Registration for the Family Y's Summer Session of classes and programs is now under way. Summer classes and programs at the Y’s downtown facility start the week of June 24, with most continuing through the week of August 19.

Enrollment for the Family Y’s array of summer camps and programs, including the Earthplace-Mahackeno partnership and Hafaday Summer Swim Program, are ongoing, with some weekly sessions nearing capacity in each.

The Y – a leading nonprofit committed to youth development, healthy living and social responsibility – exists to strengthen community. The Y offers a unique combination of programs that improve health, nurture youth, and connect members of all ages to their neighbors and community. It’s the place where can you get back into a sport you used to enjoy, take a class with your spouse or child, or enjoy regular time together as a family.

Adult Y members and their guests take part in pickup basketball games at lunchtime; moms and dads help their young children learn how to be safe in the water through parent-child aquatics classes or improve their motor skills at Toddler Adventure Gym; families work out together in our Fitness Center or stride side-by-side on the treadmills and elliptical machines in the Cardio Center.

A complete listing of activities offered at the Family Y may be found in our 28-page online brochure, along with online registration for all summer classes, camps and programs.

The Family Y also offers a number of activities that are open to everyone in the community.

On Saturday, May 18, the Y hosts its first-ever Holistic Health Day. “Holistic” health is an approach to life that focuses on complete body health and the relationship between your environment and your health. It emphasizes the connection of the spirit, mind and body.
Find out for yourself by joining in a variety of classes and special activities, from Tai Chi to Qigong to Acupuncture, taking place in our Bedford and Bresslin Rooms from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm.

And later on Saturday, May 18, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, the Family Y turns into a “clubhouse for tweens” for Youth Fun Night. On Youth Fun Nights, the Y is open just for 4th to 7th graders from the Westport and Weston school districts, no membership required. Kids can join friends, neighbors, and classmates for an evening of swimming, basketball, games and ice cream. The cost is $12 in advance; $15 at the door. For details or to register, visit http://www.westporty.org.

Y members and non-members alike also have a multitude of options for Y day camps and special programs taking place this summer. The Y’s downtown facility conducts weeklong specialty camps throughout the summer, for young gymnasts, dancers, basketball, lacrosse and more, as well as a variety of learn-to-swim programs.

The Y’s popular Hafaday Summer Swim Lesson Program is designed for children ages 4 to 8 and is held each weekday from 8:45 am to 12:30 pm. Hafaday is primarily a swim program, with both a lesson and a free swim period each day. Arts and crafts, music and gym time, including yoga, karate, and games round out each morning of fun. Parents are encouraged to sign up their children soon, as most sessions fill to capacity.

And according to Meg George, Camp and Youth Director, the Y’s special collaboration, Earthplace-Mahackeno Summer Camp 2013, is already close to capacity for some grades and weekly sessions. This one-year partnership, the result of Camp Mahackeno’s hiatus during construction of the new Y facility, will take place at Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center, a 62-acre nature sanctuary and educational center in the Old Hill section of Westport. Because of the combined operations this year, enrollment is limited.

Says Meg: "We've added a few spaces to our 3rd Grade group, but only by borrowing some spots from other grades. We currently have less than 10 spots left in all the sessions for Grades 5, 6 and 7. And many of our sessions for Grades 1, 2 and 3 are more than half full."

“Interestingly, most of the campers currently signed up are new to either camp,” Meg notes.

"Unlike previous summers at Mahackeno, once sessions and grades are full this summer, we won't be able to add any groups at the last minute," she adds. “Please keep this in mind as you make your summer plans. We don't want to see anyone miss out on a chance to be a part of Earthplace-Mahackeno Summer Camp 2013.”

Nationally, the Y engages 9 million youth and 12 million adults in 10,000 communities across the U.S. The Family Y serves 5,500 members who live and work in Westport, Weston and surrounding communities. Our current membership represents 15 percent of the towns we serve and 25 percent of all local youth. Nearly 40 percent of all local grade-school children are active in Family Y programs and special activities.

To learn more about the Westport Weston Family Y, including membership options and guest policies, contact Brian Marazzi, Membership & Marketing Director, at 203-226-8981, ext. 165.

Much has changed at our Family Y’s 32-acre Mahackeno campus just north of downtown since Feb. 5, when Y volunteer leaders, staff and construction partners were joined by dozens of Y members and supporters to celebrate the official groundbreaking ceremony for the 54,000 sq. ft. facility that, come late 2014, will serve as the Family Y’s new home.

Click through our latest photo gallery on the "Who, What, When -- and Y" blog to see photos taken Monday, May 13, and read the captions for more details. To see renderings of the interior spaces, please click here for a pdf of images.

A chilling breeze through bare trees has been replaced by the warm winds of spring that ripple through the light green of new leaves. Two-story high piles of topsoil, wood chips, and dirt and gravel have grown, shrunk, moved around as heavy-duty machines do the work of sorting and sifting and screening and crushing their way through some 7,300 cubic yards of material.

The sloping hillside within which our new Y will be located has been dug out, sculpted and shaped. Thick walls of concrete are rising from the ground, released from their scaffolded forms. A sky-high crane lifts the forms and sets them down again, as workers fashion their bracework of rebar to be encased by yet more wet cement poured from the heavy spindles of the cement trucks.

Three months into the building project directed by Turner Construction, work on our new Y proceeds, its pace quickening as the work list expands. Progress continues every work day; safely, ahead of schedule, and (we’re happy to report) currently under budget.

Some key dates ahead: The masonry that will enclose the exterior walls will be added starting around June 7. A week or so later, around June 16, the steel girders that will form our new, two-level Y will begin to be erected by two very large cranes.

From an overlook along Allen Raymond Lane on the north side of the building site, visitors on our weekly guided tours are now able to truly “imagine the possibilities” — See that crane over there? It’s in the shallow end of our 10-lane lap pool… See those workers? They’re setting rebar under where Y members and guests will enter the main lobby… See that low wall jutting outward toward the brook, then along it, then back again, like a giant-size bay window? The bare dirt that bay window now encloses will, come late next year, be the carpeted floor of our beautiful new Wellness Center, with its picturesque views of the brook…

Or see for yourself by signing up for a tour, held each Wednesday at 12:15 pm. Groups are limited to 10 people; contact Susie Haydon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 203-226-8981, ext. 106. To find out more about Building What Matters, our campaign to fully fund and construct a modern and sustainable new Family Y, please click here.

The Water Rat Parents Club and Y Swim Coaches hosted the annual WRAT Recognition Night at Bedford Middle School on Friday, Apr. 26. Nearly 300 guests were on hand for a celebratory dinner, followed by an awards ceremony for graduating seniors and special recognition of other members of the 2012-2013 Westport Weston Family Y’s 200-member youth swim team.

Find more photos from the night on the Family Y Facebook page, and this slideshow on the Water Rat’s web pages.

Sarah Cooperman received the Water Rats Parents’ Club Bob Knoebel Scholarship, which honors Bob Knoebel, who retired as the Family Y’s Aquatics Director and 8 & Under swim coach in 2005. During his 29 years at the Y, Bob was very involved in community activities and events, creating the Point-to-Point Swim at Compo Beach, held each July, and the Strong Kids Triathlon, which the Y hosts at Staples High School each September.

This award is presented to a graduating senior who started swimming as an 8 & Under and who is involved in an activity of interest outside of swimming.  Sarah has volunteered at the Maritime Center of Norwalk for a number of years. Additionally, she was selected by Gault Energy in alliance with Polar Bear International as an Arctic Ambassador; she traveled to Churchill, Manitoba – known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World – with other youth to learn about and discuss global initiatives.

Naina Thota received the Andrew Sawyer Memorial Award for her contributions to the team. The award honors Andrew Sawyer, who competed for the Water Rats in the 1980s. A nationally ranked swimmer, Andrew was the quintessential teammate.  He knew everyone’s name on the team and always had nice things to say to and about people. Lost at a young age due to an undetected heart defect, Andrew embodies the Y’s core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

Charlie West received the Cameron Bruce Memorial Award for representing the ideals of the Family Y in and out of the pool. The award honors Cameron Bruce, a former Water Rat, who died in an accident in 2010 at Queens University in Ontario. Not only was Cameron a talented swimmer, he was also a gifted musician and devoted volunteer who was deeply engaged in his community during his childhood in Westport.

The award in Cameron’s memory is presented to a Water Rat swimmer who steps up and shows on his/her own how to give back the Water Rat Swim Team, the Y and the community. Last year, Charlie spearheaded the “Swim for Bucks” swim-a-thon to raise money for the Y’s Building What Matters Capital Campaign to fund and construct a new facility at its 32-acre Mahackeno campus just north of downtown Westport.

Mary Cooperman is this year’s recipient of the Ann Atkinson Volunteer of the Year Award. It’s given in memory of a Water Rat parent who recognized that the success of a non-profit organization like the Y is due to its volunteer corps.  Ann developed the PET-WRAT program, which offers swim parents ways in which they can volunteer and earn credit.  This program has become the model for many swim teams throughout the country.

Mary Cooperman, the mother of Sarah, is a dedicated Water Rat parent and Y volunteer who, like Ann Atkinson, knows that much of the important work at our charitable organization is accomplished behind the scenes. From helping to develop and maintain the Water Rat website to contributing her design talents to the Building What Matters campaign, to being involved with the Parents Club Nominating Committee and helping with many years of swim-meet needs, Mary exemplifies the selfless service that Ann Atkinson performed and inspired in others.

“The success of our team is not solely in the water,” says Ellen Johnston, Head Coach. “We have a tremendous support group in our parents as we strive to help develop each swimmer to be the best they can be, in and out of the pool.  Our swimmers are a wonderful group of young people who are willing to challenge themselves, who are stellar ambassadors of the Water Rat Swim Team and who develop vital life skills and life-long friendships along the way.”

At right are the graduating seniors, shown with Coach Ellen. From left to right: Matt Wetmore, Sarah Cooperman, Naina Thota, Robert DeLuca and Maddie Prangley. Not pictured: David Fleming.

Find more photos from the night on the Family Y Facebook page, and this slideshow on the Water Rat’s web pages.

The Water Rat Swim Team is a year-round, nationally recognized competitive swim program organized and operated by the Aquatics Department of the Westport Weston Family Y.  The Water Rats compete in Y competition at the local level through dual meets and at the state and national level. The team is also a registered USA Swimming Team sanctioned by Connecticut Swimming, Inc. and competes in USA competitive swimming at the local, regional, state, zone and national level.

For more information about the Family Y’s Water Rat Swim Team, visit http://www.westporty.org or co,ntact Ellen Johnston at 203-226-8981, ext. 110 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Work on our modern new Y facility for the Westport and Weston communities continues safely and ahead of schedule. Our partners at Turner Construction report that nearly half of the concrete “footing” has been set, with some 15 percent of the foundation walls now in place. More than 8,000 tons of material have been processed onsite. Not only does this minimize the amount of truck traffic to and from the site; it’s also resulted in a savings of $150,000 — money that will be well spent adding additional features and amenities to our new home!

Most of the photos you see in this photo gallery on our “Who, What, When—and Y” blog were taken on Wednesday, Apr. 24, during the weekly group tour of the building site.

To reserve your spot in one of our guided tours each Wednesday at 12:15 pm, please email Susie Haydon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

For more information about the our Family Y’s Building What Matters campaign to fund and construct a new home for the Family Y on its 32-acre Mahackeno campus, please click here or contact Rob Reeves, Chief Executive Officer, at 203-226-8981, ext.131, or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Earlier this year, the Family Y launched a new fundraising effort that gives members and supporters throughout the community a creative way to help fund the construction of the new Y facility now being built on our 32-acre Mahackeno campus.

Called Picture Yourself at the New Family Y, this innovative campaign involves the creation of a large wall mural at the new Y to be composed of thousands of individual photographs of Y members and supporters. The picture on which the mosaic is based is “The Westport-Weston YMCA,” a watercolor by artist Kassie Foss of the Family Y’s historic Bedford Building.

Think of this picture mosaic as a digital version of the traditional ‘buy a brick’ fundraiser: Instead of paying for an inscribed brick or tile, contributors upload a favorite photo at www.pictureyournewy.org, along with a tax-deductible contribution to the Family Y’s “Building What Matters” capital campaign. Donors are able locate their photos within this online mosaic, as well as search for those of friends and neighbors.

When complete, this photo mosaic will be permanently displayed in our new Y as a 6 ft. by 4 ft. wall mural, just inside the main lobby.

Each and every photo within our growing mosaic tells a personal story, and together they form the larger story of the Family Y and the generations of local families we’ve been proud to serve. We know you'll want to have you and your own family become a part of Y history. Our mosaic is also a wonderful opportunity to honor a loved one in a lasting way.

Adding your photo is easy, as the graphic below shows. Simply click on this online donation page to get started. You'll be asked to make a $100 donation per photo with your credit card through the safe and secure PayPal process. Then you'll be asked to upload a digital photo from your computer and, if you'd like, to add a caption and join a group to be associated with (such as Water Rats, Gymnastics or Y volunteer). Our partner in this venture, Picture Mosaics LLC, will then send you a confirmation email notifying you that they received the photo; a few days later, you'll receive another email when your photo has been added to the online mosaic. You can also share a link to the mosaic with your friends and family, so they can see your photo within the mosaic. Invite them to join you!



For more information about the Y’s Building What Matters capital campaign, or to discuss making an additional contribution or multi-year pledge, contact Paul Bernetsky, Chief Development Officer, at 203-226-8981, ext. 115, or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Registration is under way for all of the Family Y's camps and special programs taking place this summer. Don't delay; sign up today! And, of course, the Family Y also offers a full schedule of Summer Session classes and programs. To review our Summer Brochure, please click here. Registration for Summer classes and programs begins Monday, May 6.

Please click on the subhed links below to get started making your summer plans with the Y.

Earthplace-Mahackeno
Since 1938, the Mahackeno Outdoor Center has been the setting for our Family Y's summer day camp. For the 2013 season, Camp Mahackeno will be collaborating with another Westport institution, Earthplace, the Nature Discovery Center, so we can continue to serve our campers and families during the construction of our new Y facility at Mahackeno.

This wonderful opportunity will allow us to have yet another great summer in a beautiful outdoor setting here in Westport. Earthplace and the Family Y are working together to plan a summer with fun activities and themes, great staff and many opportunities for campers to make new friends and memories.

The program is for campers who are entering 1st grade through 8th grade. Earthplace will continue to welcome preschoolers age 3 to Kindergarten to camp. You can also find more information about this summer's camp by visiting www.earthplace.org.

Hafaday Summer Swim Lesson Program
Sessions fill quickly for this amazing summer program, which gives children the vital chance to build swim skills, regardless of previous experience, and have a lot of summer fun. Designed for children ages 4 to 8 and held each weekday from 8:45 am to 12:30 pm, Hafaday is primarily a swim program, with both a lesson and a free swim period each day. It's the best way to learn to swim. Arts and crafts, music and gym time, including yoga, karate, and games round out each morning of fun.

We have 9 weekly sessions, beginning Monday, June 17 and continuing on through the week of August 12. Students in swim lessons are grouped by age and ability. The cost for Y Members is $270 per week; $295 for non-members.

Stewie's Splash! Hour
The Family Y has partnered with Stew Leonard III Children's Charities to promote water safety throughout the community. During each week of Hafaday, Wednesday's from 12:30 to 1:15 pm, there will be a special opportunity to meet Stewie the Duck and participate in water safety activities outside of the water. Plus, each child will receive a book, a sing-a-long CD and a Personal Floatation Device.

Because Stew Leonard III Children's Charities is underwriting this event, the cost is only $20/child. Be sure to sign up early to get your first choice of weeks. Click here to add Stewie's Splash! Hour to your child's Hafaday experience.

Summer Gymnastics Camps
The Family Y's Gymnastics Center is the setting for a range of summer camps. In the afternoons, there's Gymnastics & Swim Camp: Gymnastics, Free Swim and Games, all in our air-conditioned Gymnastic Center! This camp runs from 12 to 4 pm each day throughout the summer (8 sessions in all). Your child must be able to swim without flotation device and must be 6 years old by June 1, 2013.

We also offer a Summer Fantasy Gymnastics & Art Camp in the mornings, for young gymnasts ages 4-7, as well as a summer program geared to competitive gymnastics: Specialty Competitive and Pre Competitive Gymnastics Camp Week takes place Aug. 19-23. The fee is $280 for the week; Y membership is required. For more information, email Sally Silverstein at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or click here to register.

Dance Camps
Our Dance Center has several fun summer programs, starting with Princess Dance Camp. This popular camp focuses on a different Disney princess each day to give dancing divas ages 3 to 5 a fun introduction to ballet and jazz. Led by Dance Center Director Lillian Cenatiempo, campers will also enjoy a craft that helps bring our princesses to life, with a story about one of our princesses each day during snack time. The week session are June 24-28 and July 15-19 and cost $180 per session for Y members and non-members alike.

July 15-19 is "Future Stars Dance Week," for ages 6-10, which includes dance techniques, learning of choreography, lunch, dance routines plus a free swim. And this summer we have two week-long sessions for Broadway Bound Dance Week. It's designed for young dancers ages 7-10, who will spend the week learning dances to music from the Broadway musical Newsies. The week includes costume making, a visiting instructor from New York and a fun in-studio presentation the final day for friends and family. The first session will be held June 24-28 from 12:30 to 3:30 pm and the second takes place July 8-12.

Summer Basketball, Lacrosse & Floor Hockey
The Family Y offers a host of week-long morning programs designed to keep young kids active and give them the chance to develop basic skills in lacrosse, hockey and basketball. Click on the link above for more information and to register.

We're also offering Elite Basketball Academy Weekend Clinics on June 22 and 30 for 6-8 Graders and on June 29 for 9-12 Graders, both girls and boys. Improve your individual skills and team play at both ends of the court with the help of top-quality coaching and a highly competitive environment. The Coaches are Tod Shofield, former professional basketball player and currently coaching and on staff at Greens Farms Academy and Paul Groves, Director of Middle School Athletics at GFA. Avid young hoopsters will get individual workouts, intensive conditioning drills and skills stations and group lectures about strategy and playmaking.

Saturday, June 22, Grades 6-8 (as of Sept. 2013), 9 am - 4 pm
Saturday, June 29, Grades 9-12 (as of Sept. 2013), 9 am - 4 pm
Sunday, June 30, Grades 6-8 (as of Sept. 2013), 9 am - 4 pm

Fee: $85/day (no Y membership required); please bring drinks, lunch and snack. To register, click on the links above or contact Sally Silverstein, Sports & Recreation Director, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 203-226-8981, ext. 118.

Leaders from the Y’s volunteer governing boards, staff and construction partners gathered at the Y’s Mahackeno campus on Friday, Apr. 5, to witness a milestone achievement in the construction of the new Y facility. Shortly after 10 am, the first cement truck arrived at the building site to pour concrete for the foundation of the 54,000 sq. ft. facility soon to rise from its scenic setting overlooking the Saugatuck River as it flows into Lees Pond, just north of downtown Westport. (Click on this link to our Y blog to see the latest photo gallery.)

“This has been a very long saga of a wonderful vision and the striving to attain that vision,” said Steve Halstead, a member of the Y’s Construction Committee, the group of community volunteers who are helping guide the construction a modern new home for the Westport Weston Family Y at the Y’s 32-acre Mahackeno property, longtime home of its summer day camp.

“Here we are, on April 5, 2013, 10-plus years on our campaign to build what matters, and we are finally seeing this building coming out of the ground,” said Halstead, a veteran volunteer for a number of community building projects, including Bedford Middle School and the rebuilding of Staples High School.

“This is a real milestone — the real beginning of the fruition of the vision of our Family Y for the next 50, 100 years,” added a beaming Halstead (click here for video).

That future began today, Friday, April 5, 2013, with the first “100 yards” of concrete being poured to form the foundation of the new Westport Weston Family Y.

Since site preparation work began in late January, the building site has been transformed. Work crews first cleared the 6-acre building site of trees and brush. As excavation of the foundation has proceeded, the site has effectively become a materials processing “factory” in which excavated material is turned into separate piles of topsoil, crushed rock and other materials to be re-used on-site. The creation of what Turner Construction calls a “balanced site” means that truck traffic leaving and entering the site is limited, minimizing the impact to local roads.

Foundation work will continue over the coming weeks, after which the steel framework for the full-service Y facility will be erected.

Further details about the construction project and capital campaign to fund it may be found at at this link on our website. The new Y is scheduled to open in November 2014.

The Family Y is proud to support the first annual Fairfield County Race for the Cure, scheduled to take place in Westport at Sherwood Island State Park on Saturday, May 11, Mother's Day weekend. Conducted by the Connecticut Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the family event raises awareness and funds for breast cancer research and local breast cancer programs.

Events at the Race for the Cure in Westport include a 5K Race, 5K and 1.5K Walks, a Kids' Short Run and Kids' K and a Survivor Breakfast. The Westport Weston Family Y is one of many local sponsors. In addition to fielding a Family Y Race for the Cure team, the Y is conducting weekly training classes to help walkers and runners gear up for the event.

Led by Y Fitness Instructor Perry Moody, the class takes place on Thursday mornings, 9:30 – 10:30 am. Participants meet in the Stauffer Pool Lobby before heading outdoors, weather permitting, for a spirited workout session that combines walking and jogging along with advice from Moody on improving your technique for both.

“It’s a great way not only to support a great cause, but also to get into shape for the outdoor months ahead,” said Shelley Moll, Health and Wellness Director for the Family Y, who adds that the class is designed to benefit everyone, from first-time 5K walkers and racers to more experienced runners.

To join the Family Y Race for the Cure team, form a team, or register as an individual, please visit www.komenct.org.

The inaugural Race for the Cure event gives Y members and other active volunteers a new opportunity to lend “muscle” in support of a worthy cause. For years, a Family Y team of Spinning and cycling enthusiasts has been one of the most successful contributors to SpinOdyssey, an annual fundraiser for breast cancer research co-founded 14 years ago by Y staffer Patty Kondub (shown at right, holding banner with last year's Family Y team).

SpinOdyssey 2013 takes place on Sunday, May 5, from 9 am to 3 pm at a new venue: In Westport, under tents at the Imperial Avenue parking lot (the site of the Farmer’s Market held on Thursdays). To join the Family Y SpinOdyssey team, contact Y Spin Instructor Judy Samuels at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). You can sign up for 2, 4, or 6 hours on the bike; volunteers are always welcome, too. Individuals and teams can also register directly at http://www.spinodyssey.org.

The Family Y offers a number of spin classes each week; for the current schedule visit http://www.westporty.org In co.njunction with Norwalk Hospital’s Whittingham Cancer Center and the Smilow Family Breast Health Center, the Y also offers the Cancer Survivor Fitness Program. The 12-week program includes cardiovascular and muscle strength exercises as well as relaxation techniques designed to reduce cancer-therapy side effects. For more information, contact Shelley Moll at 203-226-8981, ext. 198; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Connecticut has the second highest incidence of breast cancer in the nation, and several Fairfield County towns are among those with the highest rates of breast cancer incidence, mortality and late stage diagnosis.

Statewide, over 3,000 Connecticut women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone. That is why the work of Komen Connecticut and events like the Race for the Cure are so vital, and already making a difference in the lives of women in Fairfield County and the rest of the state.

Until cures are found for breast cancer, early detection is the key to survival. For each of the past three years, Komen Connecticut has funded over $1 million in community grants to local organizations providing lifesaving services for women in need across our state.

These grants currently support breast cancer programs in Fairfield County, including: Norwalk Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital, Stamford Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital and CancerCare, among others.

Seventy five percent of Komen Connecticut's net revenue supports local breast health programs across Connecticut and the remaining twenty five percent is invested in research to find the causes and cures for the disease. Not a penny of the money raised in Connecticut goes to support Komen National administration.

Although the organization invests in Connecticut breast cancer programs, much of its fundraising has historically taken place in the Hartford area.

“The Westport Race for the Cure is an exciting next step for our organization,” said Anne Morris, Executive Director of Komen Connecticut. “We are proud of the statewide impact of our community grants, and are thrilled to have a greater presence in Fairfield County. We need the support of all our local communities to help us continue investing in cutting-edge research and local breast cancer programs for Connecticut women and their families.”

“The Race for the Cure presents us with an opportunity to celebrate survivorship, honor those who have lost their battles, and impact local residents by raising funds to support education, screening and treatment programs right here in our state,” said Morris. “This event is the perfect platform to empower Fairfield County residents to join the local fight against breast cancer.”

For more information and to get involved, visit KomenCT.org, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 860-321-7806.

Update! We stand corrected regarding the results for our third monthly Top Member listing. Based on a closer review of the number of individual visits during the month of March, we recognize David Wismer as our No. 1 Member of the Month, and our first repeat winner. David logged 49 separate visits to our Y in March!

The winner of our first "Visit & Win It" monthly tally in January, Judy Raines, logged 34 visits to the Y, to take second-place honors for March. Sharing third, Nicholas Drbal and Bruce Salvo each made 31 visits last month.

Starting with this month, we're basing our friendly monthly competition on individual members, rather than also counting family visits. At the end of the year, the member(s) with the highest number of visits will receive the Family Y's Member of the Year Award and a special gift.

Congratulations, David, and to all of our active Y Members!

To take part in our year-long program, please remember to scan in with your Member ID card upon every visit.

The Family Y has announced the receipt of two separate $1 million contributions to be used toward the funding of the new Y facility now under construction at the Family Y’s 32-acre Mahackeno campus.

On Monday, March 11, a group of leaders from the Family Y’s Building What Matters Capital Campaign met with Linda McMahon at the Stamford offices of the Vince and Linda McMahon Family Foundation to thank her for her foundation's $1 million gift. Present were Pete Wolgast, past Chair of the Board of Trustees, Jim Marpe, the current Chair, Bonnie Strittmatter, President of the Board of Directors, and Family Y CEO Rob Reeves.

We’re “proud to join folks from the Westport Weston Family Y as they work toward building a new community center,” said Linda McMahon. “I know it will be a great space for people of all ages to exercise, relax and have fun. The Vince and Linda McMahon Family Foundation is happy to support it!"

In the cell photo below (posted on the McMahon Family Foundation's Facebook page) are Pete Wolgast, past Chair of the Y’s Board of Trustees, Jim Marpe, the current Chair, Linda McMahon, Bonnie Strittmatter, President of the Board of Directors, and Family Y CEO Rob Reeves. In appreciation of her Foundation’s $1 million contribution to the Y’s capital campaign, Linda is receiving a commemorative stained-glass sculpture designed and crafted by Tina and Peter Green of Renaissance Studio in Westport.



(To see the latest photos of the construction under way at Mahackeno, please click here.)

At a joint meeting of the two volunteer boards that govern the Family Y, held on Monday, March 18, Rob Reeves announced a new $1 million contribution to the Y’s capital campaign, from a local philanthropist who wishes to remain anonymous for the time being.

These gifts, along with several other significant recent donations, increase the total contributions to the Y’s capital campaign to $12 million since the effort was launched in January 2011. Less than $3 million remains to be raised in order to fully fund the $38.5 million facility being built at Mahackeno, just north of downtown Westport along the Saugatuck River.

“We thank the McMahons and their foundation for their leadership gift, and we sincerely hope to be able to publicly thank our other ‘million-dollar angel’ at the appropriate time,” said Reeves.

In related news, the Family Y recently finalized a commitment from Fairfield County Bank to help finance construction of the new Y Facility.

Site-preparation work at Mahackeno began in January 2013. The Y’s construction partner, Turner Construction Co., received the Building Permit from the Town of Westport on Feb. 25. Bulk excavation for the foundation is nearly complete, and work crews are currently mobilizing for the pouring of the concrete foundation in early April. (Guided tours of the building site are being conducted on a weekly basis. To schedule a site visit, contact Susie Haydon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).)

The Building What Matters campaign leaders are continuing their efforts to reach out to local foundations, businesses and individuals with the means to make a significant investment in the Family Y’s future. A more public, grass-roots phase of this campaign was launched in early 2013.

Called “Picture Yourself at the New Family Y,” the innovative project involves the creation of a large wall mural at the new facility to be composed of thousands of individual photographs of Y members and supporters.

The interactive online project may be found at www.pictureyournewy.org, where contributors will also be able to locate their photos, as well as search for those of friends and neighbors.

The new Y will begin as a 54,000 sq. ft. building featuring a multi-purpose gymnasium, large wellness center and fitness studios, a 10-lane lap pool and adjacent warm-water teaching/family pool. It’s scheduled to open in late 2014.

Photo Below: Y Trustee Emeritus Allen Raymond (foreground left) was among the group of Y leaders who visited the building site of the new Y on March 14.