CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Max Garcia smiles as he sees his family at the graduation ceremony held at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA preschool on May 22.

I came across a salient quote attributed to Nelson Henderson during a recent YMCA conference I attended. It read: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”

How are we planting those metaphoric trees to positively affect generations to come? After turning 50 last year, this comment hits home with me, but also connects with the work I do as a fundraiser for the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA.

At the Y, planting those trees, or giving to the Y Heritage Club endowment, means generations can continue to connect, flourish and count on the Y as a community hub. Take for instance one day last month when the Y had dozens of youth from the school district getting off the bus to take water safety lessons, cancer survivors gathering for our LIVESTRONG program and Special Olympics athletes preparing for their state track meet. That same day, our Y preschool practiced for its graduation ceremony.

All of this was going on in the span of just a couple hours at the Y on just one day. Now imagine the impact we make at the Y on our community throughout an entire year.

The Y is a charity that allows access to everyone in our community and funds from our Heritage Club endowment ensure we can keep our facilities up to date and set the stage for the future.

Why can the Y be entrusted with donations to our endowment? Well, we’ve been serving the community for 150 years and have been responsive to needs that pop up. We partner with many other agencies in town to multiply our impact together.

Would you consider leaving the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA in your will as part of that legacy? Reach out to me if you are interested in supporting our Y Heritage Club endowment either through a one-time gift or planned giving. I’d love to meet with you to talk about supporting the Y and our community long-term, bearing fruits for generations to come.

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Andrew Potter is marketing and

communications director at the

Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA.