Dear YMCA,

We were touched beyond words by the spirit of giving that the YMCA staff, and the YMCA general membership, has shown us. Even more, we have been wanting to find an opportunity to thank the entire staff of the Longmont YMCA for making us feel so welcome as part of the community.

We are relatively new to Longmont and have been dealing with overwhelming medical problems and issues of disability in our family. Unfortunately, for the most part our extended families and our friends of years gone by (when we were healthy and doing well) have disappeared, and in some cases the attitudes of those to whom we thought were were closest in our families ironically has been one of blame and abandonment. This has been more devastating than the sickness and poverty we have experienced over the last several years.

In the midst of all this, the biggest ray of hope that we have experienced is the warmth, acceptance, and concern of the staff of the YMCA. For the first time in a long time we feel there may be concern and compassion in our society and a place where those whose lives are not easy or pretty can belong and are welcomed as party of the community. This sense of belonging is more important to us than anything. We hope there will be ways that we can give back what we have received and keep the cycle going, as we know that we are not the only ones who have had this type of experience.

Once again, thank you so much for everything, and please send our thanks to the YMCA community at-large.