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San Diego Armed Services YMCA Message Board

 
Coming to ASYMCA Headquarters:
"Guess What? I never want to stop coming here."
Mason, age 5, exclaimed to our ASYMCA staff member Cindy. His dad is "on the USS Reagan, the biggest ship, in the whole ship world."
 
ASYMCA Emergency Assistance: “We do everything we can to be there for our kids and provide the very best for them. In the rare time we've needed help, the ASYMCA was there for us, helping us with groceries and gas money. Nothing means more to us than putting a smile on the faces of our children, and whenever we go in the offices of the ASYMCA, no matter what the reason for our visit, we always leave smiling!” Matt
 
ASYMCA Memories: “I just want to thank you and ASYMCA on the great military support for our families when in need or just for the fun of it. I have been a Family Readiness Assistant for my husband Marine command and it has been such a great life experience. On behalf of Bianca and my family I want to thank you for giving her an opportunity to volunteer. This experience has thought her that she can and is able to do more to help out our community and where ever else our Military life sends us to. Again thank you and your staff for welcoming us into your lives and your wonderful organization. “ Dolores
 
ASYMCA Memories: “Thank you so much ASYMCA and sponsors for making our time in San Diego memorable. We as military make friends only to leave them or watch them leave. The only thing we can take with us is our memories. You have helped us do that. We have enjoyed NASCAR and various Padres games against our home town team. You bring a little bit of family into our lives. Thank you for helping us stay strong through tough times. If anyone out there has not gone to one of your awesome events, I highly recommend them go. You will have the time of your life. Thanks again!” Mindy
 
Christmas You Missed: “Hi! I wanted to take a moment to thank you so much for the work your staff and volunteers do at the ASYMCA! My family has been fortunate enough to have been able to take advantage of many (MANY) of your programs. My favorite program, by far, is the Christmas You Missed and I'd like to share our experience.

My husband deployed July 2008. He spent approximately 4 months in Iraq and 3 in Afghanistan. During the course of his deployment, we missed spending so many major events together...my birthday, his birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, the birth of our daughter, Christmas, and New Year's Eve (which was also our 5th anniversary). We did our best to keep him as involved in the holidays as possible, but as we all know, it's not the same. It's hard to explain to your 4 year old why we have to take so many pictures and why we're at the post office 3 out of 5 days/week.

This year's The Christmas You Missed Program was something we were looking forward to for quite some time....I had actually heard about it the year before on KSON. Our 4 year old son was completely confused so we had to tell him this was a Christmas Re-do because Daddy was back home....and that made it all better! My husband loved seeing our son's excitement as he sat on Santa's lap and received his gifts from the men and women in uniform.

Perhaps the best part, was the baby recognition ceremony. My husband beamed while he held our daughter and introduced her to Cliff from KSON. To my surprise, we were presented a gift from some of the members of the Chargers Team....Billy Latsko gave us the gift for our daughter...he went to my high school and was a friend of my little sister!

As if the day wasn't special enough, it held a particular place in my husband's heart. His father was stationed in San Diego many, many years ago and met his mother there. After his time in the service, his father actually worked for KSON. His father passed away unexpectedly three years ago so this provided another connection to his dad.

Thank you so much for the memories your organization enabled me to share with my husband! I'm not sure if you know this, but the programs you put on, make life in the military SO much easier! Your staff is always so kind and shows genuine concern for the families it serves. We appreciate everything you do!”
Sincerely,
Danielle, Jeremy, Jake and Riley
 
Operation Kid Comfort: “I just want to say that the ASYMCA Operation Kid Comfort is the greatest program ever. My husband and I were placed with our 4 year old boy (pre-adoptive) less than two weeks before he left on deployment. The day he left, I took a lot of pictures, and immediately signed my son up to receive a quilt made. When it finally came, our son would not let it go. It's his "Daddy Blanket." He sleeps with it every night, whether we are at home or on vacation. It has been so wonderful for him to be comforted by his dad, even if it's in pictures. It's almost like he's cuddling with his daddy.

I am so grateful for the blanket and other ASYMCA programs we have participated in. They have made this deployment that much more manageable and tolerable. I can't imagine how we would have gotten through this without the ASYMCA. Our son has had to bond with his new dad long-distance. The ASYMCA has made this that much easier. And the best part is that Daddy will be back in time to finalize our adoption of him. We can be assured that the boys will have already started the bonding experience even while my husband has been away.
Thank you so much for all that you do.“ Cristina and Thomas
 
 
 
Active Duty Volunteer: “Hi my name is Jonathon, me and my wife Amanda came and volunteered for the Freedom Festival that we had at North Island for the 4th of July. We had a blast...we got there to help with setup and met Ashley and John and a few other of the people that work with you guys. We also brought our little 8 month old, who had a blast also, seeing all of the people and the kids come and get their temporary tattoos from mom and dad. I think we probably did about 500 tattoos. We did enjoy the experience though and I do think that we made some very good friends. Ashley got to hold our daughter and play with her and had a good time with that too. I think one of the funniest things that we did was when our little one had a dirty diaper and Ashley let us use the bus to change her, I don't know why I thought that was funny but I did enjoy that. We look forward to volunteering and helping with so many more events. You have great people that put on these events. Thank you and have a great day.”
 
 
 
New Move to Murphy Canyon: “I was so excited when we moved into Murphy Canyon housing, it meant I would be closer to the ASYMCA. I could get there to stand in line for our favorite....San Diego Padres tickets, thank you USAA. Thank you Starbucks and customers for donating great coffee for our sailors. :) This year we also enjoyed the Fair for the first time, thank you. :) It is so good to keep the kids busy while their father is deployed. Thank you for everything you all do there for our military families.”
 
 
 
Dear ASYMCA: I have had the opportunity to enjoy myself at several functions over theyears: Christmas that you Missed 2007, Several Baseball Padres Games, and acouple concerts at Cricket Amphitheatre. Also, most recently the "Star Spangled Pops Salute" Free lunch at the Embarcadero sponsored by the San Diego Symphony. I even was able to support ASYMCA recently when I purchased the discounted Commissary Vouchers. Thanks again for all you do in supporting the Military families of both deployed and recently returned members!
Semper Fidelis, Dennis”
 
 
 
Teradata Backpack Giveaway “I am so grateful for the gift cards you gave us yesterday. The cards went a long way in Vons, we were able to pick up a lot of things. When the kids came home from school they were really surprised with the backpacks and school supplies. Their faces lit up, all of them were super excited and said "this is just what we needed". And seeing them that happy really made my day. So I just want to thank you for everything. You came and helped us out just when we really needed it. My Thanks to everyone at Armed Services YMCA that make these things possible.”
 
 
 
Donations Thank You: I wanted to recognize those who donated to those who are deployed. It means a lot to those who have to be away from their families and loved ones. Knowing that there are people who think about them and make donations possible I want to say "Thank you".
 
Neighborhood Exchange: "Thank you, thank you, thank you for connecting me with the "Y". I worked at the Neighborhood Exchange this morning. What a joy it was! I had a lot of fun and felt like I helped those who serve our country. I can't say enough about the staff at the Y. They are unbelievably organized, probably from being associated with the military. They had drawn a complete map of the entire parking lot with every table & awning shown so it could be easily set up. They made it so easy and they are so kind it was a pleasure to work there. I am really looking forward to next month. If anyone wants to join me, I am sure they will enjoy it as much as I did. Also, next month, they are setting up a "toy store" so the parents can shop for Christmas. I have no idea how they will do it but I am confident it will go off without a hitch." Jayne
 
Youth and Community Family Camp:”Truly had the greatest time ever. Thank your letting our family be apart of this GREAT experience. Hope we get the chance to do this again. You did an EXCELLENT job; I don’t think anyone could have done a better job than you did, great smores!” Reyes
 
Resources: “The ASYMCA has been a huge help in us being a super supportive family to our sailor. They have offered so much resource information and supplies. The ASYMCA has helped get us in an IA support group and so much more. From encouraging us to get involved more in giving back to supplying Padre tickets to bread and grocery help. All these helps have enabled our family to stay, busy, active, healthy and happy- a huge help to me and a relief to our service member, all the while making deployment fly by." Rachel
 
Staff: The ASYMCA has so many wonderful programs and staff members that we also feel they are a part of our families in those hard times. With your help we are all Super Families!! " Francisco
Support: “The support and generosity of your dedicated volunteers keeps me and my family going back. My family will never forget the kindness the ASYMCA has extended and the assistance provided in our times of need.” Mary
Deployment: “Due to many of the programs offered by the YMCA, our family has been closer than ever. Since my husband has been deployed to Iraq, the YMCA has been so supportive to our family. I love all the different things that are offered. I am forever indebted to the YMCA and its employees.” Darren
 
 

Messages from 2008 and 2009. Updated 12/3/09
 
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