To the Editor:

As we approach the end of the year, we wish to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the larger Princeton community for its sustained generosity and support of the YMCA mission. On behalf of the Princeton Family YMCA’s board of directors, we are truly grateful to the many people who are by our side, join us in advancing our work, and help us make the impact we strive to achieve. The list of individuals and organizations is long, and they include special people who participate as members, program participants, volunteers, donors, and advocates. As a cause-driven charitable organization dedicated to strengthening this community, we simply couldn’t do it without you.

Our 2019 Centennial Awards reception was another resounding success, raising $90,000 for critical programs such as Princeton Young Achievers and for financial assistance to ensure that everyone has a place at the Y. We are thankful to all who joined us in October and to our wonderful honorees. This year, we were also the beneficiary of an unexpected and extraordinarily generous gift from an anonymous donor who has transformed our field with a beautiful state-of-the-art basketball court and new surface for the playground — a gift to the entire community! Words are hard to find to describe how thankful we are.

Annually, more than 7,000 local residents participate in the Princeton Family YMCA’s programs and activities, crossing the Y’s threshold more than 67,000 times a year. Our facility is well used and it shows it. As we look to the future, our board of directors is committed to finding resources to improve our building, while we remain resolute in nurturing and strengthening the connections among us to ensure that everyone in our community has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. We believe this is more critical than ever.

Once again, we are sincerely grateful for Princeton’s generous spirit and big heart — we feel very lucky to live and serve in this community.

Merilyn Rovira
Chair, Moore Street

PJ Jayachandran
Vice Chair, Autumn Hill Road