BUILDING OUR FUTUREFORCHETTI FAMILY YMCA CENTER FOR EARLY LEARNING

NEWS FROM THE DUNELAND FAMILY YMCA - MAY, 2019 Duneland Family YMCA, 215 Roosevelt St., Chesterton IN 46304

219-926-4204 | dunelandymca.orgQUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Contact Jane Delligatti at 926-4204 or jdelligatti@dunelandymca.org.

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Charitable Giving. For taxpayers whose itemized deductions were greater than their new standard deduction under the new tax laws, charitable giving remained a good way to support charitable organizations and give back to their communities with the added benefit of reducing their income tax liability. However, for taxpayers who qualified for the standard deduction, charitable donations did not impact the bottom line of their tax returns.

With some planning, taxpayers can donate and receive the tax benefit as well. Typically, people have favorite causes they support on an annual basis and a budget for their donations. These folks may want to consider bunching the total donations they plan to make over a period of several years into one year to exceed their standard deduction threshold, thereby allowing them to enjoy the tax benefit of their charitable contributions in that year. (If you choose to use this strategy, your favorite charities will want to know!)

Pre-tax Deductions. Consider increasing your IRA and HSA contributions or opening tax-deferred accounts if you don’t already have them. Contributions (with certain limits) to these types of accounts are a direct reduction of taxable income.

The Duneland YMCA does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.

Start Planning Your 2019 Tax Deductions

Front row (from left to right): Christy Jarka, Rob Dorsey, Tina Raffin, Katie Clark Back Row: Chris Beebe, Michael Uzelac, Connor Nolan, Shannon Donnelly, John Winey, Jessica Watts,

Rich Gardner, Elizabeth Marks, James Trout, Tom Apple, Scott Mundell, Jim Anton

DUNELAND YMCA 2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORSJohn and Linnea Forchetti have lived in Chesterton since the 1960s. John practiced medicine and Linnea was a nurse. John was a founder and partner in the Northwest Indiana Cardiovascular Physicians practice and he established the PACE Program, a running program for patients of open heart surgery, as part of the surgical rehab program.

The Forchetti family was involved with the Duneland YMCA early on. Their children took swimming lessons at the first YMCA located in the basement of the old Thomas School in downtown Chesterton. In 1977 when the new Y was built at its present location, the Forchettis were among the donors that enabled racquetball/handball courts to be added to the construction plan, and John became an avid handball player.

Both John and Linnea have always felt it is important to support community causes, and they feel that the Duneland Family YMCA has made significant strides in the past five years that have set the tone for true community

service. “There are many in the Duneland communities who benefit from the Y’s help. The YMCA has had a huge impact on families, youth and seniors who need assistance to participate in the array of programs and services that they offer. The Y’s leadership initiatives have been life-altering for those they serve.”

Both John and Linnea feel early childhood education is the true key to life-long success. When their long-time friend, Tom Roberts, told them of the Y’s vision to expand their Early Learning Academy’s program and move to a new location, the Forchettis said, “We wanted to make a good, permanent gift to the community. We’re pleased to be able to help impact lives through the Forchetti Family YMCA Center for Early Learning .

The dedicated staff of the Early Learning Academy recognizes the value of early education and uses innovative teaching strategies to encourage brain development and foster self-confidence and creativity in each student. We are thrilled to be moving to our incredible new facility that will provide even more learning opportunities in Fall, 2019! Stay tuned for more

exciting announcements about the brand new Forchetti Family YMCA Center for Early Learning!

DR. JOHN AND LINNEA FORCHETTI

THE SCHOOL READY

CHILD*

Through play, babies and toddlers explore and make sense of the world around them. Play promotes a love for learning by stimulating and supporting children in their development of skills, concepts, language, communication and concentration.

PLAY

RELATIONSHIPS

EMOTIONSEmotions play a big role in a young child’s capacity to learn. Emotions are stored at the core of the brain’s structure, surrounded and integrated with higher level brain function.

Everyday experiences provide babies opportunities to learn how to operate in the world. In fact, children’s academic successes at ages 9 and 10 can be attributed to the amount of words & talk they hear from birth through age 3.

EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES

Babies know their needs will be met when they have healthy relationships with at least one caring adult. That adult may be a parent, a relative, or another caregiver.

WHAT A SCHOOL-READY CHILD LOOKS LIKE:

CRUCIAL COMPONENTS

Early learning and care increases high school graduation rates 14%.

When a young child enters kindergarten ready

for school, there is an 82% chance that child will master basic skills by age 11, compared with a 45% chance for children who

are not school ready.

Child care quality has a long-term effect on children's cognitive and

socioemotional development through kindergarten and beyond.

Preschool reduced the percentage of

children repeating a grade by 15%.

Children who are exposed to reading

during the first years of life are much more likely

to learn to read on schedule.

CommunicativeConfidentPersistentEmpatheticCurious

CollaborativeCooperativeProblem SolverCreativeSelf Controlled

COMPELLING EVIDENCE

*Sources for this article can be found on the ZERO TO THREE website, www.zerotothree.org.