Katee Grace
- Feb 24, 2012
- 4 min read

Santa Barbara Family YMCA | Campaign for Youth | Annual Generosity Raising

There are two scriptures that comes to mind as I begin writing this, Jeremiah 29:7 “seek the peace and welfare of the city to which I have caused you to be carried away captive; and pray to the Lord for it…” and then “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion–how can God’s love be in that person?” 1 John 3:17. From the standpoint of a follower of Christ, giving money, time and possessions should simply be from an overflow of the love and goodness of God that is experienced on a personal level. Seeking the welfare of others from a place of being filled with love from God and those around us greatly enriches both the fullness of our love as well as the amount we are able to pour forth into other’s lives.

Santa Barbara Family YMCA | Healthy Family Home

The Santa Barbara Family YMCA is not only a gym, though I love their spin classes and the great options for pilates and yoga, but our local Santa Barbara Family YMCA is a preschool to working families, a place that continually organizes and grows their after-school care programs, summer camp and leadership initiatives among the youth and young children in our community. These precious ones are privileged to find a haven from the unhealthy peer pressure and media influences that can so easily distract and cut into their individual value and life purposes. It has been such a pleasure to come alongside the hard-working efforts of the staff and volunteers of the Santa Barbara Family YMCA this year in raising the funds to help children and families who are struggling financially to still have opportunities to “learn, grow and thrive,” as the YMCA themselves say.

From instilling and understanding water safety to subsidizing after-school childcare for four months for a family in need, the possibilities are endless concerning the impact your generosity to the Campaign for Youth will make this year. Summer camp is one of the aspects that reaches kids in our community, with time set aside to nurture and strengthen them in a focused and intentional time with a staff that is committed to growth in healthy relationships and encouraging good character and general thriving as an individual. I read an account by a young girl who attended camp last year and how she was so excited to spend time with her “second family” and after touching on the facts of a specific counselor’s “caring personality, helpful attitude and fun sense of humor… caring for each and every camper” she ended her school report highlighting her time at the YMCA summer camp about by saying how she can “never explain how grateful I am (she is) to have a great role model to look up to.” It’s this girl and other like her in our community, looking for role models whom they can emulate, who will benefit from your generosity.

The photographs below show another project that will benefit from the generosity of our community towards the Santa Barbara Family YMCA. A program that could not only revolutionize the quality of life for not just one generation but many to follow is the Healthy Family Home program in which the Y partners with the Sansum Clinic to get kids and families on board with a healthy lifestyle. This program is 6-8 weeks long and consists of one session per week as a group, meeting together, exercising in a fun and engaging way together, eating healthy food and being accountable to one another about the exercise and eating goals set and reached the previous week and loving encouragement for the days and weeks to come. Watching the intentionality throughout the PE Class portion of the program of the instructor engaging the kids and families individually and their response to these prompts and encouragement was nothing short of complete enthusiasm and full engagement in these healthy activities. The food prepared with the participants in mind was full of flavor and completely healthy, abolishing just one more stereotype of healthy eating. The staff of this program knew each family and engaged every individual from silly songs to making their delicious veggie wraps, encouraging comfort and confidence.

If Community Giving to families is something you’re into and this is an avenue that really touches you, then please email or telephone me about how I can set you up to give to these kids of Santa Barbara. katee@kateegrace.com or 805-637-7412