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We held a happy holiday lunch at the West Side YMCA in Manhattan in December. Most attendees were from the greater New York Area. The group heard reports that are included in this issue of The Messenger and voted to make contributions to several of our traditional charities. These three charities received $250 each:
YMCA World Service raised more than $3 million in support of programs and staff in overseas YMCAs. Our gift was earmarked in support of the Jerusalem International YMCA.
National Service Project received a contribution to the on-going work.
YMCA d’Haiti is experiencing political unrest that has caused it to suspend some of its programs.
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Hello Craig,
2023 is off to a great start. Your Leadership Team has been busy with renewed energy and dedication to the interests of retired Y staff in the New York State and Northern New Jersey area.
We look back at a very successful 2022. Our chapter's membership grew substantially, thanks to the leadership of Membership VP Janice A. Carthens. We began the year with 48 units and 74 members and ended the year with 60 units and 94 members. (Units are couples.) If you haven’t renewed your membership yet, click HERE https://www.ymcaalumni.org/renew.
In addition to providing new meeting venues (Westfield, NJ; Albany, NY and NYC), a 3-day event at Silver Bay on Lake George in the Adirondacks, co-hosted with the New England Chapter, brought great interest in renewing friendships and engagements with YMCA Alumni.
The geography of the McBurney-Morse Chapter is very large: all of New York State and the northern half of New Jersey. Consequently, we have an ongoing challenge: how do we best serve our potential members in upstate and western New York State. Last year we made successful efforts to reach into the Albany and the Adirondack region with programs to involve members there. We also reached out to alumni living in the Greater Rochester Area but received no replies to our inquiry. Janice Carthens and I will continue to work with potential members from throughout our region to generate interest in "connecting." Your ideas, suggestions and personal involvement always are welcome. Would you like to join our team? Send me an email and let me know what you're thinking.
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Chuck Ainsworth
McBurney-Morse Chapter President
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Silver Bay in the Fall: Join us | |
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Last September’s tri-chapter gathering of YMCA alumni on beautiful Lake George was such a success and such a good time for those attending that it is being planned again. Mark your calendars now and plan to join us September 19 – 21 for another great gathering of YMCA Alumni at beautiful Silver Bay YMCA in New York’s Adirondack Mountains.
Silver Bay’s amazing 700-acre site, accentuated by its good fortune to sit on the shores of beautiful Lake George, provides wonderful opportunities to reconnect with former colleagues and to meet other retirees, while combining some structured time to engage in organized activities as well as time to relax, take a walk, network or just look at the lake.
More details will be provided in the months ahead, but count on a wide range of recreational opportunities from hikes in the woods, boat rides on Lake George, gatherings around the fire pit and restful times on the lodge decks watching the Fall colors emerge. But most of all, plan on reuniting with friends and colleagues from your unique career path. Put the dates in your calendar now.
More info: Email John Hedbavny or call him at 860-459-5412.
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National Service Project enters second year: Fundraising underway | |
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McBurney-Morse Chapter member, George Painter, is chair of construction efforts at the YMCA Alumni National Service Project in partnership with the YMCA of the Seven Council Fires on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.
George reports the YMCA Alumni National Service Project had a fantastic kick-off year. We raised over $550,000 for the project and spent about $190,000 on cement foundations and the first of our four tiny homes on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. To learn more, donate or sign up as a construction volunteer, click the button below and visit our National Service Project Case for Support website.
The 2023 campaign to raise funds for the second year of the project aims to raise $250,000, with the member portion of the campaign ending March 31. Many chapter members contributed last year. The project needs continued support. Please consider making a donation or pledge now.
(Photo: First tiny home structure complete and buttoned up for winter)
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World Fellowship sets Zoom sessions | |
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You can join the World Fellowship of YMCA Retirees (WFYR) without cost and receive Bridges, its quarterly email newsletter, by clicking the button below and supplying your email address. Bridges is edited by Len and Joyce Wilson.
You will be able to learn about Y retirees all over the world and join in WFYR activities. WFYR will be holding two gatherings on Zoom this year. The first session will focus on Y retirees in Europe, including the YMCA’s work in Ukraine, May 24. All WFYR members will receive further information via email.
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2022 Chapter Financial Report
By Kurt Kaboth, Treasurer
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Our chapter had a reasonably good financial year. Membership dues and contributions remain strong as we continue the recovery from the pandemic times. And as we make progress in activating, recruiting and reinvigorating our membership, we had great programs and slightly higher program expenses. We still continue to support YMCA programs near to all of our hearts including the YMCA in Haiti, the Jerusalem YMCA and our National Service Project in partnership with the YMCA of the Seven Council Fires. If you have any questions, please contact me HERE.
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Meet member Bob Lomauro
New Jersey to China and back
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We plan to spotlight members from time to time. If you have suggestions for persons to spotlight or other ideas and contributions to our newsletter, send them to Bonnie Mairs, editor.
Bob Lomauro’s YMCA career has spanned over almost 50 years starting in 1972 as the Business Director at the Passaic-Clifton-Garfield YMCA and culminating at the Somerset Hills YMCA in Basking Ridge, NJ as CEO from 1994 to 2012.
After “retiring” in 2012, Bob continued to serve the YMCA Movement in a variety of volunteer roles. Bob has coached 5 new CEOs in Pennsylvania, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico.
Bob volunteered at the Beijing YMCA in China in 2013-2014, through the YMCA Alumni International Service Corp (ISC) program. He working closely with senior management to evaluate programs and operations, conduct staff training and development workshops and teaching English as a Second Language to children, teen, and adults.
Here are some “takeaways” from Bob's time in China:
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"I attended my first McBurney-Morse Chapter meeting in December 2012 and innocently inquired about international volunteer opportunities. I was on a flight to China to volunteer at the Beijing YMCA for the next six months less than one year later...
...Getting out of one’s comfort zone can sometimes be a scary thing. However, when we reach that point and let go of the safety of the familiar and dive into the unknown, we must let our faith guide and support us...
...What a joy it has been to spend quality time with the Chinese children. As their country grows and continues to develop, they will enjoy much more of the personal freedoms than their parents’ and grandparents’ generations have...
...While I wasn't able to learn the Chinese language in six months, I made every effort to learn and use simple Chinese words and phrases which I know my Chinese friends appreciated..."
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Click the button below to uncover all the details of current YMCA Alumni Travel Club opportunities through early 2025. Trips sell out very quickly, so do not delay. | | | | |
