Creating a Welcoming Place for All

It all started with an invitation.

In 2008, a colleague asked Emily Pitts to serve on the Gateway Region YMCA board. He was retiring and he wanted her to take his place. She said yes.

“I focus on organizations that value everyone and leave people better off than they were,” Emily says. “The Y does all of this and more.”

Through the YMCA, both Emily and her husband, Richard, saw their lives improve during their youth. Emily participated in summer programs in her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. For Richard, who grew up in segregated Atlanta, his local Y connected him with inspiring African-American leaders through a speaker series.

“The Y does so much more than swimming,” Emily says. “Part of what I love is the inclusiveness of the organization.”

Emily recently retired from Edward Jones, where she led the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts; she brings that expertise to her committee and chairmanship work on the YMCA’s board. To help the organization continue to be a supportive place for all, Emily and Richard decided to make an estate gift to the Gateway Region YMCA.

“We’re passionate about improving young people’s future,” Emily says. “We’re leaving a legacy so the Y can continue its great work.”

You can join the couple by making an outright or deferred gift as part of the YMCA’s Comprehensive Capital Campaign.

“We may not know everyone who will benefit from our support, but it feels good to be a small part of something much bigger than we are,” Emily says.

Learn how you, too, can make an impact on future generations with a gift to the Gateway Region YMCA. Contact Wendy Cornett-Marquitz, CFRE at 314 436 1177 ext. 21640 or wendy.cornett-marquitz@gwrymca.org to learn more.