Y's Men hope to help
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on December 3, 2014 1:46 PM
Goldsboro's YMCA is looking to do something special this holiday season, and it needs your help to make it happen.
The YMCA's annual "Y's Men" event will take place on Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. this year, and there are high hopes for this event.
But, volunteers and monetary donations are still needed.
Last year, the YMCA served 73 families with the event and hopes to serve 100 this year.
In order for that to happen, the YMCA is depending on the community to volunteer to take parents shopping and donate gift cards.
Kriquette Davis with the YMCA said the community can help by coming into the facility at 1105 Parkway Drive and donating money for gift cards, or calling 919-778-8557 or emailing kriquette.davis@goldsboroymca.org to sign up to volunteer.
Ms. Davis said they are hoping to provide $350 per family this year for the families to use to purchase items for the holiday season. Donations of at least $50 for gift cards are encouraged.
The families the YMCA helps, she said, are families who are desperately needy. Ms. Davis said the YMCA works with various organizations around the county to ensure those receiving aid need the help, and only work with each family once.
Once enough money is raised and volunteers sign up for the event, parents will bring in their children to the "Y's men" event, drop them off to participate in various activities at the YMCA, and then team up with a volunteer for the event to go shopping at various stores to buy needed items. Families will then be provided food at the end of the event to take home. Ms. Davis said volunteers receive rewards from the event as well -- but those rewards are not anything material.
"We here from volunteers all the time that this is a Christmas present to themselves, to be able to work with these kids," Ms. Davis said. "They form relationships with those they help and they say it humbles them."