On March 3rd and 4th, State Representative Daryl Pillsbury (I-Brattleboro) and Meeting Waters YMCA Executive Director were in Washington, DC for the annual YMCA Advocacy Days. Pillsbury is a member of the Founders Board that is working to develop a facility in Brattleboro from which the Meeting Waters YMCA will be able to serve over 3,500 more people.Pillsbury and Fortier were two of over 300 YMCA volunteer and staff leaders from 42 states that attended the event.
The two local leaders met on Wednesday with Sen. Jeffords (and his staff aide Justin King) and Sen. Leahy (and his staff aides Jessica Berry and Chris Saunders). In addition to introducing their facility project, they took the time to also promote the broader YMCA agenda, including several policy initiatives that are advocated by many non-profits. Among the pending legislation Fortier and Pillsbury encouraged the Senators to support are the CARE act and Charitable Giving Act (which will give tax incentives to smaller donors and those people that use the short-form for filing taxes), the Steps to a Healthier US (which specifically names YMCAs as a worthy recipient of the funds), IMPACT act (community-based efforts to reduce obesity), Carol White PEP grants (to increase physical activity at schools, including services provided by YMCAs and other non-profits working with schools), increased funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant, and creating a federal approach to criminal background checks for volunteers and staff working with youth.
The Senators and their staff members were pleased to learn about the facility project and the positive social and economic impacts it will stimulate. They were particularly impressed by the very responsible process the volunteer and staff leaders have been following including having conducted a Community Needs Assessment and a Capital Campaign Feasibility Study, as well as the impending Market Research Study.
Pillsbury was not able to secure a meeting with Rep. Sanders ahead of time, but the two YMCA leaders did leave with his staff a packet of background information on the volunteer-led effort.
Information about the project was also delivered to the office of Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. Since the Brattleboro facility will also serve people from neighboring communities in New Hampshire, the volunteers will seek funding from New Hampshire sources, as well.
Pillsbury and the other thirty volunteer leaders of the facility project will continue communicating with the congressional leaders’ aides in both DC and their home state with the hope of securing federal funding for the project in the FY06 budget.
For more information on the volunteers' plans, visit http://www.meetingwatersymca.org/expansions/index.html