SEPTEMBER 2025In this issue:The Stories We Share: The Y Celebrates Welcoming Week/a>Helping Teens Shape the City with the Keith Haring FoundationThe Kids Are Alright: Meet OliviaMeet Our Marathoners!Upcoming Events The Stories We Share: The Y Celebrates Welcoming Week “Wow, you’ve got a big extended family there.” “I do. I do. It’s very global. My WhatsApp is very busy,” said Rachael Rinaldo, our Senior Director of New Americans Initiative & Global Partnerships. After 17 years with the Y, her phone is filled with messages from families she has guided, children she’s watched grow up, and community members who still turn to her years later. Every message is part of a larger story of welcome, connection, and resilience fostered at the Y.The YMCA of Greater New York goes back nearly 175 years, beginning with newcomers who arrived at Ellis Island in search of safety and opportunity. Since its founding, the Y has been a foundation where these stories take root—stories of people starting over, building community, and finding opportunity. That same legacy continues today, and this fall during Welcoming Week (September 12–21), our Y branches celebrate this year’s theme Stories We Share. We invite you to join the festivities [ANCHOR TO UPCOMING EVENTS] and gain a deeper understanding of your impact in the story below.As Rachael explains, “We don’t just focus on the language component. We focus on the whole person or the whole family.” That holistic approach has shaped how the Y is responding to the recent challenges facing immigrant New Yorkers. From creating parenting plans and providing multilingual mental health care to strengthening legal partnerships and ensuring NAI staff—many of whom are immigrants themselves—feel just as safe and supported, the Y is there with dignity and care at every step.The results of this work are transformative. In just six months, 88 people earned industry-recognized certifications. “When you think about all the work that it takes to get those certifications, that's huge. We had seven individuals become citizens, which is a rarity these days all things considered,” Rachael explained. The numbers matter, but it’s the stories that stay with Rachael. She remembers Sara, a Liberian refugee and single mother she supported at our former NAI site on Staten Island, who had survived the trauma of war and carried its scars. Years later, Rachael picked up her phone to hear the voice of a 10-year-old asking, “Is this Auntie Rachael?” It was Sara’s daughter—the same baby who once crawled across her office floor—now reaching out on her own. It’s in moments like this that the impact of your support is felt most deeply—in lasting connections that stretch across years and generations. As Rachael says, “There is hope for everyone.” [anchored link to upcoming welcoming week events] Helping Teens Shape the City with the Keith Haring Foundation At the YMCA of Greater New York, we believe every young person deserves access to opportunities that enrich their lives, expand their education, and empower them to lead. The Keith Haring Foundation shares this vision and has been a steadfast partner in helping the Y break down barriers for under-resourced youth.Since 2021, the Foundation has generously invested $100,000 in our youth programs. Their first gift of $50,000 supported Learning Labs, an initiative created during the 2020–2021 school year to combat learning loss among public school students who could not attend classes in person. In 2023, the Foundation continued its commitment to educational equity with another $50,000 gift to Teens Take the City (TTC), our flagship civic engagement and youth leadership program. Today, this partnership is critical in combatting the nationwide decline in youth civic engagement. For many families across NYC, high-quality extracurricular and afterschool programs are out of reach—either because of cost or because these opportunities are selective and only available to students with strong academic performance. TTC fills this gap by offering a free, inclusive, and enriching experience for middle and high school students across the five boroughs, more than 70% of whom come from economically disadvantaged households. Through the program, teens learn to identify challenges in their neighborhoods, research their root causes, and develop thoughtful policy proposals that respond to these issues. Each proposal is then linked to a student-led service project that brings these ideas to life in the community.Thanks to support from the Keith Haring Foundation, the 2023–2024 school year was one of TTC’s most successful yet. A total of 724 teenagers participated, nearly doubling the program’s target of 400, and TTC operated in 20 sites across all five boroughs. Students completed 20 service projects, exceeding the program’s goal, and 90% of participants graduated on time, compared to 84% citywide.Looking ahead, TTC will continue to grow. During the 2025–2026 school year, the program will serve 450 students and expand in both the number of sites and service projects. We remain steadfast in this work at a time when the New York State Education Department estimates that at least 65,000 low-income students could lose access to afterschool and summer programs due to potential federal funding cuts. Our partnership with the Keith Haring Foundation is more vital than ever to ensure that young people in under-resourced communities have the opportunity to advocate, create, and lead.We are deeply grateful to the Keith Haring Foundation for championing this work and for honoring Keith Haring’s legacy of enriching the lives of underprivileged children through civic education. The Kids Are Alright: Meet Olivia If you saw Olivia today—whether it’s sitting in the City Hall Council Chamber, speaking at our Golf & Gala event, or accepting an award for Volunteer of the Year—you wouldn’t have guessed that she was once a shy kid, afraid of public speaking. That’s because Olivia, now a senior, has grown tremendously through her involvement in our Teens Take the City (TTC) program at Flushing Beacon 184. Since 8th grade, Olivia has been with the Y—meeting council members, leading service projects, and serving as TTC’s Queensborough President the last two years.Like many of her peers, she values the opportunity to learn about what’s happening across the boroughs and how other young people view the issues facing their communities. “[The City Hall event] really gets me out of my own bubble and thinking in ways I wouldn’t myself. I didn’t know that NYCHA housing has such little funding and how smoke shops are being built near schools until I heard about it at City Hall.” Olivia also went on a trip to Albany with TTC where she met Grace Meng, New York State’s first and only Asian American Member of Congress. Seeing that representation was powerful for her, and she felt truly heard when sharing her ideas with Meng’s staff. “You never know the people you’re going to meet when you walk in the Y, and they end up being the people who open so many doors for you moving forward.” TTC not only gets our teens out of the city but also deepens their impact within their communities—whether doing park clean ups, delivering meals on wheels, or running a “genius bar” at a retirement home. All these opportunities are valuable to put on a resume, but there’s more to Olivia’s experience with the Y. She’s found a mentor she can confide in during difficult times—a safe space that can’t be measured yet makes all the difference.Looking ahead, Olivia hopes to join the medical field and wants to keep coming back to the Y as an alumna to mentor the next generation of TTC advocates. We are so proud of Olivia and are thrilled to continue supporting her journey! Meet our Marathoners!Our 20 Team Y Champions are training for one of New York City's greatest events: the TCS NYC Marathon. From first-timers to new mothers to milestone birthdays, they all share one goal: to make every mile meaningful. Together, they’re running not just for the finish line, but for a shared belief in the Y’s mission.SUPPORT THEM AS THEY SUPPORT US “The Y helped my family build the foundation for a better future in NYC. I run to help do the same for other families as they begin a new chapter of their lives!” SUPPORT JANINE!Learn more about the New Americans Initiative. “I’m running in honor of my Abuela Pita, who worked for San Juan Y for years. Her love for community and this cause transcends generations.” SUPPORT FABIANA!Learn more about legacy giving. “As an Aunt of 9 nieces and nephews, I know just how impactful Y educators and counselors are.”SUPPORT OLIVIA!Learn about our youth impact. “To celebrate turning 50, I’m giving back and challenging myself by running the marathon.”SUPPORT JENNIFER!Learn more about starting your own fundraiser. UPCOMING EVENTSWELCOMING WEEK | September 12-21 NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY | September 16 Join the nationwide celebration of our democracy by registering to vote and make your voice heard! Register or update/check registration here! LEADERSHIP CALL WITH CEO SHARON GREENBERGER | September 25, 12PMJoin us for an exclusive update and see the impact across the neighborhood and beyond. RSVP today! DAF DAY | October 9Did you know? Giving through your Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) may provide you with immediate tax benefits while maximizing your impact? Simply recommend the YMCA of Greater New York (Tax ID# 13-1624228) as an organization to support through your financial or legal advisor. Mailing: 5 West 63rd St, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10023 Contact: Donor Relations at donorrelations@ymcanyc.org WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON | October 16, 12PMJoin us for an inspiring afternoon bringing together NYC’s top women leaders in business & philanthropy for our 4th Annual Women’s Leadership Luncheon, featuring acclaimed chef & restaurateur Kristen Kish and our President & CEO, Sharon Greenberger. Learn more and RSVP here.