Sharing Stories and Hope - A Night Highlighting the YMCA's Impact
The Olympic Peninsula YMCA hosted our 2nd Celebrating Community Event last week. Welcoming community leaders and their guests, we shared stories about the positive impact that Y programs have had over the past year, highlighting the Y’s three areas of impact, “Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Impact”.
“During these difficult times when there are so many heavy stories in the news, we want to gather as a community and share the good that is happening; share hope and celebrate the wonderful work that is being done on the Olympic Peninsula”, Wendy Bart, CEO said as she opened the event.
The evening kicked off with a fun, interactive trivia game where Bart and Rich Childers, Board President Elect, quizzed the attendees with YMCA trivia. Some answers came easily to the group, like guessing the number of years the YMCA has been active in the US (175), while others were a little more challenging, like accurately estimating the amount of membership and program support the Olympic Peninsula YMCA has given out to people in need in 2025 ($722,000). Participant, Tim Williams, of Sequim came in as the winner, determined by both speed and accuracy.
A significant part of the programming was a series of professionally produced videos that highlighted different Y programs, but the magic happened when the subjects of the videos spoke live.
Joey Belanger, Vice President of Operations was the first impact speaker, not as a staff person, but as a former youth sports participant turned dad and volunteer coach to his 4-year-old son’s Y basketball team. “My earliest memory and my first interaction with the Y were through youth basketball.” Belanger shared. “Now I’ve come full circle. My son is now old enough to enroll in Y sports. At the Y, kids learn a lot through sports: teamwork, connection and caring about what is going on around them.” Joey’s story moved the crowd, as he shared why the Y is intrinsic to his family’s story. “I learned how to be a team player at the Y. It became my first job. It’s where I met my wife. Now, I get to be part of my son’s Y story as a volunteer coach.” The youth sports program is one of many programs that are part of the Y’s strategic goal: Children are confident, prepared to learn, and care about others.
Tracey Durso, Program Executive for Health Living shared about her role at the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, highlighting how feedback from members can help us create meaningful programming, including the Outdoor Excursion programs that feature group hikes, that were highlighted in the video.
Tracey introduced the night’s second impact speaker, Y member, Sue Coffman, who spoke about the impact of the Y’s Outdoor Excursions program. “This program offered my husband and I the opportunity to get out and explore new locations [around the Olympic Peninsula]. Going on these trips in the YMCA van was like being on an adult field trip, really FUN. Plus, we got to know new people.” Sue and her husband Ron both retired before moving to the area. “During this stage of our lives, there can be a tendency to overeat, become sedentary, bored, or get depressed. Social activities help break up the routine of life and can create special memories.” Coffman’s words reflected what the Y has been working hard to combat, social isolation. According to the Surgeon General’s 2023 Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community, lacking social connection can increase the risk for premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
Coffman went on to share some of her own research about how to deal with isolation and general malaise, “I believe the YMCA and its various programs can help fight off depression by giving you a reason to put on clean, comfortable clothes, do some kind of activity, go outside,” and other tips she shared. Bottom line, she closed with, “Be kind to yourself and most of all keep moving!”
One of the Y’s programs, the pop-up School Break Food program in Jefferson County, meets people where they are at to help support their basic needs. Our Social Impact team follows the school break schedule and offers food boxes to families when school is out of session. According to Summer Nutrition Status Report 2023, child hunger spikes when school lets out because millions of children lose access to the school breakfasts, lunches, and afterschool snacks they receive during the school day. The Y’s program provided 23,000 meals in 2025, serving 350 families.
The evening’s last impact speaker was Hailee H, who shared her inspiring story of having been a recipient of the food program during a time when her family needed it the most. But the most compelling part of her story was how, through feeling seen, respected and nurtured by the Y staff, she was inspired to give back through sharing her own passion, cooking. “At one of the food distributions, I saw a giant bag of carrots,” Hailee shared. “My culinary brain immediately thought carrot soup! When done right, carrot soup is delicious and more than nourishment, it’s a labor of love.” Hailee began brainstorming with staff about how she might make the loving act of cooking a nutritious meal into something she could share with her fellow program recipients, which developed into cooking demonstrations that she ran at subsequent food distribution events. “I was able to create three recipes using at least 85% of what was on the tables that day. I kept them simple, flavorful, and totally doable with basic kitchen tools. My goal was to make cooking something everyone can step into, no matter what their experience or background.” Hailee wrapped up by sharing the most important words of the night, “When you show up for your community, your community shows up for you.”
The Celebrating Community dinner is an annual event. To learn more about how you can partner with the Y to move the mission forward for our community, contact Jodi Minker, Director of Community Engagement at [email protected]. Special thanks to our event sponsors, Sound Community Bank and 7 Cedars.
