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ORVILLE LINDQUIST:
FROM THE PRESIDENT
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Greetings!
Happy Fall! As it usually does, the year has sped by quickly, making us begin to think about the new year. With holidays coming up, that is natural – while we all anticipate celebrations, family and food, it leads to our plans beyond the festivities.
It is much the same for YMCA Alumni. We are getting ready for our annual Holiday Luncheon on December 2 -- a really nice event. We’re also making plans for how we will expand our organization’s work in 2026.
Our nominating committee is at work now to identify leadership prospects. We will present those plans at the Holiday Luncheon.
We want to strengthen our Membership and Program Committees, to give both an even stronger impact in the work of our chapter. We will do that by seeking innovative ideas to broaden our work in these critical areas.
This is where YOU come in! We are seeking alumni volunteers to join those committees. The commitment would be for 2 - 3 meetings throughout the year and a few hours of follow-up work generated by those meetings. The committees will set their own schedule and method of meeting (in person, virtual or some combination of the two).
I invite you to join the committee that most interests you and hope you will consider becoming more deeply involved with YMCA Alumni. Please send me an email to let me know your interest by Nov. 20.
Wishing you blessings for the holidays ahead. I look forward to seeing many of you at our Holiday Luncheon Dec. 2.
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YMCA Retirement Fund Update with James Kirschner,
Chief Strategy Officer, Y Retirement
Thursday, November 6, 2025
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
In-Person or Zoom
Location: YMCA YCID Building, 2525 Wabash Ave., St. Paul
Limited seating available…email: Marji Miller
Zoom: Information link will be sent to all YMCA Alumni Upper Midwest Chapter members the week of the event.
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Volunteer Opportunity: ARC’s Value Village
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1-3 p.m.
10546 France Ave. South
Bloomington, MN
Volunteers will set up and replenish merchandise in the Value Village “Merry Thriftmas and Holiday Shoppe.” We will unpack, price, stock and organize all things Thriftmas, including clothing, collectables, décor, ornaments and a whole lot more. Thanks for helping if you can!
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Upper Midwest Chapter Annual Christmas Luncheon
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
11 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
Town and Country Club
300 Mississippi River Blvd. N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
Cost: $45 per person.
Our always-special holiday event! Come visit with friends old and new and enjoy a delicious lunch buffet. Our brief program will include entertainment by the Hootenanny Boys (John and Pat O'Loughlin) -- above photo -- playing a variety of folk music.
11 a.m. Social Hour (A group photo will be taken at 11:20 a.m.)
Make your Holiday Luncheon reservations by November 21 by mailing your RSVP and check (made out to “Upper Midwest YMCA Alumni”) to Marji Miller, 4928 Thomas Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN, 55410. Thank you!
Questions? Please email Marji.
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OPERATION HOLIDAY BASKET
HELPS SO. MINNEAPOLIS FAMILIES
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Operation Holiday Basket (OHB)—a special effort supporting South Minneapolis families with needed food supplies during the holidays—was first organized in 1970 out of the Hiawatha YMCA, in partnership with Roosevelt High School.
“Over those years more than 15,000 families have benefitted, all made possible by the more than $250,000 raised,” says Gary Lewis, now a YMCA Alumni member, but still a driving force in making OHB happen. “OHB is still going strong at 55!”
Although no longer an official YMCA program, OHB is still assisting families in need.
“Our 2025 goal is to help 300 families,” says Gary. If you’d like to support OHB this year, financial donations are welcome. Please mail your check (made out to “Roosevelt High School Holiday Basket”) to: Gary Lewis, 5250 Vernon Ave. S., Apt. 417, Edina, MN 55436. Thanks for caring and sharing.
(And thank you, Gary, for your decades of dedicated and enthusiastic service!)
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EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FUND
CHAPTER DONATION APPROVED
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The YMCA Emergency Assistance Fund provides financial support to Y staff and retirees facing emergencies. Grants (up to $2,500) are awarded. The Fund is strong, but recent years (with numerous national weather-related catastrophes) have depleted resources. Our support of the Fund is greatly appreciated. Our Midwest Chapter Board has approved a $500 donation to EAF.
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MEMBERSHIP NEWS
IT'S TIME TO RE-CONNECT
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You recently received a mailing regarding renewal of your membership in YMCA Alumni. Our annual membership renewal campaign, now known as RE-CONNECT, is open online only for members who wish to use credit cards. Click the button below, fill out the form and hit SUBMIT.
A form and envelope was included in the membership mailing for paying by check. Thank you for your membership in our Y Alumni Chapter!
Mary Felty, our Membership Chair, reports some good news: Our Upper Midwest Chapter has grown from 92 to 101 members and our member retention rate is 92 percent.
Here’s an idea…perhaps you know a retired Y work colleague/friend you could invite to our Holiday Luncheon December 2.
Questions about chapter membership? Email Mary Felty.
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PERSPECTIVE IS BACK
NEW FORMAT FOR OUR MEMBERS
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Fifty years ago, a magazine/journal was created for the Association of Y Professionals (AYP) called “Perspective, Journal of YMCA Professionals.” It was published in print/mail format through 2009. Now Perspective is back as a benefit of YMCA Alumni membership in a new, modern online format, written by and for YMCA Alumni colleagues and edited by the same team that created and edited Perspective for many years.
The inaugural e-issue, released on Oct. 15, focuses on "Fit at 60...70, 80, and 90." The new “Perspective: E-Zine of YMCA Alumni” can be accessed online by clicking the button below. The next issue (quarterly from then on) will be released Feb. 15 and will focus on personal finance for YMCA retirees. It is emailed to all members on its release date as well.
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NATIONAL SERVICE PROJECT
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR CELEBRATION
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A Grand Opening for the tiny home village completed by the National YMCA Alumni Service Project was held on Sunday, September 21, 2025, celebrating four homes now providing shelter and security for single parents and children on the YMCA of the Seven Council Fires property on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Dupree, South Dakota.
A number of our local Y colleagues were able to attend that event in person, including Don and Phyliss Kerr and Jeri Glick-Anderson and her husband, Charles.
You can watch Grand Opening highlights, including excerpts from speeches, a drum circle, tribal dancers, and a home tour, in the short highlights video from the official ceremony in Morning Star Village. The video was created from the two-hour YouTube livestream. Click the arrow in the video above to play.
(Photo: Chapter member Phylliss Kerr poses in front of a native artist mural painted on the side of one of the homes.)
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TAKE A LOOK
NEW YMCA ALUMNI WEBSITE NOW ONLINE
| | A new, all-inclusive YMCA Alumni website has been created, combining helpful content from our former YMCA Alumni, Travel Club and National Service Project sites into one convenient “location.” Simply click to https:www.ymcaalumni.org as before (or use the button below). Check it out! | | |
YMCA ALUMNI TRAVEL CLUB
2025-2026 AVAILABLE ADVENTURES
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Be sure to book official YMCA Alumni Travel Club adventures and your own individual, family and referred friends travel through Go Travel's expert agents. YMCA Alumni's national budget receives a percentage of all sales and you get the best prices, advice and a smooth booking experience.
2026 will bring choices of spring cruises in the Caribbean with one crossing the pond; an upscale train adventure on the Rocky Mountaineer; a CIE luxury motor coach visit to Spain's amazing cities; cruise Classic Canada from Quebec City to Boston in the fall color season; sail into Alaska before the crowds; also specialty cruises for kintters and widows and widowers. Check out the next issue of Going Places to be emailed to you Nov. 15, as well. Two trips for 2026 are already sold out (Scenic Switzerland by Rail and America's 250th in NY Harbor and beyond on Cunard's Queen Mary 2).
Visit the brand new Travel Club web page with direct access to all trips for details and booking by clicking the button below.
Visit us on Facebook each Travel Tuesday.
Contact YMCA Alumni Travel Club:
(407) 774-2229
ymcaalumni@gotravel.com
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YMCA Alumni Mission:
"...to enable members to promote a nurturing worldwide Christian Fellowship that provides educational, social, service and charitable opportunities."
| | IMPORTANT NOTE: Please think twice when unsubscribing to any unsolicited email. If it has been sent to you by Constant Contact, they cannot send any more emails to you, including from YMCA Alumni. Just flick away emails you don't want -- but please don't "unsubscribe." We can get you re-subscribed only once. Send us an email if you are not receiving our newsletters or you have accidentally unsubscribed and we will try to reinstate you. --editor | | | | |
