Last year was a very busy year and 2020 is shaping up to be just as busy and even more exciting. We’ve had some amazing events in the first month of the year with our Martin Luther King, Jr. Inspirational Breakfast, Luncheon and Day of Service. And going into February, we are announcing our new partnership with Cleveland Clinic at the Weston Y.

With a focus on nurturing, educating and growing youth as such a large part of the work we do at the Y, we took the opportunity this year to include students from our youth programs in every aspect of our MLK Inspirational Weekend. We kicked it off with a reception that allowed our Y afterschool program students to engage with and ask questions of our speaker – Minnijean Brown-Trickey, who was one of the Little Rock Nine. The students were fabulous and so was she. Her poise and insight made for wonderful chairside chats at our breakfast and luncheon.

We impacted a lot of lives that weekend. We had nearly 800 community leaders attend the breakfast and luncheon events; and over 370 volunteers turn out for the Day of Service projects at Allapattah YMCA and L.A. Lee YMCAs. The weekend was a tremendous success!

On February 20, we look forward to celebrating our new partnership with Cleveland Clinic with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The Y and Cleveland Clinic have partnered to provide rehabilitation services to its patients and the Weston community through a Physical Therapy facility, located in the Weston YMCA, and health and wellness education programs. Through this partnership, we will work together to create a healthier and stronger community.

My vision for 2020 is to continue to make more impact on lives in South Florida and make our organization stronger. Our focus will be on raising the bar on everything we do – Y programs and services, fundraising, and sharing the good news of what we do with our community.

The year ahead will be filled with many great events, so let’s get ready for a great 2020 at the Y!