Some of you may know that I work for the Y*M*C*A. The Y is a wonderful organization that teaches kids across the world core values such as Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility.

The Y I work at, the XXXX Family Y in San Diego, is an urban Ythat serves a largely low-income community. Ninety percent of the youth and families that walk through our doors qualify for financial assistance. And, because we never want to turn anyone away due to an inability to pay, we try our hardest to make the Y experience they need a reality. I cannot tell you how many times I have helped a single mother looking for affordable childcare so she can continue to provide for her children, look at me with tears in her eyes and thank me. I feel so humble in those moments. I cannot truly know what this woman is going through, but it makes me feel good to help someone in need.

The financial assistance we provide is substantial. Tens of thousands of dollars are given out in scholarships each year at our Y. To make that happen, we rely on the generosity of those more fortunate to help us reach our goal of serving everyone. Each February we have our annual fundraising drive where members and volunteers tell the Ystory and ask for a donation. Today, I am asking you, dear reader, to consider contributing to my Y. Your donation is 100% tax deductible and would help so many children have a safe place to be while their parents work. It might help one more youth learn how to swim. It might provide a child a camp experience that otherwise would never be able to do so. Or it might provide an elderly lady a chance to stay fit in our water aerobic classes while, at the same time, keep socially active at a time when many seniors become isolated.

I have nothing to give you but this… If you donate any amount of money to my Y, I will include you on my Blogroll of the Month on the right. That’s all I got. However, you’ll be getting a lot more in return, I promise. I sent out a letter of appeal to friends and family yesterday and one prominent blogger has already pledged $100. I didn’t ask him if I could announce it so he’ll have to remain anonymous for now. I was floored by his generosity and I hope you might be willing to consider a similar donation.

You can give in a number of ways. The first, is you can go to the Y of San Diego County’s website and make your donation online. Please make sure to choose my Y when you donate. If you choose to do this, please email me to let me know you did so, so I can personally thank you.

You can also pay by check or credit card on a monthly, quarterly or all-at-once basis. You can either make your pledge in the comments below (and I’ll contact you via your email address for more information) or you can email me offline and I’ll give you more information. My email address is childsplayx2@gmail.com.

Thank you for considering this request. And if you cannot give to the my Y, I ask that you consider visiting your local Y and getting you and your family involved.

Thank you.