preserved indefinitely in its natural state.
Section 33, which lies just south of Twentynine Palms Highway between La Contenta Road and Joshua Tree Memorial Park, was purchased by the Mojave Desert Land Trust for $1.4 million in conjunction with the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, The Trust for Public Land and the California Wildlife Conservation Board.
The Marine Corps’ participation in the project was made possible through REPI — the Department of Defense’s Readiness Environmental Protection Initiative. REPI allows for Congress-authorized cost sharing partnerships between the armed forces, private conservation groups and state and local governments. Conserved lands benefit communities by preserving wildlife habitat and linkages near installations and ranges where the military operates, tests and trains.
“This is not only good for our community but directly supports the mission of the Combat Center,” said Jim Ricker, assistant chief of staff, Community Plans Liaison Office.
Ricker, who worked closely with MDLT Executive Director Nancy Karl and others involved in the project, said preserving Section 33 is a win-win for the Morongo Basin.
“This area lies directly under a heavily utilized designated helicopter route. As part of the REPI program, other than flying over this area, the Marine Corps will never train here,” he said. “Our kids and their kids will always have this area to enjoy what we enjoy today. Some may ask why would the Marine base be involved in land conservancy? Retired Maj. Gen. Michael R. Lehnert summed it up very succinctly: ‘A country worth defending is a country worth preserving.’”
Completed in 2012, Section 33 was the Combat Center’s second REPI project. The 2010 Quail Mountain REPI project, completed in 2010, preserved 955 acres of pristine desert tortoise habitat in the Joshua Tree Highlands adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. That land also lies under airspace used by helicopters coming to and from the installation.
United for a cause
Karl was ecstatic as she watched 67 Marines stream off two Morongo Basin Transit Authority buses Saturday morning.
“This is fantastic. This is fantastic,” she said as the young men and women from the Marine Corps Communication-Electronics School, Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadrons 1 and 3, Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment and 1st Tank Battalion headed toward a check-in table set up by Armed Services YMCA staff and volunteers who handed them gloves and bright red T-shirts.
MBTA partnered with the land trust to provide transportation for the single Marines and sailors who volunteered for the cleanup. An additional 33 service members and their families drove themselves to the site.
“This is a perfect example of collaboration between federal agencies, private organizations and public support,” Karl said, noting that the cleanup was the land trust’s largest volunteer event to date. “We’re able to protect this land, restore it and offer it back to the public.”
After Karl welcomed and thanked volunteers that included two captains and two firefighter from CalFire in Yucca Valley, they were given a safety brief, then MDLT board President Curt Sauer addressed the enthusiastic crowd.
“It’s a little early, but happy Mother Earth Day,” the retired Joshua Tree National Park superintendent said. “We’re helping preserve a real old lady. I want to say thank you to all of you for what you’re doing today and I want to say thank you to the Marines for all you do every day.”
Bob Johnson, MCAGCC community plans program manager, thanked the crowd on behalf of Combat Center commanding general Maj. Gen. David H. Berger, then volunteers divided into five groups and posed for a group photo taken by MDLT volunteer Vera Topinka before fanning out into the open desert to began cleaning.
A day of discovery
Cpl. Bobby Kesler, a North Dakota native who discovered Joshua Tree National Park shortly after arriving in Twentynine Palms three weeks ago to serve with 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, jumped at the chance to participate after learning about the cleanup.
“I like to do a lot of hiking, and (the park) gave me a free pass,” he said. “I thought this would be a good way to give back to the community.”
Saturday was a day of discovery for Kessler and for many of the service members on site.
Pfc. Benjamin Livingston and Pfc. Kristopher Hammond, both of MCCES, made what was likely the strangest find of the day — a bag of clams.
“Who would drive all the way out in the desert to throw away a bag of clams?” Livingston asked before the pair moved on, laughing as they scoured the desert for more finds.
Picking up an aftershave bottle that had seen better days, Livingston tossed it into the bag Hammond held open.
“It’s so hot even the desert can’t handle it,” he joked.
Pvt. Michael Guillard and Pvt. Mason Beasley, also from the communication-electronics school, hung onto one of their finds, a photograph of a family dated 1955, in hopes they might find the owners.
The two men, both newcomers to the desert, also learned what those big, spiky trees dotting the landscape were called. “Joshua trees,” they echoed, looking closely at the community’s namesakes. “That’s what it’s named after.”
Following the three-hour cleanup, volunteers again congregated near the check-in booths, sharing stories for a few minutes before the Marines boarded the buses and headed back to the Combat Center.
As Karl stood next to the lead bus, shaking hands and saying “thank you” over and over, Sauer summed up the day.
“One of the most amazing partnerships MDLT has is with the USMC,” he said. “It was stunning to see this many people out here. It was an opportunity for the community to learn more about the Marines and for the Marines to learn more about the community.”
Ricker agreed.
“As you look around today, it is so awesome to see all of the people out here working so hard to clean up this area,” he said. “Can you point out a Marine or Marine family from a community member? No, you cannot. Many of the Marines and their family members consider this their community. From coaching Little League to mentors in the local schools, this is their hometown, too.”
Read more:http://www.dvidshub.net/news/106033/earth-day-combat-center-cleans-up#.UYFTWrWsh8E#ixzz2S41RMkWO
