Fishers was once a small town with that small-town feel where everyone knew you, your family and most of your life history. Mayor Scott Fadness grew up in a small North Dakota farming community with a feel much like that – everyone knew your name, your family and most everything about you.
The mayor emphasized community in his speech to the Fishers YMCA annual fundraising campaign breakfast Thursday morning. He cited the summer Tuesday night concerts that draw 5,000 to 6,000 local residents each week
“Not one time, not one single time, have we had an issue with a person at those events,” Fadness said. “I ask you, where else in America can you tell people you have a free concert, feel free to bring whatever you want to drink, have 5,000 people show up consistently every Tuesday night, and never have a single issue with people acting inappropriately? That says something about the character and quality of our community.”
He cited the concerts as one example where local residents can make a human connection and get to know each other. As Fishers has grown into a large suburban community, finding ways to get to know each other has become more difficult, but the Tuesday concerts serve as one example of how the city is trying to bring local citizens together, trying to build what the mayor described as “a sense of community.”
The mayor told the crowd that the Fishers YMCA is on the front lines of building the city’s sense of community. He said an organization like the local Y is the difference between “a sterile suburban environment and a true community.”
Danny Brown told the crowd about how the YMCA saved his life. He was exercising and suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, a medical emergency where only about 5 percent survive and fully recover. Due to quick action, the use of AED equipment at the Y and the people on the scene when he collapsed, he became one of the 5 percent that fully recover from a cardiac arrest. Mr. Brown became emotional when talking about the people at the Fishers Y that day and how they saved his life.
The Fishers YMCA is best known for the exercise facilities and swimming pools, but there is much more to the organization, including youth summer camps and after-school programs.
The Fishers YMCA never turns anyone down for membership because they cannot afford to pay the membership fee. About 25 percent of families receive some sort of help because they lack resources to pay for Y services.
When you contribute to the Fishers YMCA, part of that money is used to help those families unable to afford YMCA membership and programs. Donating to the Fishers YMCA is easy – just visit indymca.org/fishers and click the DONATE button at the top of the page.