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$4
Million Van Cleve Foundation Trust Donation Brings
Funds Raised for New Santa Ana YMCA to $10 Million
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32,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility
will meet the needs of 12,000 youth who live within
walking distance, as well as more than 80,000 residing
within two miles
Santa Ana, CA—April 26, 2007—With
a $4 million donation, Russ and Kathy Van Cleve, trustees
of the Van Cleve Foundation Trust, are bringing a new,
state-of-the-art Santa Ana YMCA one step closer to reality.
The 32,000-square-foot facility will be built on 2.5 acres
of Armstrong Ranch land donated by C.J.Segerstrom & Sons
in 2004. The land is located on the corner of Alton and
Raitt Street in south Santa Ana.
“We were looking to make a generous capital donation
to a project that would have a large, lasting and meaningful
impact in improving the lives of many people,” commented
Russ Van Cleve, Owner and President of Irvine-based Empire
Homes. “For decades to come, this new YMCA will help
thousands of children and families, including many who
struggle with basic needs, make positive changes in their
lives.”
Facilitated through John Rochford, President of Snyder
Langston and long time member of the YMCA of Orange County
Board of Directors, the Van Cleve’s donation brings
funds raised for the new facility to $10 million. With
funds raised to date, plans have progressed through the
preliminary design stage and have been approved by the
Santa Ana Planning Commission and City Council.
Designed to meet the specific demographic needs of the
surrounding community, the facility will incorporate a
new soccer/sports field that will provide access to hundreds
more youth who are turned away from soccer programs due
to lack of fields and resources. Other highlights will
include a fitness and strength-training center; an aquatic
center with a swimming pool, therapy whirlpool and children’s
fountain; a “12-week” fitness starter area;
a youth and teen adventure center with a climbing wall
and ropes course; a multipurpose room for dance and aerobics
classes; a kids’ center; a learning and technology
center with a computer lab and study areas for tutoring
and mentoring; and multipurpose meeting rooms that will
be used for literacy and other classes, employment counseling
and community meeting space. Hoag Hospital will donate
a wellness and community services center on the new YMCA
campus. Additionally, the YMCA will partner with Hoag Hospital,
local churches and other community organizations to provide
health wellness and after school programs.
“The new Santa Ana YMCA will meet a critical need
for a facility dedicated to building healthy spirits, minds
and bodies for families and children of all ages,” observed
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. “While providing a
safe place for thousands of youth to engage in activities
that will help them explore possibilities and reach their
full potential, it also will provide peace of mind for
parents who will know their children are participating
in meaningful programs after school and on weekends.”
In addition to their financial gift, the Van Cleves are
committed to making a donation of professional expertise
to the project. “Beyond our monetary gift, we’d
like to extend our involvement to encompass the building
skills of the Empire Homes’ staff” said Russ
Van Cleve. Founded in 1987, Empire Homes is a privately-owned
land development and home building company based in Southern
California. Empire Homes’ most recent land development
project was the 955 lot Seneca Springs master planned community
in Beaumont. The company ranked in the top 10 of some 270
homebuilders across the nation in three leading measures
of customer satisfaction and received a 2005 Eliant Award,
based on surveys of approximately 3,000 new home buyers.
As a result of his alliance with the Van Cleves, Rochford
also anticipates personal and professional involvement
in the project. “We’re extremely excited about
the teamwork we can create by bringing the talents of Empire
Homes and Snyder Langston into the project team,” Rochford
said.
The new YMCA facility will serve approximately 12,000
children and teens who live within walking distance and
some 80,000 who reside within two miles. It will meet the
recreational, social and educational enrichment needs of
more than 168,000 Orange County residents who reside in
the service area of Santa Ana, South Coast Metro and parts
of Tustin. As the final developed piece of the 90-acre
Armstrong Ranch, it will complement Segerstrom High School,
a 2,500-student public high school that opened in September
2005. The site also encompasses single family homes and
is the future location of Christ Our Savior Cathedral.
Construction of the new Santa Ana is expected to begin in
early 2008, with an opening anticipated for end of the year. |
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| “If not for the YMCA’s
Help, I Could Not Afford to Work” |
Jeri Boykin is a single mother who is passionate about her
work as a caregiver to medically fragile patients. When she
spoke about a patient who may soon pass away, Jeri was moved
to tears. “I love my work,” she told the 50+ people
who attended a Beach Cities YMCA meeting, “but if not
for the YMCA’s help, I could not afford to work.”
When her two sons were younger, she barely earned enough
money to make ends meet, let alone pay for quality child
care. Fortunately, she was eligible to receive financial
assistance from the YMCA, which enabled
her sons to attend the YMCA after school program center located
on campus.
The boys, now ages 18 and 16, and have done very well in
school and are on track to attend college.
Jeri beams with pride as she relays this news. “I
know in my heart that it would never have been possible if
not for the support, homework assistance and guidance that
they received from attending the YMCA.”
Today, Jeri’s 7-year-old daughter attends a Beach
Cities YMCA After School Child Care Program. It will take
a lot of hard work, but with the support of the YMCA she’ll
have the foundation to follow her brothers to college in
another 10 years.
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| "For adopted children
this was the second mom they were to lose." |
Mother’s Pain Eased by ARK
Mentors
The staff at the ARK Center for Abused Children met Sandy when
she signed up one of her adopted children to be paired with
a volunteer adult for tutoring, mentoring, and Saturday “FunDay” events.
Through the ARK program, foster children are paired with volunteers who undergo
extensive training and commit to a minimum of one-year to mentor
a foster child a supportive, stable and secure environment.
Sandy had every quality that a foster mom should have. She
was devoted to the five children that she adopted, in addition
to her own three biological children. She was a delight to
be around. When you met her you knew this was one of those
rare people who could change your life just by being in her
company.
Two years ago it was discovered that Sandy had cancer. Because
of the circumstances two additional mentors were recruited
for Sandy and her family. The mentors knew they would be
taking on an additional responsibility and were more than
willing to be there for both the children and Sandy as she
went through her treatment.
Unfortunately, Sandy lost her battle with cancer this year.
For the adopted children this was the second mom they were
to lose. At the funeral, the ARK program director felt an
overwhelming sadness for this family’s loss. But as
the children’s three mentors came and sat beside her,
she was comforted knowing that the mentors were there for
the children not only that day, but for as long as they were
needed.
So many times, especially near the end of her life, Sandy
thanked the director for the ARK mentors. As a mother she
could only imagine what Sandy would be thinking now, but
she knew Sandy was grateful that someone had been there for
the children while she went through the difficult process
of saying good-bye and letting go.
The mentors continue to be a support and comfort to the
children and to Sandy’s husband, Don, as they attempt
to go forward. Although the ARK mentors couldn’t change
the course of events, they could alter how it will ultimately
affect the outcome. That’s what ARK Services for Abused
Children is all about.
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| Direct from the heart – Staff
give $48,000 to Campaign |
Staff volunteers share “Y Stories” with
peers
Time – Talent – Treasure
Those three precious commodities provided by our volunteers
are scarce for a full-time employee and single mom. But when
Elizabeth Mesinas was asked to serve as the volunteer chair
for the South Coast YMCA staff education campaign, she gladly
accepted.
In the fall, staff members from each branch volunteer to
individually meet with every employee, both full and part-time,
to talk about how the Partner With Youth campaign helps the
YMCA fulfill its mission to be there for all. Since September,
366 YMCA staff members have contributed over $48,000 toward
their branch Partner With Youth Campaigns.
As the child care administrator for the South Coast YMCA
and a past child care program director, Elizabeth strongly
believes that it is important for staff members as well as
donors to know the stories of how the YMCA supports the community.
After recruiting 22 staff volunteers at the South Coast
Branch, the team personally
talked to 130 staff members, raising almost $10,000. “They
were a great team, passionate about the Y and strong believers
in campaign,” said Elizabeth. “They wanted to
share their personal stories and the stories of the families
in their own programs that have been helped.”
At the South Coast YMCA, currently 109 of the 1058 children
enrolled in Child Care wouldn’t be there without financial
assistance. “Each of these children is a unique individual
that impacts our staff and programs just as much as we impact
them and their families.”
In 70% of those cases, a single mom, often working two to
three jobs to provide, leads the household. “This is
the neighborhood they grew up in. Their family is here; their
support system is here. For a single parent it is important
to stay where that is.” For them the YMCA is that vital
piece of the puzzle gives them hope and helps them provide
a better future for their children.
“Thank goodness for our generous donors; because of
them we are able to be there when families need us most,” said
Elizabeth.
One of those families last year included a mom diagnosed
with cancer who needed part-time childcare for her son. Her
cancer had caused her to quit her job, but as a stay-at-home
mom she didn’t qualify under the standard YMCA financial
assistance policy. “People don’t always have
situations that fall neatly within our qualifying guidelines.
She explained that she was going through chemotherapy and
some days were too difficult for her to get to school in
time to pick up her child,” said Elizabeth. “In
the end, we created a solution that allowed us to have her
son in the child care program whenever she needed it.” When
asked how long she thought she’d need support her answer
was simple, “Just until I die.” When she passed
in 2004, Elizabeth was thankful that the YMCA had been that
link to a community of caring.
That message - that the YMCA puts its mission into practice
through the funds of the Partner With Youth campaign – is
the reason the staff education campaign is so important to
the volunteer staff who make it happen. “It was an
excellent experience for new campaigners this year,” explained
Elizabeth. “After they talk to new employees it affects
how they do their day to day jobs. It all makes sense for
them now.”
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| 650 Volunteer Campaigners Reach for $1.25 million
goal |
Helping the YMCA touch lives
Two years after her family joined the Saddleback Valley YMCA,
Julianne Land was asked if she’d help raise funds so
that the YMCA could make scholarships available for people
in need of assistance. With one simple “yes,” Julianne
was recruited, and then the next reaction set-in…fear.
She loved the YMCA but asking people for money just wasn’t
comfortable.
“I was sweatin’ bullets the first year, but
it felt so good in the end to raise that money, that I knew
I could do it again,” says Julianne. “I tell
people constantly that every year it gets easier and easier.”
Julianne waves and calls out a hello to members young and
old as she walks through the facility. Some are close friends
that she’s made through the YMCA, but many others are
members she’s befriended as fellow campaigners or people
she has shared her Y story with as a campaigner.
After leading a team of four campaigners her first year,
she led a division of between 20 to 25 campaigners during
the next four years, and this year she leads a section with
50 campaigners. For each one of them, she brings a message
that campaign can be fun. “I like the way the Y brings
people together to do something for the community. The fun
comes by working together as a team. The pats on the back
that staff and members give keep you pumped up.”
Each year the YMCA asks volunteers from the community to
dedicate the month of February to raise funds that keep YMCA
programs open to all, regardless of financial need. In all,
more than 650 campaigners have raised almost $1 million of
their $1.25 million goal for programs and assistance such
as camp, childcare, after school
mentoring and tutoring, and youth fitness.
Together, Julianne and her campaigners have raised over
$125,000 dollars in the last six years. For Julianne the
impact isn’t the dollars she’s raised, but the
lives she’s helped the YMCA to touch. At one campaign
meeting, a young YMCA staff member shared the story of why
she now takes a week of vacation each summer to volunteer
as a counselor at camp. Raised as a neglected child in a
troubled family, she got her first taste of camp through
a YMCA scholarship. At camp, for the first time in her life,
she felt the concern of staff who cared if she brushed her
teeth, washed her face, and had pride in herself. That week
gave her a new image of who she could be, and she continued
her involvement at her local branch until she reached the
point where she could become a staff member herself.
Julianne thinks of that young girl often when she’s
asking for support. “I didn’t discover the value
of the Y until I was in my 30’s. I don’t want
people to wait that long. I want to make sure that a camp
experience will be there for every child in time to make
that difference.”
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