Hingham Couple Co-Chairs YMCA’s Annual Support Campaign

Longtime board members and volunteers of the South Shore YMCA, Jon and Roberta Norton of Hingham are serving as co-chairs of the Y’s Annual Support Campaign. 

Held during the month of April, the Annual Support Campaign is an effort to raise $1.3 million.

As a nonprofit organization, the Y provides financial assistance and scholarships for special programs, early learning, after school care, overnight and day camps, and memberships. Throughout the coming year, the South Shore YMCA will give out $2 million in support to 5,500 people.

“Few people know that the South Shore YMCA is a charity that serves more than 60,000 people each year,” Jon Norton said. “The South Shore YMCA ensures that people of all ages, incomes, backgrounds, and physical abilities have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.”

With Y facilities in Quincy and Hanover and programs including the Germantown Neighborhood Center in Quincy, the South Shore Natural Science Center in Norwell, the Early Learning Center in Hanover, and residence camps Burgess and Hayward in Sandwich, the South Shore YMCAs provide more than 100 programs that emphasize youth development, social responsibility and healthy living.

Of the $1.3 million raised as a result of the Annual Support Campaign, more than $400,000 will be used to send children to overnight and day camps this summer.  Another $350,000 will support early learning and after school daycare programs.  More than $200,000 will feed hundreds through the food pantry. Other programs provide after school care, sports, arts education, health education, outdoor education, self-esteem and recovery programs, family violence prevention programs and so much more.

The Nortons have been involved with the South Shore YMCA for a decade. Roberta Norton took to the Y with such enthusiasm, she went on to earn a certification in personal training and then worked for eight years as a health and well-being coordinator at the South Shore Y in Quincy.  She is now a member of the YMCA Quincy Branch Board of Directors. 

Jon Norton, a senior vice president at Sager Electronics, initially became passionate about the Y through his participation with Roberta at Y staff events and fundraisers. “I was overwhelmed by the emotional stories I’d hear from the staff, volunteers, and members about how the Y had done so much for their lives.”  Norton went on to join the Y as a member and was inspired by other Y members and staff. He also serves as a Y volunteer and is a member of the South Shore YMCA executive board of directors.

“The diversity in age, race, and athletic ability are amazing,“ Norton says. “An older woman who will participate in the senior Olympics swims in the next lane over from a little boy who is just starting his first lesson.”

The Nortons are co-chairing the Annual Support Campaign – the theme of which is “Make a Difference” –  as a way to encourage others to contribute because they are so passionate about all that the Y does for the people in their community. “The partnership program makes it possible for people with disabilities to work out alongside everyone else. Watching a high school student partner and workout with a child who has autism, week after week, is inspirational and rewarding for this special pair and all those around them at the Hanover Branch,” Jon Norton said.  Norton shared some of the human connections he’s witnessed at the Y with members of his Rotary club. The club went on to donate specialized equipment to support a young child with disabilities workout alongside his father and help many others have the same opportunity at the Quincy Branch. 

“Over the holidays and throughout the year, companies get involved and contribute food and gifts to people who are grateful for the assistance. This all happens through the Y,” Norton said. “Roberta and I are so moved by people we have met at the Y, like a high school boy who works to ensure his younger brother can attend the Y camp in the summer. These people keep us involved and contributing. We want everyone to know why they should contribute to the Y.”

-South Shore YMCA