For many years, the Downtown Y has been the top location for our good friends at the Salvation Army and their Angel Tree.  Y members tend to be an extraordinarily kind and generous lot.  I ran into a member last night (I won’t name names, as she would be embarrassed because she does things out of pure goodness)  who said she went to the Y to get a swim in and noticed that the last two gifts, bikes for kids, were still on the tree, and there was only one hour left to fulfill these requests.  This woman, a mom, triathlete, and former teacher, said it broke her heart to see that two kids might not have the Christmas they had hoped for, so she went out and bought two bikes for these kids!  I do not know if she even got her swim in, but if she did it was a short one.  Nonetheless, she got a dose of healthy activity for the day, as there are some things that are even better for the heart than exercise.  This is one of the many reasons I love being a part of our Y community in this valley.

Jim Everett