Your donation makes a difference. Read stories of how your Virginia colleagues were helped in 2002.

There's help when a financial crisis strikes.

If you or an AYP member you know has a financial crisis, AYP is ready to help. For nearly a century the Emergency Assistance Fund has provided financial aid when an accident, illness, death of a loved one, disaster or other crisis strikes. Grants of up to $7,500 are made to active and retired Y professionals, as well as family members. The Fund is supported exclusively by the very people it helps - Y professionals. More than 1,500 active Y professionals and retirees contribute to the Fund each year.

To qualify for assistance:

• Applicant must be a member of AYP/NAFYR for the past six months (active or retired) or an immediate dependent family member.
• Medical Expenses - Persons incurring medical expenses beyond provisions of their health insurance coverage or other related expenses which result in an extreme economic hardship.
• Catastrophe - Persons who experience economic distress as a result of acts of nature (fire, flood, wind, earthquake, etc.) or other catastrophic events (accident, crime), etc.)
• Involuntary Separation - Persons who have exercised all of their options for separation benefits or unemployment insurance, or were denied separation benefits upon release and are experiencing continuing economic hardship. This basis of need is restricted to members with more than five years of YMCA employment.
• Emergency - As the name of the fund implies, the need must have resulted from an "unforseen event" and not from an exercise of "personal choice."

Anyone may request a grant for eligible persons. If you know of someone in need, simply contact your chapter president. If the aid required does not exceed $500, chapter presidents can authorize grants and a check is immediately sent from the AYP Office. If the need is greater than $500, the EAF chairperson and the AYP Support Services Committee review the request, then a check is mailed, usually in less than a week.

The Emergency Assistance Fun depends on you! Contribute today by mailing a check to: AYP Office, 12 Broad Street, Suite 2-1, Westerly, RI 02891