Kingsport YMCA Receives $35,000 Pledge from ECU
KINGSPORT FAMILY YMCA RECEIVES $35,000 PLEDGE FROM EASTMAN CREDIT UNION
Eastman Credit Union (ECU) committed to increasing accessibility to resources, programs, meals and child care to families in under-served communities in Kingsport through a $35,000 pledge over 5 years for a 2018 Nissan NV Passenger SL van.
The Kingsport Family YMCA Y on Wheels program partnered with Kingsport City Schools and the Kingsport Redevelopment and Housing Authority (KHRA) in 2019 to determine what neighborhoods in Sullivan County needed assistance. The Y travels to the 5 identified under-served neighborhoods (Reedy Pointe, Magnolia Pointe, Hillside Pointe, Stonecrest and Borden Park) to provide meals, seasonal clothing, parenting and youth workshops and most importantly consistent positive role models for over 650 parents and kids.
Since the program started in 2019 on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of service, the YMCA has provided over 5,854 individual meals to kids and 1,360 family meal kits totaling an estimated $37,462 in food costs savings to all families. Through partnerships with community organizations and businesses, Y on wheels has provided 24 parent workshops and 11 youth classes on topics such as personal budgets, college prep, cooking skills, stress management and CPR training.
Skyler Fredericksen, Community Impact Program Assistant Grant Coordinator said, “The impact of this program goes beyond the numbers and statistics you see. The real impact is the smiles you see on kids’ faces when we show up week after week to play games, make crafts and just have fun. It’s in the kind words we hear from parents when they tell us they don’t know what they would do without the Y.”
Y on Wheels is funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grant contract thorough the state of Tennessee and through individual donations and organization partnerships such as the one with Eastman Credit Union.
This isn’t the first time that ECU has contributed to the Kingsport Family YMCA Y on Wheels Program. In January 2019, when the program was still in the early stages, ECU graciously donated a 12-passenger van to be used to transport participants, food and program equipment for the program. That van has traveled around Kingsport visiting 1 neighborhood in 2019, to visiting 3 neighborhoods 2021, to now traveling to 5 neighborhoods in 2022.
The additional passenger van opens the possibility for Y on Wheels to visit new under-served neighborhoods or increase the neighborhood visits to the current Y on Wheels sites.
“We are incredibly grateful for the continued support from ECU for our Y on Wheels program,” said January Tankersley, Sr. Director of Development at the Kingsport Family YMCA. “This program has made a tremendous impact on these families, and we are excited that we can not only continue the work we are doing but also expand our services to offer more to these families.”
The Kingsport Family YMCA is celebrating its 40-year anniversary in the Kingsport community. Since being chartered in 1983, the Kingsport Family YMCA has provided Afterschool care for thousands of parents, helped kids make lifelong friends at summer camp, opened its first health and wellness facility in 2005 before expanding again in 2013. The Y provided emergency childcare at no cost during the pandemic, established a feeding program for kids, opened a standalone youth center in Hawkins County and has extended its service area to 3 counties.