Y Talk: Why I Give by Cate Mellen

I learned to swim at the Carlisle Family YMCA. A long time ago. Let’s just say several decades ago and leave it at that.

My mother never had the chance to learn how to swim growing up, and she wanted all of her kids to learn—both for safety’s sake and to open horizons for us. I grew up right around the corner from the Y, and my brother and sister and I would walk over every week for our lessons. We worked our way up through the levels, from Polliwog to Tadpole (now Guppy) to Minnow and beyond. I was never an athletic or overly-active kid, preferring to stay inside with a book while my siblings went outside to play. I recently came across my swim lesson report cards, kept for all of these years, and was reminded that I really struggled with swimming. I had to repeat more than one level, and each report card includes extensive comments from my instructors on skills that I needed to work on.

One of my most vivid Y memories is of standing on the diving board (yes, the OLD pool. It really was that long ago…), absolutely petrified at the thought of diving backwards into the water below. I never did do it, despite the patient encouragement I received from my instructor. And I never did make it the whole way to Porpoise.

But the experience was transformative for me. I was always afraid of the water, but at the Y I gained the confidence to confront my fears. I also learned perseverance—school was so easy for me that I didn’t have a lot of experience with failure. At the Y I tried—and failed—several times before being able to move on to the next level. As I watched my twin sister advance more quickly than I did, I came to revel in our differences and our own individual talents as the things that make us unique. I’m grateful that my parents were able to give us this experience.

What does all of this have to do with charitable giving, you might be asking?

With so many families struggling to make ends meet in this economy, swim lessons, sports programs and weeks of summer camp—though transformative, life-altering experiences—are often beyond the reach of limited budgets. Each year the Carlisle Family YMCA helps hundreds of local families with scholarships and reduced rates so that parents don’t have to make the difficult choice not to send their kids to us.

I’m not fabulously wealthy. I never will be. I wish I could give more, but I’ve never considered giving less.

Because when I know that every year we have more requests for scholarships to our summer camp programs than we are able to provide, I don’t want to have to turn anybody away. When I think about the many families whose economic horizons are broadened by the access they get to our affordable child care or school-age child care, I wish we could do even more.

And when I hear how much my friend’s little girl loves playing soccer at the Y and being part of a team, but her single mom isn’t sure how she’s going to pay the program fees, I don’t even have to think about it. I give to the Carlisle Family YMCA because I’m investing in my community, and providing a brighter future for our children.

I want every local kid to have access to our swimming lessons, our sports programs and our summer camps. The chance for kids to develop confidence and explore their potential shouldn’t be hindered by the financial situations of their parents. I give so that more kids can have the opportunities I had to build the skills that last a lifetime.

It’s really as simple as that.

-by Cate Mellen, Board Liaison and Development Director