2025 Legislative Appropriation - December 2024 Newsletter

The NJ YMCA State Alliance was awarded funding in NJ’s FY2025 State Budget to advance equity and access to youth civic engagement and drowning prevention programs at New Jersey YMCAs. $250,000 was awarded to expand Youth and Government (YAG), a national YMCA program that immerses teens in experiential civic engagement. While the program’s primary goal is the promotion of responsible citizenship, students come away with much more than a greater knowledge of the inner workings of government. Participants sharpen their leadership skills, improve their problem-solving and critical thinking abilities, and become more adept at debate and public speaking. The funding will be allocated to local YMCAs to enhance current programs or build a new delegation, with the intent to address disparities and provide more opportunities for young people to participate in the program at no cost.  

Additionally, the NJ YMCA State Alliance was awarded $200,000 to support YMCA Safety Around Water (SAW) programming. Water safety is a critical issue, as drowning remains the 9th leading cause of accidental death among New Jersey’s youth between the ages of 5 and 14. Historic and systemic inequities in access to swim programming have heightened these impacts disproportionately within communities of color and among low-income families. Through the funding appropriation, YMCAs will increase the availability of affordable swim lessons, raise awareness, and collaborate with community partners to promote equitable water safety programming.