BANGOR, ME (June 2020) – The Bangor Region YMCA that began operating an emergency all-day childcare and education center in March for children of healthcare providers, frontline responders and other essential workers, has received a financial boost from a Maine-based non-profit.

A $10,000 emergency grant from the Ogunquit-based Tramuto Foundation will help offset the YMCA’s loss of nearly $19,000 a week after it was forced to shutter its other revenue-producing activities and programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This money is so critically needed right now,” said Diane Dickerson, CEO of the Bangor Region YMCA. “Since we suspended most of our programming in March, we have not been generating any membership revenue and it has been very difficult to sustain this important childcare program. We deeply appreciate this grant from the Tramuto Foundation – it is a wonderful gift to receive during an otherwise precarious time for so many families.”

Donato Tramuto, founder and President of the Tramuto Foundation, said the members of his Board of Directors quickly and unanimously approved the grant. “We all agree that our frontline workers are the superheroes in this fight against COVID-19 and this was an opportunity for the Foundation to thank them for everything they are doing to keep us all healthy and safe,” Tramuto said. “We take comfort knowing that while these workers are on the job, their children are happy, healthy and safe in a nurturing environment provided by the Bangor Region YMCA.”

The Tramuto Foundation and the Bangor Region YMCA are also discussing a possible multi-year partnership to create the Aging with Dignity in Maine initiative; a community-centered, multi-generational intervention to reduce loneliness among socially isolated older adults in central and eastern Maine. Both organizations and their leaders have been focused on finding solutions for this problem that impacts a significant number of aging adults in Maine.

The emergency childcare center, which also provides weekday lunches and food for families during the weekends, began operations in early March with a total of 45 children from the Bangor region. There are now 75 children, from 18 months old to the 6th grade, and CEO Dickerson predicts that as parents return to the workplace, that number will triple by the end of this month.

“Right from the start of this pandemic, we decided that we could keep our childcare and education center open for the children of our frontline and essential workers who needed to continue working. We felt confident that we could do this safely,” she explained. “So once we received the guidelines, we looked over the details and we all said, ‘we can do this’. We reconfigured some protocols, like keeping our kids in small groups, taking their temperature every morning, and we’re constantly disinfecting all surfaces. We’ve also created a little song for them to sing while washing their hands – we call it, ‘I love the Y’ – and it’s a big hit. Now they’re spending more than 20 seconds washing their hands.”

In addition, when the YMCA suspended its in-house health and wellness programming in March, Dickerson proposed producing online classes that would be available to the general public. “If we were going to present our YMCA classes online, I wanted them to be accessible to everyone, not just our members. I’m very proud that we are doing our part to keep people, wherever they may live, healthy and moving throughout this time of social isolation and physical distancing,” she said.

To the delight of many area families, Bangor Region YMCA recently announced that it is accepting registrations for its popular summer camp programs. The Bangor Region YMCA’s Camp G. Peirce Webber day camp for ages 5-16 years, and Camp Jordan on Branch Lake, an overnight camp for 8-18 year-olds, will be open starting July 1st.

Click here to learn more about the way the Bangor Region YMCA is strengthening community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.

For general information, application forms and financial assistance information for both camps visit: www.bangory.org