“Did you have a relaxing weekend?” one of my colleagues asked me this morning. I had to laugh. With twin nine year-old girls, my response was simply: “do people actually have relaxing weekends anymore?”
At the Y, we know that families, kids and the whole community need us, and so like my family, the Y is on the go pretty much every day and weekend of the year. These past two weekends are just the latest example of that ethos.
Two Saturdays ago (April 27th) we celebrated Health Kids Day, a national Y initiative which aims to promote and celebrate the health and well-being of kids across our communities. Here in central Maryland, thousands of families and kids joined us at our Y centers to pet bunnies, enjoy healthy snacks, get their faces painted, bounce around the moon bounces, sharpen their creative talents at craft stations and enjoy family fitness activities. It was wonderful to see so many children learning about healthy habits, getting their hands dirty and moving their bodies. A big thank you goes out to everyone who was involved in the event, particularly our incredible Healthy Kids Day title sponsor, McCormick Flavor for Life! By the way, you know that your event is a big hit when local elected officials show up. At the historic Druid Hill Y, newly installed Mayor Jack Young came by to greet the hundreds of good folks on hand.
This past Saturday, our Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) at the Y program held their annual Bowl For Kids’ Sake event at the AMF Towson Lanes. Over $67,000 was raised by the 176 bowlers and corporate sponsors in support of our BBBS mentoring programs. Thanks go out to our title sponsor, Whiting Turner and long-time BBBS advocate and volunteer Steve Lambertson, as well as our other great sponsors, University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, Bolton Partners, Greenspring Associates and MECU. And, nineteen of our BBBS matches (Bigs and Littles both) were also on hand to have fun, bond and experience how much the broader community cares about them. I don’t believe any perfect scores were recorded, but I know that more than a few strikes and a ton of smiles were had by all!
Have a great week everyone!
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland