Giving Tuesday: Canadians’ chance to build a brighter future right here at home

Giving Tuesday is a day to celebrate the efforts of those who give of their time, skills, insight, and leadership. For the YMCA of Greater Toronto, it is a day to celebrate the many ways our volunteers, donors, staff, and members make the YMCA the amazing charity that it is.

Today is also a day to encourage others who are eagerly looking for ways to make a difference. Truly meaningful action comes in a variety of forms, all of which are equally critical to our common goal of making the GTA a healthier, happier place to live. Whether you choose to give your time, money, expertise, or a combination of these gifts to a cause you believe in, your act of giving makes you part of something bigger. By contributing, you become part of a collective committed to creating communities that are bound together by a desire for a Canada that’s compassionate, empowering, and inclusive.

Our amazing donors, and how they make a difference

Throughout my journey at the YMCA of Greater Toronto, I’ve been privileged to meet many of our donors. I’ve discovered their many, unique reasons for giving, and have observed that our donors — who are as diverse as the people we serve — share some common characteristics: first, they are generous; second, their stories reflect our shared values; and third, they are vital partners in fulfilling the Y’s mission to make the GTA home to the healthiest children, teens and young adults.

That mission manifests itself in many ways, including the Strong Start, Great Future capital campaign — our bold and ambitious vision to build new YMCA Centres of Community across the Greater Toronto Area. Each new centre will be purpose-built to meet the needs of the neighborhood in which it is situated, and will offer a cross section of programs and services for children, teens, young adults and families. Donors are central to the realization of this vision and many generous individuals have already been inspired to step forward and pledge their support.

Beyond the Strong Start, Great Future campaign, the generosity of thousands of donors powers many of our programs and services, and ignites a spirit of giving across our association. Here are a few inspiring examples:

• YMCA Sprott House is a home for LGBTQ2S youth who have experienced homelessness, where 25 participants live together in a caring and fully supported community for up to one year. Support from generous donors means that LGBTQ2S young adults have the space to transition to a healthy adulthood with the support of trained staff and the community.
• Megathon is the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s largest annual fundraiser, with over 50 events held across our nine Health & Fitness Centres. Members and friends pledge their support for the fitness challenges set by our Mega Champions and help to ensure that the YMCA can be accessible to all. Watch for announcements early in the new year as we kick off what we hope will be the biggest and best Megathon yet.
• The Vanauley Street YMCA is a 40-bed youth shelter. Thanks to our donors, homeless and street-involved youth can walk through Vanauley’s doors whenever they’re in need of safety or support. In fact, over 10,000 youth did just that last year.
• At every YMCA Health & Fitness centre, one in four members benefits from financial assistance. Your support means that families can access the programs they need to support physical, social, and mental health. 

A heartfelt thankyou to our donors

Your gifts allow us to create space in our circle for anyone who needs us. I am so grateful that the YMCA GTA is home to such caring, committed donors — a place where philanthropy thrives. Thank you for your extraordinary support!

The profound gift of volunteering

On Giving Tuesday, it’s crucial to highlight one of the most profound ways you can give back to your community: volunteering. Time is an incredibly scarce resource and it’s often quickly allocated to family, friends, and work. Its limited nature is what makes it so meaningful when you choose to give your time to a cause you hold dear. 

The contributions of volunteers are especially important given that, as a nation, Canada is seeing a shift away from community cohesion. People are feeling less connected to their neighbours, less bound together by a sense of cooperation and mutual responsibility, and more concerned with their own problems than with the greater good. Our population may be growing exponentially, but many people are finding the GTA to be lonelier and more divided than ever.

The impetus behind volunteering challenges this cynical outlook. Volunteering is a tangible demonstration of your commitment to creating a tight-knit community. It shows you care about the people around you — not just your family and friends, but the hundreds and even thousands of others who live, work, learn, play, and grow in the same spaces that you do. No one knows this better than volunteers themselves: 93% of Canadians who donate their time say that one of their primary motivations is to give back to their community. 

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the YMCA

Volunteers are the very foundation of the YMCA of Greater Toronto. It was the efforts of volunteers that founded this organization from the start, and those same tireless efforts continue to support all of our programs and services today. Last year, a total of 5,268 volunteers dedicated 258,223 hours of service to YMCA. Among countless other contributions, some of these volunteers:

• Supported newcomers to Canada in improving their reading, writing, and computer skills so they could settle into their new home.
• Used their expertise to help people grow strong and confident by leading group fitness classes in YMCA Health & Fitness Centres.
• Provided guidance, encouragement, and learning opportunities to kids in our Child Care programs.
• Helped kids build confidence, leadership skills, and environmental awareness in our Camps and Outdoor Education programs.
• Allowed YMCA Cedar Glen Organic Farm to thrive — even coming to the rescue during a drought that would have otherwise devastated our harvest.

These volunteers come from all walks of life: some are students, newcomers to Canada, retirees, working professionals, parents and more. What unites them all is a common desire: they know that by giving their skills, time, talent, and hard work, they can make a real difference. Your decision to volunteer is a decision to promote positive choice and positive change; an encouraging smile from a volunteer says “I want to help you become healthy,” “I want to help you find meaningful work,” and “I want to help a child have a great day.” Their kindness goes a long way towards helping our members feel safe, welcome, and encouraged.

I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the unwavering dedication of our YMCA volunteers. Never underestimate the incredible impact you’re having on strengthening our communities. 

The rewards volunteers reap 

Each and every one of our volunteers donates their time and talents out of a selfless desire to support their communities. Though they expect nothing in return for their efforts, YMCA volunteers tell us that they do indeed reap plenty of rewards from giving: 

1) Community connections 

A volunteer’s actions have ripple effects, starting with each of the individuals they support, help accomplish a goal, or simply share a smile with. Having received the helping hand or small show of support they needed, these individuals feel empowered to share and spread that same sense of supportiveness with others. The result is a warmer, more positive and inclusive community that volunteers stand right at the heart of. 

2) Skills Development 

YMCA volunteers bring incredible skills, talents, and qualifications to the table, and are continuously given opportunities to expand those skills even further. Take our group fitness volunteers as just one of many examples: they’re constantly attending workshops and seminars designed to provide them with the most up-to-date information and teaching techniques. They challenge themselves to constantly develop new routines, and then pour even more time and energy into making sure their colleagues at other YMCAs can learn them too. We provide these skills development opportunities for our volunteers not only because we want to make sure they’re providing the best possible experience for our members; we also want our volunteers to have the best possible experience and feel they’re being supported in doing the best work they possibly can.

3) Leadership 

One of the indispensable skills our volunteers hone is leadership. By giving their time, skills, and talents, our volunteers learn what it takes to become strong leaders. They serve on teen councils, in our Youth Leadership Development programs, and on our youth advisory committees. They inspire their fellow fitness instructors, take the initiative to run resume-building workshops in employment centres, or co-facilitate workshops in Youth Leadership Programs. Through volunteering, these individuals conquer their fears, and grow as individuals. Many affirm that the YMCA helped them when they were in a time of need, and now they are inspired to give back.  

In sum, the positive outcomes engendered by volunteerism are cyclical. People volunteer out of a desire to make a difference; then, their hard work not only helps build stronger communities, it also helps volunteers become stronger themselves, as individuals. And the more empowered and inspired volunteers become, the more they want to continue giving back. 

Giving is the key to building the Canada we all deserve 

We live in a time of insecurity, distrust, and — it seems more and more often these days — even hate and violence. It’s easy to understand why so many people, feeling unsafe or threatened, retreat into the defensive habit of looking out only for themselves. But it’s the ability to stay strong in the face of hard times like these that will define us as a nation. Being truly Canadian means caring about everyone equally, even when they’re different from you; it means extending a helping hand, even when it would be easier to mind your own business; and it means giving just as much back to your community as you enjoy from it. 

It’s my hope that today, you’ll join me in taking steps towards actualizing that kind of Canada. Most of us already believe that giving back to people who need it most is an intrinsically Canadian act. And social justice is among the values Canadians are most proud of. So this Giving Tuesday, I ask that you challenge yourself to make a tangible contribution towards helping Canadians live up to our reputation. Whether that contribution comes in the form of a heartfelt donation to a cause you support or a new volunteer placement, know that each individual act of kindness goes a long way towards making our cities the kind of unified, supportive communities we can be proud to call home. 

Giving comes easily when there’s plenty to go around; the true test of our generosity and compassion comes when we find it within ourselves to value the greater good just as much as we value doing good for ourselves. I hope you’ll join me today, and every day, in an act of giving that demonstrates your commitment to making our communities the welcoming and supportive places we all want them to be. 

Medhat Mahdy is the President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Toronto. He leads a committed team of staff and volunteers in pursuit of their mission to make our communities home to the healthiest children, teens and young adults. As the champion of the YMCA's Strong Start, Great Future capital campaign, Medhat is dedicated to improving community health by bringing more YMCA programs to more people in more communities.