Denise Day (YMCA of Greater Brandywine CEO), honors Rip Tilden (left) and Joe Viscuso (right) with the 2014 Distinguished Service Award.
Awards were given to volunteers in the Y’s three focus areas; Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility. The Y recognized Fred Gunther, from the Believe and Achieve Foundation, and Delaware Children’s Charity, with the Service to Youth Award for their efforts on behalf of children in the community.
Y volunteers were honored for helping kids experience success and build character as sports coaches, swim team and gymnastics volunteers. They were also celebrated for creating volunteer programs to help seniors make home repairs they were unable to do themselves; developing activities for special needs individuals where they learn to swim, exercise and enjoy a laugh; and being an integral part of the Y’s essential fundraising programs at a grass roots level.
Denise Day, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine, explained the vital importance of volunteers, saying, “Without our volunteers, none of this is possible. Working together, we can help kids be their very best, inspire people of all ages be healthier, and support our neighbors in need.”
A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2014 Distinguished Service Award to Joe Viscuso and Rip Tilden. They were honored for their part in forging the merger of the Brandywine Valley YMCA and the YMCA of the Upper Main Line to create the YMCA of Greater Brandywine, which now serves over 80,000 members at nine branches.
In addition, the Community Partner Award was presented to M & T Bank for its enthusiastic support of the YMCA for over a decade.
