Next month marks SIX YEARS of life in Arizona. I'm so lucky to have made a life for myself here, and a huge part of it is thanks to my career with the Valley of the Sun YMCA. When I first came to the Ahwatukee Y in 2017 one of the first programs I got involved with is Employee University, a career-readiness program unique to the Ahwatukee Y and designed to teach teens workforce readiness skills through weekly workshops, community speakers, and up to 250 hours of volunteer experience. My favorite EU volunteers that summer (Katy + Alyssa Clausen, pictured with me here in 2017) ended up becoming amazing Y employees, great family friends, and my daughter Lennon's favorite babysitters!

Employee University is a free program BECAUSE annual support dollars are used to offset the cost of the program for every participant. The 8-week summer program's registration fees are $1,200 per participant. By donating to the Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA's 2023 Annual Campaign, your dollars will be helping up to 40 teens participate in this summer's Employee University program.

Will you donate today and help me sponsor a teen through Employee University this summer? Thank you for your consideration of a pledge or gift to the Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA's 2023 Annual Support Campaign. I can't wait to show you our Employee University Class of 2023!