To Our Members,
We deeply appreciate your understanding and patience as we navigate the challenging circumstances related to the Coronavirus. We are all operating in unknown territory right now, and we are working as quickly as we can to keep you updated and address your questions.
At YMCA of Silicon Valley, everything we do is guided by our commitment to support our community, and this is even more critical now. When you belong to the Y, you are not only a member of a health and wellness facility, you are a member of an organization dedicated to strengthening our community. In difficult times, the Y pivots in response to community needs, and finds ways to use our resources to offer solutions – and you can help.
Stay with Us – Your YMCA Membership Choice
Your membership helps support our efforts to meet the critical needs in our community during this pandemic. Two examples of how the Y is helping include critical care for children of healthcare workers and child nutrition for the hungry. More of our initiatives are highlighted below.
As we communicated previously, the March 20 membership draft was postponed. Please tell us by Thursday, April 9, how you would like us to handle your YMCA membership fees. Please note that the April 3 draft has been postponed to April 10. You can use this link to a Membership Choice Form to indicate your preference. There are several options for you to consider:
Keep Your Membership Active
We respectfully ask that you consider keeping your membership active during this time so that we can remain fully focused on our efforts to help our community stay strong in spirit, mind and body. Our numerous initiatives to help our community during this time are outlined below. Should you choose to keep your membership active, please know how deeply grateful we are for your generosity. Membership dues collected during this period of closure will be treated as tax-deductible donations. If you continue your membership now, but wish to put it on hold at a later date, you can simply return to the same Membership Choice Form.Place Your Membership On Hold
We also understand that you may have financial obligations; and naturally, we will place your membership on hold at no cost during this time should you wish to do so. Once your membership is on hold, we will extend your hold without charge until further notice. As soon as our Ys reopen, your membership will automatically resume. Of course, no Joining Fee would be required. Please be sure to indicate your choice on this form by April 9, otherwise, your account will be charged.
Our next membership draft will take place on April 10. If March 20 was your expected draft date, and you choose to continue paying your membership, this is the date that your account will be charged. Going forward, draft dates will remain unchanged and we will handle your membership fees according to your selection on this form.
How You Can Help
It goes without saying that the Coronavirus has created enormous uncertainty. However, how we respond is within our control. As soon as we realized the severity of the situation, we mobilized to explore ways the Y could help our community. You play a vital role in helping us deploy these services and serve our community by CONTINUING your membership.
- Community Response Centers - Beginning March 23, we will provide critical care for children of El Camino Hospital healthcare workers, so they can focus on public health needs. We will provide similar services for essential hospital and first responder staff at Morgan Hill Unified School District. Centers will operate according to the strictest guidelines for health assessments, social distancing and sanitation. We have plans to expand services to additional sites as needed.
- Food Distribution to Those in Need - We are continuing our partnership with schools in our lowest income communities to distribute food to children and families in need at 20 sites, in spite of the closure of our after school programs where we normally provide this service. We are assisting the district in providing more than 6,000 healthy meals daily – and this number is steadily growing.
- Family Resources - With recent school closures, families are adjusting to a new normal. It can be overwhelming to contemplate what to do with new found time. We have compiled fun and educational resources for parents and their children during this time here.
- Virtual Group Exercise Classes - We are rolling out resources to keep our members and participants safely connected, active and healthy during this time in spirit, mind and body. A selection of virtual group exercise classes are available here and many more will be added in the next few days.
- Senior Outreach - We are reaching out to our most vulnerable population, our senior members, to ensure they are supported, have access to services, and are connected during this time. In Morgan Hill and Gilroy, we continue to serve meals to our seniors in a “drive-through” meal program. We are serving over 100 meals each day.
- Daily Inspiration - We will offer daily inspirational messages that include actions you can take to cope during this time on our Facebook page.
We hope you are as excited about this community response assistance as we are! This is how the Y steps up to help, and we hope you will join us to keep our community strong. On your Membership Choice Form, you have the opportunity to make a donation to the Y for this critical community work. We invite you to support each other and your community, and we offer our deepest thanks for your gift. Together, we will come through this pandemic stronger than ever.
We wish you and your family good health. Thank you for being a Y member.