Monthly

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Monthly
December 2004
THANK YOU TO FRIENDS OF Y MENTORS
It would be impossible to thank all of the
wonderful people and businesses that have
contributed To Y Mentors throughout 2004, but we
want to give it our best effort. Our two biggest
contributors during 2004 were the United Way of
Olmsted County and Olmsted County Community
Services. United Way supports us with funds that
are donated to them during their annual campaign.
Olmsted County has made revenue available to Y
Mentors based on services that we provide to
needy children.. Next on the list of generous
friends would be the Mayo Foundation and the
Rochester Area Golf Classic for Youth. Mayo
makes sizable donation to Y Mentors annually.
Karel Weigel is our advocate there and helps to
make this possible each year. Jon Eckhoff from
Venture Computer Systems and Trevor Westrom from
Knutson Construction are the forces behind the
golf tournament, and put countless hours and many
resources into making that event a success. Jon
Eckhoff deserves special thanks from us, because
he helps us out in many ways throughout the year,
not just with the Golf Tournament but with our
technology needs, supporting our fundraisers, and
recommending us to other sources of funding. We
held three fundraisers during the year, the
Outback Luncheon, the Rochesterfest Ride for the
Y, And the Holiday Wine Tasting. The Ride for
the Y simply could not have happened without a
group of dedicated volunteers from the Rochester
Active Sports Club, led by Michael OConnor. Our
corporate sponsors for that event were US Bank,
Rochester Meat Company, Bicycle Sports,
Zumbro Valley Medical Society, Clements Subaru,
Sertoma 1200 and the Plainview Lions Club.
Wine Tasting sponsors are Blades to Ballet,
Superior Plumbing, Superior Mechanical Systems,
and Wells Fargo Bank. Many other businesses and
individuals supported these events through
in-kind donations and volunteer hours, such as
the Outback Steakhouse, John Hardys BBQ,
Canadian Honker Catering, the Hiawatha Ski
Patrol, the Rochester Amateur Ham Radio Club, the
Gilded Star Gallery, Andys Liquor, Midwest
Wireless, and mark it! Advertising to name a
few. Y Mentors received a generous donation from
the proceeds of the Wild Onion Triathlon, again
thanks to the Rochester Active Sports
Club. Several Foundation Grants came in during
the year for Y Mentors. Our thanks go to the W.
Glen Boyd Charitable Foundation, the Carl and
Verna Schmidt Foundation, the Shjon Podein
Childrens Foundation and the Midwest Wireless
Community Caring Program. We also received a
donation of proceeds from the Rochester Rotary/US
Bank Holiday Basketball Classic, and a donation
from the Rochester Exchange Club for sponsorship
of our annual bowling tournament.




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CHANGES IN 2005 MEAN LOSS OF STAFF, OTHER CUTS
The belt is being tightened at Y Mentors in 2005.
I am sorry to say that we have lost the funding
we received from Olmsted County as of the end of
2004. This loss was due to a change in criteria
for funding and affected a number of agencies
that had contracts with the county. This amounts
about 20 of our annual budget. Obviously a loss
like this means that we have to make some changes
to adjust to it. The most significant change we
are making is the lay off at the end of the year
of Jennifer Becker, who works for us part-time as
both our Activity Planner and a Case Manager.
This was a difficult decision to make because of
the excellent job Jennifer does and because we
have all come to regard her as a good friend. I
have assured her that if additional funds become
available, I will be calling her! Another
significant change is that we are discontinuing
Temporary Groups in 2005. We feel that we simply
wont have the staff time or the financial
resources to continue. For those of you not
familiar with Temporary Groups, this is a group
experience here at the Y that we have offered
over the years to youth on the waiting list for a
mentor. We will also downsize this newsletter
starting in January. Again, not only will we not
have the staff time to devote to it, but also a
smaller newsletter will be less expensive to
produce.Look for a smaller version that will
still contain the important information about
upcoming events and the like. We will not be able
to do the Mentor Appreciation Dinner in April in
the form our mentors Have experienced over the
last couple of years. We will offer a smaller
version of a Mentor Appreciation Event in April.
This in no way suggests we do not appreciate our
mentors, because nothing could be further from
the truth. But I know without a doubt that every
mentor in our program, in this time of need,
would want us to focus our resources on the kids,
not on having a party for them. We will make
every attempt to offer opportunities to the kids
and monthly activities for the matches to the
maximum degree possible. The New Year will begin
with Y Mentors being a bit understaffed. Julie
LaBare will be on maternity leave until sometime
in March. Her baby is due right around
Christmas. We cannot afford a replacement to
fill in for her leave. However, we will have
Leanne Strain on board, a student intern from The
Social Work Program at Winona State, from January
until early May. Her presence will be helpful as
Valerie Britt and Jennifer Gander carry a heavy
load in Julies absence. Bear with us as we
begin this challenging year, and join us in
hoping for some good luckIn seeking new sources
of funding. Teresa Byland
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Upcoming Events
Y Mentors Holiday Party!
Tuesday, December 7th 630 800 p.m.
Tis the season! Its that time once again for
the the Y Mentors Holiday Party for mentors and
mentees! To begin the evening we will meet in
Balfour for goodies which Y Mentors will
provide (you are welcome to bring a dessert to
share-just let your case manager know). Other
activities throughout the evening include Bingo,
a craft project, volleyball and basketball.
There is sure to be something for everyone. Plan
to start your holiday season with us. Contact
your case manager by Thursday, December 2nd
to sign-up.

Log on and bid high for the Y!
Nov. 1-16, 2004 www.RochFamY.org/yauction

• Great getaways
• Fabulous foods
• Home enhancements

• Wine tasting party
• Entertainment adventure
• Lots, lots more!

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Rochester Area Family Y
NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID ROCHESTER,
MN 55901 PERMIT 365
709 1st Ave. SW Rochester, MN 55904 Phone
287-2401 Case Managers Julie LaBare 287-2260
ext. 372 julie_at_ymentors.org Valerie
Britt 287-2260 ext. 371 valerie_at_ymentors.org Jenn
ifer Gander 287-2260 ext. 373 jenniferg_at_ymentors.
org Activity Planner/Case Manager Jennifer
Becker 287-2260 ext. 370 jennb_at_ymentors.org Direc
tor Teresa Byland 287-2260 ext. 327
teresa_at_ymentors.org We build strong kids, strong
families, strong communities.