As we bring the West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA's Partners With Youth Campaign to a close, I am amazed at how much people can do for their community.

For those of you who do not know about Partners With Youth, let me quickly bring you up to speed.

Every year during the month of February, the Greater Seattle YMCAs hold their only fundraising event, bringing in donations to keep YMCA programs accessible to everyone in the community.

The money goes to a variety of uses so let me share some of those with you.

Partners With Youth programs include, but are not limited to, youth sports leagues, water safety lessons, Day Camp experiences, tutoring at Community Learning Centers, after-school clubs, preschool child care, healthy life skills, and summer enrichment.

This year, 150 volunteer campaigners sought out pledges from friends, family and businesses in this community. We all try to stay focused in this area because the money we raise stays within our community. Because we are so volunteer based, 95 cents on the dollar goes to the cause.

So all during the month of February these volunteers called on returning and potential donors. And the community responded. This year, with the combined efforts of the 150 campaigners and an incredible board, there will be over $400,000 going into our community to help our youth.

So let's go back to that list I gave you of examples of the programs that benefit from Partners With Youth dollars. Let's put them in different terms. Instead of youth sports leagues, let's call it a chance to learn about team efforts, sportsmanship and fair play, and how valuable they are to success in all areas of life. Water safety translates to a child having confidence. An experience at a summer camp may mean a youth sees a place they have only read about and shares a conversation with someone from a totally different walk of life. Preschool child care may give a family the leg up it needs to get back on track. Community Learning Center programs may actually let a student's voice be heard. Tutoring may assist that student in graduating.

In a YMCA Youth Forum held at Madison Middle School last fall, it became very apparent that the youth in our community want to be heard and understood. A recent Herald op-ed piece ("Student views at Sealth have fallen on deaf ears," March 13, 2008) touches on the same subject. I feel that Partners With Youth funds provide options for youth to make better choices in life, gives them the tools they need to perform to the best of their abilities, and opportunities to be kids having fun. Most of all I truly believe the programs supported by Partners With Youth help give youth a voice and the skills needed to use it. We as a community need to provide the ears to listen.

In my eyes West Seattle did just that for our campaign and I want to thank you for listening. I thank all of the volunteers who called their many donors, spreading the YMCA story. I thank all of the friends, families, and businesses who donated because they believe in the cause. I thank the YMCA's staff who continue to juggle their jobs and families with the campaign. It takes a lot of work at all levels and it is greatly appreciated.

You hear in the news talk of a recession. For all of us, this is hard. Somehow you all as a community stepped up to the plate and looked beyond the potential bumps in the road and supported the campaign.

Thank you to everyone involved for not losing sight of why we are doing this and for whom, the youth in our community. May we continue to give them the tools they need to express themselves and the confidence that we will listen and hear them.

It has been an honor to chair this campaign and a gift to be a part of such a strong community like West Seattle.

Grace Bennett

Chair

Community Campaign

West Seattle and

Fauntleroy YMCA