The halls fill with students as lunch begins at Community High School (CHS), and the smell of baked goods slowly attracts a line to the second floor. Keely O’Donnell and Abby Kleinheksel are selling treats, including puppy chow and refreshments, for a cause. O’Donnell and Kleinheksel are two members of the Community High Athletic Tribe (CHAT), a group created in 2009 by CHS teacher Robbie Stapleton. Each year as the month of March rolls around, CHAT joins the efforts of the Ann Arbor YMCA’s Strong Kids Campaign.
The Strong Kids Campaign helps raise funds to support families who are unable to afford the various programs that the YMCA offers. Each year, Strong Kids provides scholarships for children and teens to participate in childcare, afterschool programs, summer camps, youth aquatic and sports programs, and Youth in Government.
In addition to teaching and conducting CHAT, Stapleton is a chairman of the Teen Development Committee at the Ann Arbor YMCA and a strong believer in the campaign. “When I started CHAT I thought, ‘Well, wait a minute, what a perfect marriage of strong kids who are members of CHAT, helping with the Strong Kids Campaign,’” said Stapleton. “So many of our kids go to Al-Gon-Quain, did YVC, participate in Youth in Government, went to Camp Birkett, even did childcare at the Y… It seemed like, duh, strong kids – CHAT – raising money for Strong Kids.”
The YMCA and the Strong Kids Campaign exemplify and put into action Stapleton’s views on the importance of exercise. “You know what I do here [at CHS], or what I like to think I do here, is use exercise to build people,” said Stapleton. “Unfortunately… the sort of sad thing is that most people think of the Y as a place to workout, which it is a great place to workout, but it truly is a cause driven organization. Its three main legs are social responsibility, youth development, and [healthy living]. It makes perfect sense when you think about what the Y actually does,” she said.
Stapleton thinks of exercise as a way for her to get to know kids. “They get to push themselves harder than they thought they could, experience that success, and I like to think that it sort of bleeds into other areas of their lives.” In her opinion, exercise is “one way to just sort of become a fuller person, and I think that’s what the Y does in the community.”
The Strong Kids Campaign kicked off this year on February 27 and ended on March 31st. Throughout those 32 days, Strong Kids volunteers worked to raise as much money as they could. Last year CHAT raised over $900 and had a goal of raising $1,200 this year.
The students of CHAT, just like the members at the YMCA, were divided into small groups that were each responsible for finding their own fun way to raise money. One group sold refreshments at a recent CHS jazz concert and another simply went around asking for money, “which is sort of the most effective way of doing it,” said Stapleton.
- Members of CHAT celebrate the end of a successful campaign during one of their biweekly meetings in Bodley Hall. Photo via Hannah Bogard.
CHAT also sold t-shirts and sports bags to raise money for the cause, each priced at $10. All the proceeds were given to Strong Kids. At the end of the month, CHAT met their goal, even passed it, raising $1,600. “I’m so grateful to the CHAT kids for wanting to do it, for participating,” Stapleton concluded.
Although the Strong Kids Campaign has its biggest fundraiser during the month of March, anyone can donate throughout the year to help support this cause. Visit http://www.annarborymca.org/give-ann-arbor-ymca/give-ann-arbor-ymca.php to donate.
