By Lindsay Carey Staff Writer A YMCA worker made a huge difference in the life of a struggling Southington woman 42 years ago and now she is paying it back by donating $5,000 to the Southington YMCA’s Camp Sloper. After suddenly losing her brother to cancer in 1972, Carmel Avitabile and her elderly mother were left to care for her brother’s five children. “I took responsibility and sole guardianship of the children, as their mother had let them several year’s prior,” said Avitabile, in a release. “With limited funds and little support, I did not know what I was going to do.” One day, Avitabile received an unexpected visit to her home on George Street. A YMCA staff member had heard about her story and offered Avitabile some help in her time of need. The staff member, who the YMCA has been unable to identify, told Avitabile that they wanted to send her kids to Camp Sloper every year until they were too old to go. “The YMCA never charged me a penny and they sent all five of those kids to camp every summer,” said Avitabile, in the release. “We could have never survived without their help. It has [...]
By Lindsay Carey Staff Writer A YMCA worker made a huge difference in the life of a struggling Southington woman 42 years ago and now she is paying it back by donating $5,000 to the Southington YMCA’s Camp Sloper. After suddenly losing her brother to cancer in 1972, Carmel Avitabile and her elderly mother were left to care for her brother’s five children. “I took responsibility and sole guardianship of the children, as their mother had let them several year’s prior,” said Avitabile, in a release. “With limited funds and little support, I did not know what I was going to do.” One day, Avitabile received an unexpected visit to her home on George Street. A YMCA staff member had heard about her story and offered Avitabile some help in her time of need. The staff member, who the YMCA has been unable to identify, told Avitabile that they wanted to send her kids to Camp Sloper every year until they were too old to go. “The YMCA never charged me a penny and they sent all five of those kids to camp every summer,” said Avitabile, in the release. “We could have never survived without their help. It has [...]