Treasure Valley Family YMCA
May 5, 2011

TMP and the Y believe

This week we about 400 friends and supporters of the Y were treated to a wonderful look behind the curtain with our partners at the Trey McIntyre Project. This was in celebration of our Strong Kids Campaign, which has raised nearly $700,000 in the last 3 months, to ensure that financial challenges do not stand in the way of kids and families benefiting from the life changing experience the Y provides. This year more than $5.5 million will be provided more than 15,000 individuals! More than 600 volunteers raise these dollars from several thousand donors! That is inspiring social responsibility in action.

Trey walked into Boise High (another great partner) with only a song in his mind and in about 30 minutes showed us how his incredible creative genius is able to put together an beautiful and artistic dance. Three dancers were guided through and helped to shape this process and then we were treated to something that was inspiring, moving and wonderful as they performed.

What Trey and his team show us is the power of possibility and creativity. If you can imagine it, it can be done. We share a strong belief with TMP that our work is about nurturing the potential inside each and every person. We believe deeply that each of us is "of promise". Unfortunately much of the world does not share this belief. They see some as "at risk". They see some as expendable; hopeless. Our words, backed by our actions have profound impact on others; especially kids. TMP and the Y believe in the potential we all possess. We also believe that we should bring out the artist in each of us. The world in ahead will need creative thinkers; ones who see possibilities when others only see barriers. People who ask why not. People who say lets try it. TMP teaches us this through their performances. Sadly, most adults are taught over many years that they are not artists. Ask a group of preschooler and all will consider themselves good singers and artists. They all believe they are. At some point we begin to judge them and try to make sure they color between the lines. Ask them in college if they are artists and only a few will say they are. The world will need more artists and big dreamers for the challenges and opportunities we face.

There are lots of ways to create artists. Much of it starts with believing in kids and showing them what they can achieve. When we think of education and all that it means, we must never believe that it is all about the test and finding the one right answer. We need people who venture outside of the lines.

Below is letter from a teacher at Whittier Elementary, which has the highest number of free and reduced school lunch students in the state, a large refugee population and where some kids come from 22 different countries and 24 languages are spoken. Are these kids of promise or at risk? Are there some throw aways in the group? Do they need to be encouraged to dream and imagine different possibilities? Do they need to experience success and opportunities many of us take for granted? Is learning to swim relevant and is there art in learning? Do we have a responsibility in helping all kids? Does it make a difference? We answer with a resounding yes. Please take time to read the attached letter.

Thanks for supporting your Y.

 

A letter from Christy Pletcher

My name is Christy Pletcher. I am one of the third grade teachers at Whittier Elementary School. My students have been involved in swimming lessons at the YMCA for the past two years. This has been an awesome program for our students. I was very excited when I first heard about it and it has gotten better each year.

Most of the students at Whittier come from very low income families. They would not otherwise have the opportunity to visit the YMCA or learn swimming skills which will make them safe around water. This program is giving them an incredible chance to learn to swim as well as other life-long physical and recreational activities. The values and skills the students learned are a vital building block for quality of life. The YMCA has helped empower the students to be more healthy and confident.

In the beginning there was some concern expressed by some other teachers that participation in this program would take away too much time from academics. The students are away from school for 3 hours each YMCA day. I was not concerned about that because there is a lot of research that shows that kids who are physically fit and active do better academically than those who are sedentary. I was further encouraged when all of my students scored proficient or above on the Idaho Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) in math, and nearly all scored that high on the reading test, at the end of the first year of the program. I am confident that this worthwhile program helped contribute to the high scores. The benefits they receive from the YMCA program far outweigh anything I could have done with them in the classroom during their time at the YMCA.

Last year, our students did extremely well on the ISAT as well, and no one is concerned about time lost on academics to the YMCA. The kids are not losing anything. They are gaining so much! We are all thrilled to be able to provide this experience to our students at Whittier. Thank you so much for continuing to make it available.