Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA

In March we met Dr. Randy Von Kanel in our lobby. He is a Pascagoula native and moved to the Cayman Islands as an adult. He graduated with the Miners in 1970 and then in 1996 when he came back to Pascagoula for the holidays his son who is a competition swimmer needed to practice on Christmas Eve he called around to different pools in the area and called our Y. The gentleman who answered the phone said, “come on down, I am the only one here and we don’t close until 6pm” and so they did. He was so blown away by our pool that he went home and told his congregation that they needed a YMCA in the Cayman Islands. He showed them pictures and started dreaming. 8 years later he was the charting director of the YMCA of the Cayman Islands. Today he still sits on the board dreaming of bringing a pool to their Y. This year, they have a young man who competes at the national level who will be in the opening 50M heat in the Summer Olympics representing the Cayman Islands (I forgot his name, but he attends U of Tennessee). The story of the little island that could is getting some attention from this young man that the temporary pool that the Olympic committee is erecting to compete, will be sent to their Y in the Caymans to further their mission! It was a pretty amazing story! He is a pastor, he gives the glory to God, but also to the Blossman YMCA for giving him a dream! Here is that pool getting constructed for the trials. https://lnkd.in/gGmW4PmB 😊

A big shoutout to Winn Dixie for including the Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA in their Community Bag Program! 🌟 For the entire month of June, every Adventure Bag sold at the Ocean Springs Winn Dixie will earn the Y a $1 donation. 🙌 Don’t miss out—grab your bag in June and support a great cause! 💙🛍️ #CommunitySupport #WinnDixie #YMCA #GivingBack