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Jason Haswell's love for his late wife has created a wonderful new asset for every child served by the Wheeling YMCA.
The Y recently announced a $100,000 donation to create the Haswell Family Technology and Learning Center at the newly renovated building in Elm Grove. Jason Haswell and his kids, 10-year-old Lena and 7-year-old Jace, made the donation in memory of their late wife and mother Amy.
"When my wife passed four years ago, I wanted to do something in her name for my kids," Jason Haswell said. "This was the most appropriate thing I could think of because Amy was very much involved in things like this. She was a pediatric nurse practitioner, so she cared about kids very much.
"We loved the Y and what they did for us. It's my honor to serve on the board ... and to do this in my wife's name for my kids is my honor and privilege."
The YMCA has long been a headquarters for families to work on their physical fitness. This gift will allow kids to sharpen their skills mentally. Wheeling YMCA Executive Director Adam Shinsky said this donation and this center will allow the Y to "take technology and STEM to the next level. It also will allow the Y to create new educational programs for preschool-aged children.
The Haswells took an unspeakable and tragic loss and used it as motivation to help others in such a meaningful way. For that, Jason, Lena and Jace all need to be commended and thanked for such an important contribution.
It also shows that the Wheeling YMCA is not done growing. The finishing touches have been put on a $7 million renovation project that has added another floor to the building and allowed for even more space for folks to work out in a wide array of ways. That Elm Grove building has been a community hub for decades, but Wheeling Y officials understood that sitting still would do nothing to help the families of the region.
All of these new features will keep adults and kids coming to the Y for years to come, will keep those kids in the Y through adulthood and hopefully will entice new members to join.
None of that is possible without generous gifts like the one the Haswells bestowed upon the Wheeling YMCA this past week. Let their kindness act as a catalyst for others to respond the same way.