By Town Crier Staff Report

The El Camino YMCA’s annual community campaign has surpassed $100,000, well on the way toward meeting a $120,000 fund-raising goal.

According to Executive Director Ron Markillie, Y supporters raised “just over $101,000,” as of last week. The total comes from funds raised among board members and Y membership and corporate gifts. Another $10,000 is expected through two phone drives, set for April 23 and 24.

Proceeds from the campaign go to scholarships for youth programs, mainly for before- and after-school child care, but also for youth sports, aquatics and teens.

Four team managers this year, Los Altos resident Tom Wulf, and Hugh Riddell, Allen Miller and Kathy Crumine of Mountain View, managed teams to raise funds, primarily through person-to-person contact.

“The main magic of this annual fund drive is than it is not just a fund drive,” said Town Crier Publisher Paul Nyberg, who served as chairman of this year’s campaign. “It is a chance to re-sell the YMCA mission and the way the programs of the El Camino Y impact hundreds of families in the area every day.”

The community campaign noted above is a separate fund-raiser from the El Camino Y’s recently completed $3 million capital drive which raised funds for an additional 32,000 square feet. The expansion will include a new gym and teen center. Among the major donors is the Mountain View Kiwanis Club which gave an unprecedented gift of $100,000. The gift prompted Y officials to include the Kiwanis Club in the name of the new teen center. Actual construction is set to begin in June with completion targeted for June 2002.