Albany Y seeking donations for annual scholarship campaign

ALBANY — After two years when donations were down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Albany Area YMCA is hoping for a return to normal this year for its campaign to provide scholarships to individuals and families who can’t afford full price for activities.

The Y has set a goal of $138,000 for the 2022 annual support campaign that would allow about 100 people to participate in activities ranging from youth sports to water aerobics for the elderly.

“It’s one of the cornerstone pieces that makes the Y what the Y is,” Membership and Marketing Director Samantha Helton said of the effort. “It’s not just our Y, it’s a national initiative. All Y’s raise scholarships.”

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the need to provide services has increased while contributions have been down, she said.

“For the previous two years, we’ve been limited on the funding we have raised,” Helton said. “We hope this year we can get back to what we were doing pre-pandemic.”

The campaign kicked off in early February and will extend through the end of March.

“We try to get as much funding as we can through March 31 so we know how many people we’ll be able to help out,” Helton said.

Most of the scholarships help pay for after-school and summer activities. Youth sports, including soccer and basketball, are also popular.

The Y has almost 4,000 members and operates the central facility at 1701 Gillionville Road as well as the sports facility at 4508 Gillionville Road and a facility at 316 Robert B. Lee Road in Lee County.

Individuals can make donations by visiting www.AlbanyAreaYMCA.com or calling (229) 436-0531, extension 221.

File Photo/TownNews.com Content Exchange/TownNews.com Content Exchange