Corn Belt Energy, CoBank donate $10,000 to Ottawa YMCA Partners In Youth Fund

The Ottawa YMCA announced the combined donation of $10,000 to its annual Partners in Youth Campaign.

The Y’s annual campaign ensures no one is ever turned away from the Y due to inability to pay and every child and family will have an opportunity to participate in the Y regardless of their household or personal income.

This commitment by the Y is made possible by contributions of individuals and businesses who believe in the Y’s ability to help strengthen the lives of children and families in the community.

With a community recovering from the pandemic, there is still need for support.

The donation from Corn Belt Energy and CoBank will enable the Y to provide before and after school childcare, early learning opportunities, free water safety lessons for area second graders, among other items. The Y’s mission includes offering evidence based programming, such as Diabetes Prevention, EnhancedFitness, Moving with Parkinson’s class and a LiveStrong class starting in September.

Corn Belt Energy has partnered with CoBank to help keep local communities thriving. The Sharing Success program is made possible by Corn Belt Energy’s board of directors in partnership with CoBank, a national nonprofit cooperative bank owned by the rural American cooperatives it serves.

CoBank has established a fund to match charitable contributions made by its cooperative members. The matching grant program is designed to celebrate the role cooperatives play in their individual communities throughout the country. CoBank and its members have together contributed more than $56 million to groups, such as volunteer fire departments, local schools and hunger relief programs.

As the name implies, the Sharing Success program is an opportunity for Corn Belt Energy to share its own financial stability with organizations throughout its communities.

As a participant in this program, Corn Belt Energy donated $10,000 in 2021, which was matched by CoBank for a total of $20,000 to give to local organizations. The 2021 local Sharing Success grant recipients include the YMCA in Ottawa and the Children’s Discovery Museum in Normal.

“Thanks to donors like Corn Belt Energy and CoBank we can tackle community issues like affordable childcare, chronic disease prevention, safe places for teens, and an active environment for seniors,” said Ottawa YMCA Executive Director Joe Capece in a press release. “We consistently award more assistance than we raise because we do not turn anyone away.”

Community members can contribute to the Ottawa YMCA Partners In Youth Campaign can by contacting Joseph Capece at 815-433-2395.