SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

As an organization dedicated to serving and strengthening our community, we inspire members of the community to make a difference in the lives of others with small and large acts of kindness. Your support helps others who are less fortunate to access our
​life-changing opportunities.

FOOD INSECURITY

Since June 2020, the Summit Area YMCA has worked with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey to continue providing healthy food packs to local families in need. With schools closed for the remainder of the school year, and unemployment on the rise due to COVID19 closures, families in NJ were faced with food insecurity not only on weekends, but on a daily basis. With the Community Food Bank’s hours adjusted with a lower capacity for bagging food, the Summit Area YMCA stepped in to fill the gap. Every week, the Food Bank sent pallets of food to the Y where volunteers sorted and bagged approximately 400 bags of groceries that also include donations from the local community. These packs were then given out weekly to the community.

4,450+

Healthy Food Packs Given to Local Families

230+ Volunteers

Throughout the especially difficult year of 2020, volunteers have continued to be the foundation of the Summit Area YMCA and are the embodiment of our mission and cause.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
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​At the Summit Area YMCA, we are here for the community and support this past year was needed more than ever. Thanks to the generous donations of members, donors, and partners in the community from funds raised during our Annual Campaign and special events, we were able to offer nearly $400,000 in financial aid in 2020. We are grateful to everyone who made it possible for us to keep giving back to the community even when our doors had been closed.

$388,342

Given in Financial Aid
FRIDAYS IN MOTION
The Special Needs Programs at the Summit Area YMCA are thoughtfully designed for youth with communication, social, behavioral and learning differences to thrive in a safe, friendly and supportive environment. Our mission is to encourage, help, build and strengthen healthy physical activity, confidence, social skills and more. Participants can enjoy a variety of activities that promote health, wellness, creative enrichment and socialization.

Our Fridays in Motion Special Needs Program resumed in November. This free monthly themed social event is hosted for youth ages 5-17 with diverse abilities one Friday each month and encompasses 2 hours of engaging activities like swimming, pet therapy, gym games, arts and crafts.

89

Participants in Our Special Needs Programming

SUMMIT ACHIEVE COMMUNITY GARDEN

In 2020 we dedicated 8 of the 56 plots in the Summit ACHIEVE Community Garden to grow produce to donate to the two Food Pantries in town – GRACE Food Pantry and Loaves + Fishes out of St. Teresa’s church in Summit. The Community Garden's contribution is unique in being freshly picked and organically grown. In addition to the plots dedicated to growing food for these programs, gardeners with personal plots regularly contribute from their bounty as well.

In 2020 The Summit Area YMCA was approached by the Summit High School Planting Club to participate in the garden and they were given a plot to grow produce for the food pantries in town. The group was comprised of approximately 25 high school students who were active from start to finish in cleaning out beds, planting seedlings and harvesting produce.

500lbs

of Fresh Produce Donated
BLOOD DRIVES
Medical professionals across the tri-state were desperate to resolve the critical blood supply shortage in light of the coronavirus. To assist, the Summit Area YMCA, in partnership with the American Red Cross, hosted several emergency blood drives at the Berkeley Heights YMCA and Summit YMCA. Our community showed up and total blood donations estimated over 1,660+ lives saved.

1,660+

Lives Saved
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SUMMIT AREA YMCA
BERKELEY HEIGHTS YMCA | SPRINGFIELD COMMUNITY POOL | SUMMIT YMCA | THE LEARNING CIRCLE YMCA
In 1886, we were founded as the Young Men's Christian Association, but today, we are The Y. An association that values, and is made stronger by, its diverse people. We stand for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility — For a better us. We are committed to creating equal opportunity for all regardless of gender, age, disability, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. We strive to create a welcoming and inclusive culture in which our four core values — responsibility, honesty, caring and respect — are integral to everyday operations.
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Each year, as one of the area’s leading 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, the Summit Area YMCA serves more than 19,000 individuals with our free and fee-based programs and services in an area spanning the New Jersey communities of Berkeley Heights, Gillette, Millburn, New Providence, Short Hills, Springfield, Stirling and Summit. Our history is rooted in working side-by-side with our neighbors to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Through the generosity of our members, donors, and partners, we are able to offer financial assistance for our programs and services to those in need.
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www.thesay.org