Countywide : YMCA Kicking Off Yearly Fund Raising

The West County Family YMCA is kicking off its annual fund-raising campaign this month to support its youth programs and hopes to top last year’s $50,000 effort.

“There are so many kids that get lost in the shuffle, and those are the kids we’re really trying to reach out to,” said Greg Guest, a longtime YMCA member and fund-raising volunteer.

The money will go toward defraying the cost of the YMCA’s many youth programs, including a weeklong camping trip in the San Bernardino Mountains, swimming and karate lessons and the 75-year-old national Indian Guides program that encourages parents to become more involved with their children through outdoor activities.

About 2,000 children participate in the West County YMCA programs, said Executive Assistant Kevin Dugoncevick. The association has served children in Huntington Beach, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Seal Beach and Cypress for 30 years, and provides scholarships to those who cannot afford the price of activities.

Although children must pay to participate in the activities, the fees do not cover all the costs of the programs and scholarships, she said. The weeklong camping trip, for example, costs between $150 and $250 for each child, but the YMCA will take children who can only afford to pay $5, she said.

The majority of the association’s $1.02-million budget comes from fees for its after-school child-care program, Dugoncevick said. About 5% comes from fund raising.