One difference between the Y and a typical gym is that people generally don’t feel a deep, personal attachment to their gym. They might like the equipment, think the staff is nice, or luxuriate in the locker rooms, but you don’t hear people say things like “MegaGym changed my life” or “I raised my family there” like they do with the Y.
And you certainly don’t find people like Bert Weening attached to such places. Bert is 86 years old and a member at Carls Family YMCA in Milford. Their community and financial development director, Sharon Peterson, shared his story.
For several years, Bert has gone around to local businesses and asked them to support the Y. He asks for $160, which is around what it takes to send a child to daycamp for a week. When someone offers a partial amount, he asks them “What part of the kid are you going to send? The whole kid needs to go to camp!” One business had been refusing to donate for years, and didn’t even want to hear about the many benefits of the Y. Bert was persistent and patient — and last year, they came through with a sponsorship.
What is most amazing is that while he is a former board member, Bert doesn’t do this in any official capacity or because anyone asked him to. He loves the Y and thinks day camp is an important experience for a child to have, so he goes out year after to generate support. This year, he had to use a walker to get around, and still was able to generate a great deal of funds for scholarships. “He said this might be his last year campaigning — and then told me, ‘what am I thinking about? This is not my last year campaigning! As long as God gives me a breath that comes into my lungs, I will ask for the kids because they can’t ask for themselves.”
It’s that kind of thing, Sharon says, that is why she loves her job at the Y. She once was a scholarship recipient herself, and now helps other families the way she was helped. “I can come in and not be feeling good, and every day something happens that lifts me up,” she says.