Published: 02/23/2026 - 9:00 AM
When Kristen Endrick’s world began to unravel, she needed something to hold onto. Within six months, she’d gone through a divorce, found herself working two jobs to support three young kids, and learned that her middle daughter had been diagnosed with autism.
“My world was spiraling,” Kristen recalls. “We like to take control of the things we can, because there’s so much that we can’t.”
That search for control led her to the YMCA. She came looking for swimming lessons, hoping to give her kids some structure amid all the change. When Membership Director Wendy Kern walked her through the costs, Kristen was prepared to give up – the cost was out of her reach. But Wendy wasn’t done; she informed Kristen about the Y’s financial assistance program.
For someone who had always been the helper, this moment was pivotal. “It’s very hard for me to accept things,” Kristen admits. After encouragement from friends, Kristen came to see that “when you need help, it’s okay.”
That realization opened the door to a ten-year relationship with the Y that touches nearly every area of her life.
For her kids, the Y has been a safe haven. They came every day. The kids would go to Kidzone while Kristen worked out. The family would spend summers at the pool. Together, they built friendships and routines that gave them so much more than the control Kristen was after. “It meant feeling a part of something, feeling welcome somewhere, feeling a belonging,” Kristen explains.
The impact was particularly profound for her autistic daughter, who thrived on the structure and familiarity. Now seventeen, she works at the Y’s front desk as a greeter, bringing her two worlds together. For Kristen, the Y gave her something just as vital. “It gave me an outlet for myself... that same sense of security and safety.” As a mother navigating life’s challenges, being able to provide this stability for her children meant everything.
The Y would be there again when Kristen faced a new crisis: a rare cancer diagnosis requiring intensive treatment. During a chemo treatment, she received a text from Wendy. The message offered prayers, reminding her she had family at the Y. What’s more, the Y would waive her membership fees through the rest of the year.
“I just started sobbing,” Kristen remembers. “It is a family here.”
When Kristen returned, she joined the LIVESTRONG program. The twelve-week program provided a supportive cohort of fellow cancer survivors, helping her ease back into fitness without pressure. “It gives you that comfort of ‘I can do what I’m able to do,’” she explains. She still maintains a text thread with participants, and lights up when she sees program members in the parking lot.
Now cancer-free, Kristen has become a passionate advocate for the Y’s financial assistance program. “Your donation is creating this story for somebody,” Kristen tells potential donors. “You’re giving to a seed that just needs help to grow, and the ways that seed can grow is endless.”
Looking back on the seed planted in her life eleven years ago, Kristen sees how it has grown... into swim lessons and friendships... into precious memories with her kids... into work experience for her daughter... into cancer recovery and deep emotional bonds. It’s a story that continues to flourish, rooted in making fitness available to all.