A $25-million Investment in Our Communities
The Y Saves Lives Campaign is raising $25-million to reach more people at critical moments, reduce financial barriers and invest in YMCA spaces that keep our communities healthy. The campaign has three overarching goals:
The Y Saves Lives Campaign is raising $25 million to reach more people at critical moments, reduce financial barriers and invest in YMCA spaces that keep our communities healthy.
The campaign has three overarching goals
The investment is organized around four campaign priorities
Priority #1: Programming
$9 million: Reaching people at critical moments
Invest in programs that help people grow in spirit, mind and body and provide support when it matters most.
Programs include:
- Helping Hands
- YMCA Beyond the Bell®
- Youth of Tomorrow
- Back on Track by the YMCA
- Anti-Human Trafficking & Vanessa's Closet
- Men's Residence
- LiveWell and Seniors' Programming
Your investment will:
- Build resilience early
- Provide stability during times of crisis
- Promote lifelong health and connection
Priority #2: People
$9 million: Enabling life-changing access to the Y
Young people, families, adults and seniors should be able to access YMCA programs when they need them most.
Your investment will:
- Remove financial barriers
- Strengthen equity
- Sustain long-term impact across YMCA program areas
Priority #3: Place
$4 million: Sustaining YMCA community spaces
Invest in essential capital improvements so YMCA spaces remain safe, inclusive and ready to meet growing community needs.
Your investment will:
- Improve accessibility and sustainability
- Protect health and safety
- Support expanded participation and programming
Priority #4: YMCA Wanakita
$3 million: Investing in transformative outdoor experiences
For generations, YMCA Wanakita has helped young people and families develop confidence, leadership and lifelong relationships through camp experiences.
Your investment will:
- Enhance year-round programming and leadership development
- Support essential capital renewal and infrastructure
- Expand access for diverse families, young people and people with disabilities
Real People. Life-Changing Impact.
Dorothea & Deborah
After a stroke, Dorothea was referred to the YMCA LiveWell program. Years later, after Deborah experienced a heart attack, her healthcare team recommended LiveWell's Healthy Hearts group.
Today, mother and daughter continue coming to the YMCA, staying active and connected to their LiveWell communities.
Mutasim
Mutasim's family wanted a camp where he and his twin sister could participate together. Through YMCA Day Camps and Helping Hands, they attended Camp Chippewa, with one-to-one support tailored to Mutasim's needs.
Personalized assistance enabled him to participate fully, including discovering a love of canoeing and sharing the camp experience with his sister.
Ken Geroux
Ken first joined the YMCA more than 50 years ago looking for somewhere to train. He found community, mentorship and a lasting sense of belonging. Today, he still comes to the YMCA six days a week.
"You walk in one way and leave feeling completely different. It just lifts you up."
Ken Geroux
From a Critical Moment to Forward Momentum
Every day, people reach moments when the right support can make a difference.
A young person may be falling behind. A family may encounter barriers that feel impossible to overcome. Isolation or poor health may begin taking hold.
The YMCA helps fill gaps in care, access and support, helping people build skills, strengthen well-being and resilience, remain connected to school and community and move toward healthier, more stable futures.
At the Y, what starts as timely support grows into life-changing momentum.
That is at the heart of what it means to say:
The Y Saves Lives.
"When people tell me what the Y has meant to them, they say: 'The Y saved my life.' I've heard this over and over. We didn't come up with that line, our community did."
— Manny Figueiredo, President & CEO, YMCA Hamilton | Burlington | Brantford
How the Y Saves Lives
For 170 years, the YMCA has helped communities stay healthy, active and connected. Across Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford, YMCA programs support people at every age and stage of life.
But the Y's impact goes beyond recreation.
The YMCA steps in at critical moments, bridging gaps in care and creating pathways to opportunity, belonging and healthier futures. Community partners including municipalities, school boards, healthcare providers and police services turn to the YMCA to help address issues they cannot solve alone. [Y Saves Li...s_V2-3.pdf | PDF]
This includes:
- Supporting young people before challenges escalate
- Building resilience and helping close education gaps
- Addressing chronic disease and supporting healthy aging
- Reducing isolation among seniors
- Helping people experiencing vulnerability find stability and pathways forward
- Making YMCA programs accessible regardless of financial circumstances
