April 1, 2021 – Plano, IL – The Y is excited to announce that $5,000 has been donated to the Fox Valley Family YMCA Summer Day Camp program by long-time Y supporter, Nancy Martin. In addition, Mrs. Martin has generously gifted the use of the woodlands north of the YMCA for summer camp. These gifts will impact countless children in our community and surrounding towns for generations to come.

When Mrs. Martin was asked about the monetary gift she simply said, “it was a good thing to do.”

Amy Peterson, the School-Aged Child Care Director says, “We are abundantly grateful to Nancy Martin and her family for their ongoing generosity. The Y’s first days began with Nancy Martin and her late-husband Joe’s hard work and dedication to making the Y a reality. They envisioned a place where families could come together and over 40 years later that vision is still thriving and being realized.”

The Y’s Summer Camp program intends to use the woods for exploration, team building and other creative endeavors. A small amphitheater has already been built for performances and guest speakers. In addition, the Y has a long-term plan to develop hiking paths and team-building challenges.

The gift of the woods is one more way Nancy carries on her late husband’s Joe Martin’s vision for the Y. To honor Joe’s legacy, the Y has aptly named the woods “The Martin’s Nest”.