Earlier this month, the Brandon Family Y was the recipient of a $10,000 grant from local Tampa Bay BP and APEC gasoline distributors. This is just one of the ways the organization is helping to build a stronger Brandon community.
Earlier this month, the Brandon Family Y was the recipient of a $10,000 grant from local Tampa Bay BP and APEC gasoline distributors. George Sorensen, executive director of the Brandon YMCA, was thrilled to receive this grant. “This gift is focused on helping the Y’s commitment as a not for profit organization,” Sorensen said, “It will give kids the opportunity they need to succeed by providing financial assistance to support youth development opportunities for all.”
This is just one of the ways the organization is helping to build a stronger Brandon community. The Brandon Y supported more than 200 campers this summer. Many of the children who were part of the camp would not have been able to attend if it had not been for donations like this to help subsidize the Y’s programs.
“APEC has been a supporter of the Brandon Y for more than a decade,” Sorensen said. The Brandon Y and the Seffner Chamber of Commerce will be partnering in October to host a business expo.
The Y is the largest and oldest service organizations in America. It serves 17 million in 120 countries. In Tampa alone, the organization reaches more than 140,000 individuals each year through memberships, programs and outreach activities.
The Y came into existence in 1844, after a young drapery clerk named George Williams decided to create a wholesome place for young people to escape the rough London streets during the Industrial Revolution. He based the core character values of the organization on faith, caring, respect and responsibility. The Y gained notoriety and began to spread throughout Great Britain, by 1851 there were 24 Y in the country with a combined membership of 2,700. That same year, the organization arrived in the states with the first Y opening in Boston. Tampa Bay opened its first Y in 1908. This facility brought Tampa its first gymnasium, indoor swimming pool and had residential headquarters that provided housing for young men when they come to the city. There are 18 facilities across Hillsborough and eastern Pasco counties.
For more information on the programs and services offered at the Y, visit www.tampaymca.org. The Brandon Family Y is located at 3097 S. Kingsway Rd in Seffner.
