Y Aligns Perfectly With Values

Spring, 2014

Tracey Ragsdale is a servant leader. For more than 16 years, she has blessed and been blessed by the YMCA. And her planned gift ensures that her work will endure. Tracey states matter-of-factly, "I hope the Y is one of the first charities people think of when I die."

Why the Y? Tracey says, "My personal values are children, community and church. The Y aligns perfectly with these values."

Tracey's ability to be a servant leader is evident in the balance she strikes in caring for children who suffer. She served for six years on the national board of Prevent Child Abuse America. And her eyes light up when she talks about her volunteer work in the neonatal intensive care unit at Henrico Doctors' Hospital. Every week she holds and rocks babies who need the love and healing that come from human touch.

Community is another value in alignment between Tracey and the Y. The statement that "the Y is a gathering place where people are loved" has been Tracey's belief and experience. That's why she is so engaged to ensure that others have that experience.

It is with passion that she views her service on the Tuckahoe Board of Management, which she chaired, and on the Board of Directors of the YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND. "When you get involved with the Y, you begin to understand the real role of the Y in our community. Go on a YMCA Bright Beginnings shopping trip, or watch kids learn to swim, or just look at the love shared in our lobbies among members."

Involvement leads to support. Tracey lays out the deepening of engagement very clearly. "It starts with annual giving. After you see how we serve the community, it isn't as important how much you give. What's important is that it is heartfelt."

And then comes the planned gift. She puts it plainly and succinctly. "I don't understand how anyone can be a board member, understand our mission and not make a planned gift." Because she trusts the fiscal management of the Y and knows that the needs of the future will be different from the needs of today, she has made her gift unrestricted. "I just want to sustain the mission of the Y into the future."

One vision Tracey has for the Y of the future is that, in partnership with other organizations that share our values, there will be volunteer opportunities for every Y member and every child in the Y family. What a great vision! Through training and experience, new servant leaders will emerge to join Tracey.