The YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg celebrated its 145th anniversary on May 16, and the organization’s leader credits volunteers with its success.
“Volunteers were part of its inception and they continue to be important today,” says Cordella Friesen, president and CEO. “We wouldn’t be where we are without them.”
Approximately 30 volunteers serve at the Y’s four Winnipeg locations, which offer a variety of services related to physical fitness, mental health, youth empowerment and assisting newcomers.
“I’ve been at the Y all of my life,” says Jakobina Jensen, one of those volunteers.
As a young person, Jensen participated in a variety of activities at the Y, including swimming, gymnastics, basketball and a leadership program that involved volunteering.
“When I was a teenager, the Y was my second home,” Jensen says. “I was there a lot.”
Jensen would go on to volunteer and work at the Y in a variety of capacities, including as a lifeguard, a supervisor and a fitness instructor.
In recent years, the 50-year-old public servant has spent time cataloguing archival material from the Y’s history in Winnipeg.
Jensen’s efforts led to the creation of a display at the downtown Y commemorating the branch’s 110th anniversary last year.
“Volunteering when I was younger gave me a sense of purpose and place, and now I just want to continue that,” Jensen says. “I believe in what the Y does.”
That resonates with Marilyn Kapitany, another loyal volunteer who started going to the Y when she was a child.
Now 72 and retired, Kapitany has memberships at two Y branches and has volunteered with the organization for almost 25 years.
“The best thing about the Y, I would say, is that everyone belongs,” Kapitany says, noting that the Y is a charity committed to ensuring no one is turned away because they can’t afford the membership fee.
“Anyone can go because of the policy of financial assistance,” Kapitany says. “It’s just a big melting pot…. (It) integrates everybody and tries to build a community spirit. That’s what I like about it.”
Since 1999, Kapitany has served on the boards of the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg and YMCA Canada.
The Y is a worldwide organization with branches in more than 100 countries, and Kapitany has served on the World YMCA executive.
That took her to Y branches from San Francisco to Nairobi.
No matter where she travelled, meeting with young people was always a highlight.
She recalls meeting with a group of youth who talked about what they like about the Y.
“No judgment, no drama,” one of them said.
That stuck with Kapitany.
“If they can be in a place where there’s no judgment and no drama, where they can keep developing their potential, then I think we’re doing something really right,” she says.
As part of its commitment to Winnipeg youth, the Y is holding its first-ever Strong Kids Radiothon Wednesday on 103.1 Virgin Radio.
People are encouraged to tune in and hear stories of the Y’s impact, and to make a donation that will help youth and families in need access Y programs.
“One of the things we say at the Y is that we never met a kid whose potential we couldn’t see,” Kapitany says. “That really says it all about the Y, and that’s why Strong Kids is so important.”
Visit ywinnipeg.ca/donate.
If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com