Marion Family YMCA Teen Leaders Club

08/18/2026

💙🎒 WHAT A POWERFUL WEEKEND! 🎒💙

This past weekend, our Teen Leaders Club had the incredible opportunity to come together and make a real difference in the lives of local kids as they prepare to head back to school. Our Teen Leaders packed and filled 20 backpacks with the school supplies each child needed to start the school year feeling prepared, confident, and ready to learn!

This year, we were honored to help 8 families and a total of 20 kids. ❤️

This is our THIRD year doing this, and every year it continues to grow. What started as an opportunity to help a few families has grown into something that allows us to reach even more young people in our community. And that is something we are incredibly proud of. But this weekend was about so much more than backpacks and school supplies. Our Teen Leaders had the opportunity to personally hand those filled backpacks to the kids they were helping and meet them face to face. I truly believe there is something incredibly powerful about that moment. It allows our teens to see the actual faces, smiles, excitement, and gratitude behind the work they are doing.

It reminds them that their time, effort, kindness, and service MATTER. That is why we do what we do. 💙

We want our Teen Leaders to understand that leadership isn't just about having a title. It's about showing up for others. It's about giving back. It's about recognizing a need in your community and saying, "What can I do to help?"

For some children, having a backpack filled with the supplies they need may seem like a small thing. But for a family who may be struggling to afford everything their children need for the school year, it can mean so much. It can take away a little stress, provide a little relief, and allow a child to walk into their first day of school feeling just a little more ready and confident. And watching our Teen Leaders be part of that is exactly what youth leadership and service should be about.

To our Teen Leaders I am SO proud of you. Thank you for giving your time, your hearts, and your energy to help others. Never forget the impact you can make when you choose to serve.

And to every person who donated, supported, encouraged, or helped make this possible THANK YOU. Because of you, 20 kids will walk into the new school year with what they need and knowing that their community believes in them. 💙

20 backpacks.
20 kids.
8 families.
Countless smiles.
And one incredible group of Teen Leaders learning what it truly means to make a difference. 💙🎒

This is why we do what we do.
This is what community is all about. 💙
(Not all families wanted photographed)

08/15/2026

Today, the Teen Leaders and I continued our mission to right here in our community, and we had the BEST time visiting Sip Easy Coffee Bar!!

Located at 122 S. Main St. in downtown Marion, Sip Easy was opened by owner Kim Bradshaw on November 6, 2025.
From the moment we walked in, Kim was absolutely fantastic! She was so welcoming, friendly, and made all of us feel right at home. And let me tell you… the drinks were DELICIOUS! ☕️😍

A huge THANK YOU to Kim and her daughter, Anna, for taking such great care of us today and serving us our yummy drinks! We truly appreciate you welcoming the Teen Leaders into your business and allowing us to spend some time learning more about what you do.

One of the things I want our Teen Leaders to understand is that supporting small businesses is about so much more than simply buying something. When we choose to shop local, eat local, and support local entrepreneurs, we are helping our neighbors, families, and friends who have poured their time, money, dreams, and hard work into building something right here in our community. Every purchase, every visit, every recommendation, and every share can make a difference. When local businesses succeed, our entire community benefits. ❤️

I am so proud of our Teen Leaders for getting out into the community, supporting local businesses, and learning the importance of investing in the place we call home. This is exactly the kind of hands on experience and community involvement that leadership is all about!

If you have not tried Sip Easy Coffee Bar yet, PLEASE take the time to stop in and give them a try! I promise you won’t regret it! Thank you again, Kim and Anna, for welcoming us today! We appreciate you more than you know!

08/14/2026

A HUGE THANK YOU TO Post 162 Marion

We are beyond grateful to the amazing members of American Legion Post 162 for their continued support of our Teen Leaders Club! For the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, they have generously donated $1,000 to help support our Teen Leaders! 🇺🇸

This donation means SO much to us and will make such a big difference in what we are able to provide for our teens. Our Teen Leaders are constantly working hard to serve our community, complete service projects, build leadership skills, learn about careers, give back to others, and make a positive impact right here in Marion. ❤️

Support from community partners like American Legion Post 162 is what helps make these opportunities possible. When organizations like them invest in our youth, they aren't just making a donation they are investing in the future leaders of our community. 🙌

We cannot thank you enough for believing in our Teen Leaders, supporting their goals, and continuing to stand behind this program year after year. Your generosity, kindness, and commitment to our youth truly do NOT go unnoticed!

From all of us at the Marion Family YMCA and especially our Teen Leaders THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 🇺🇸❤️

We are incredibly grateful to have partners like American Legion Post 162 in our corner! Here's to another year of making a difference together! 💙

07/28/2026

❤️ It's that time of year again! ❤️

One of our favorite traditions as Marion Family YMCA Teen Leaders is giving back to families in our community by helping with back-to-school supplies. Every year, our Teen Leaders come together to make sure local children can start the school year feeling confident, prepared, and excited.

This year, we will be selecting 5–7 families to receive assistance.

If you or someone you know could truly benefit from this opportunity, please email me and share a little about your family. Our Teen Leaders will thoughtfully review each submission and vote to select the families they feel they can make the biggest impact for.

🗓️ Application Deadline: Wednesday, August 5

Helping others is at the heart of what our Teen Leaders stand for, and we are honored to continue this tradition year after year. We know that back-to-school season can be overwhelming for many families, and if we can help ease that burden, even a little, it's something we're proud to do.

We look forward to helping make the start of this school year a little brighter for several deserving families. ❤️

email Toy Pendleton
[email protected]

07/24/2026

Unfortunately, I have to postpone our Teen Leaders Car Wash for tomorrow once again. This is honestly the last thing I wanted to do, but due to circumstances completely out of our control, I don't have another choice. The supplies we ordered through Amazon that are needed for the fundraiser have been delayed and will not arrive in time now due to being lost in transit. On top of that, we simply do not have enough Teen Leaders available to safely and successfully run the event. Many of our teens are currently on family vacations or are sick, and I completely understand that.

Please know that postponing this fundraiser again is not a decision I take lightly. I know many of you were planning to come out and support our Teen Leaders, and I truly appreciate every single one of you. Our goal is to hold this fundraiser when we have the proper supplies and enough volunteers to make it the success it deserves.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support of our Teen Leaders Club. We will announce the new date as soon as everything is in place. 💙🦆

07/21/2026

🇺🇸❤️ A HUGE THANK YOU to American Legion Post 584 ❤️🇺🇸

We are beyond grateful and proud to announce that American Legion Post 584 has once again shown their incredible support for our Teen Leaders Club with a generous $5,000 donation! This marks the third year in a row that they have blessed our program with this amazing contribution, and we truly cannot put into words how much this means to us.

Because of incredible community partners like American Legion Post 584, our Teen Leaders Club is able to continue providing opportunities for teens to grow as leaders, serve our community, develop important life skills, and make a positive impact on those around them.

Donations like this are so much more than just financial support they are an investment in our youth, their futures, and the future of our community. Every experience, service project, leadership opportunity, and connection we create is made possible because of people and organizations who believe in what we do.

We cannot thank American Legion Post 584 enough for believing in our teens and continuing to stand behind this program year after year. Your generosity, commitment, and support mean the world to us, and we are so incredibly thankful to have you as a partner.

From all of us at Teen Leaders Club THANK YOU for helping us continue to make a difference! ❤️🇺🇸

07/21/2026

What an incredible day! ❤️

This past Saturday was our 2nd Annual Teen Leaders Club Co****le Fundraiser, and it was a huge success! We had an amazing time surrounded by great people, friendly competition, and so much community support.

We truly cannot thank everyone enough who came out to support our teens. Without each and every one of you, programs like our Teen Leaders Club simply wouldn’t be possible. Thank you for believing in our youth, investing in their future, and recognizing the positive impact this program has on both our teens and our community.

Because of your generosity, we are excited to share that we raised $2,286 for the Marion Family YMCA Teen Leaders Club! Every dollar raised will go directly back into providing leadership opportunities, community service projects, educational experiences, and activities for these incredible teens.

The Teen Leaders Club and I would like to extend a very special thank you to Alex Sheridan, owner of Bucci’s Italian Scratch Kitchen, for once again allowing us to use your beautiful venue completely free of charge. Your generosity means more than words can express.

A huge thank you also goes out to our amazing event sponsors for helping increase our prize payouts:

💙 EXP Realty
💙 Park National Bank
💙 Dostal & Kirk Insurance & Financial Services
💙 Modern Woodmen
💙 Alluvial Tax & Planning

We also want to give a special shout-out to Dominic Byers for running another fantastic tournament. We appreciate all of your hard work and dedication!

🏆 Tournament Results
🥇 1st Place: Micha Johnson & Xzavier Hoosier
🥈 2nd Place: Trenton Howell & Braydon Howell
🥉 3rd Place: Rider Minnick & Alex Melick
🏅 4th Place: Mike Rudolph Jr. & Daniel Haddix

🎯 On the Board Challenge Winner: Blake Blythe

Congratulations to all of our winners, and thank you again to every player, sponsor, volunteer, donor, and supporter who helped make this event such a success. We are already looking forward to making next year’s tournament even bigger and better!

07/15/2026

🎉Check Out Our Amazing Raffle Prizes! 🎉

We are so excited to share some of the incredible raffle prizes that will be available during our Teen Leaders Co****le Fundraiser this Saturday!

Current Raffle Prizes Include:
• 🏆 Set of Obsessed Co****le Bags – Donated by Terry Harris
• 💅 Nail Care Gift Basket – Donated by the Teen Leaders Club and Taylor Murphy of Taylor's Nail Studio
• 💆1-Hour In-Home Massage Certificate – Donated by Madelyn Rhodes
• 🌲The Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls Gift Card – Donated by The Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls
• ⛳ Topgolf Gift Card – Donated by the Teen Leaders Club
• 🎬 Movie Night Gift Basket – Donated by the Teen Leaders Club
• 🛍️ Bath & Body Works Gift Basket – Donated by the Teen Leaders Club
• ☕ Starbucks Gift Basket – Donated by the Teen Leaders Club

And we're not done yet! More amazing raffle prizes may be added before Saturday!

Every raffle ticket you purchase helps support the Marion Family YMCA Teen Leaders Club, allowing our teens to participate in leadership development, community service projects, volunteer opportunities, educational experiences, and so much more.

A huge THANK YOU to our generous donors for making this fundraiser possible! ❤️

📅 Saturday
📍 Bucci's
⏰ First bags are thrown and the tournament begins at 11:00 AM!

Come out, have some fun, support an incredible group of teens, and take a chance on winning one of these fantastic prizes! We can't wait to see everyone there! 🎉🌽🎟️

07/15/2026

Rain or Shine... We're Playing!

We just wanted to let everyone know that our Teen Leaders Co****le Fundraiser is ON no matter what the weather brings! ☀🌧️

If Mother Nature doesn't cooperate, we'll simply move the tournament upstairs inside Bucci's, so the fun will continue rain or shine!

🕚 First bags are thrown, and the tournament begins promptly at 11:00 AM!

Important: Please use the BACK parking lot and enter through the back patio door if you're coming for the fundraiser.

We can't wait to see everyone for a great day of co****le, raffles, fun, and supporting our amazing Teen Leaders! Thank you for helping us make a difference in the lives of local teens. ❤️

06/19/2026

🚨 Teen Leaders Car Wash Fundraiser Postponed 🚨

Unfortunately, due to family emergencies, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our Teen Leaders Car Wash Fundraiser that was scheduled for tomorrow.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding during this time. Our Teen Leaders have been working hard to prepare for this fundraiser, and we look forward to holding it soon.

As soon as a new date is determined, we will post an update and let everyone know.

Thank you for your continued support of our Teen Leaders Program and the amazing youth involved. ❤️

Teen Leaders Club Leadership Team 🚗🧽💦

THE CAR WASH WILL BE RESCHEDULED
WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED ON A NEW DAY AND TIME!

Come out and support the Marion Family YMCA Teen Leaders Club at our Rubber Ducky Car Wash!

Marion Family YMCA
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Just $10 Per Car

No appointment or registration needed—just pull up and let our Teen Leaders get your vehicle looking its best!

Every car wash helps support Teen Leaders Club community service projects and gives local teens the opportunity to make a difference right here in Marion County.

Bring your car, truck, SUV, family, and friends—we'd love to see you today!

Thank you for supporting our Teen Leaders and their commitment to serving our community.