YMCA Evening of Impact coming September 10
The event is slated from 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10, at Riverview Family Farm, 12130 Prater Lane.
Money from the event will benefit YMCA of East Tennessee, which includes every quadrant of Knoxville, as well as Blount, Roane, Loudon and Anderson counties, along with the Corryton area.
“It has a wide expanse of support,” said Erin Stidham, executive director of Davis Family YMCA near Farragut.
Tickets currently are on sale for $100 per person, and she said 100% of the proceeds from the Evening of Impact “benefit our annual campaign so we can give back to families, youth, seniors, adults in East Tennessee.”
Tickets are available on the YMCA website at ymcaetn.org/eveningofimpact and will be available up until the day before the event. The deadline to buy tickets is Tuesday,
Sept. 8.
“This year, it is going to be a Roaring ’20s-themed party, where we are celebrating the impact of the YMCA,” Stidham said. “We will be having a swing band that night, so put on your dancing shoes. We will have a fantasy casino event — a mock poker night — delicious food by Copper Cellar and a silent and live auction as well.”
Additionally, “we’ll do an impact paddle race, where we say $120 supports eight swim lessons for a child in East Tennessee,” she said.
“All of the hard work that we have put in from the year 2025 into 2026, we will be sharing information about how many after-school childcare children we’ve supported, how many mobile food program meals we’ve fed to YMCA’s East Tennessee community, how many swim lessons we’ve given — taught lifesaving skills to infants up to adults — which is really awesome.”
And, “something the YMCA of East Tennessee does as a standard is our financial assistance program,” she said, adding the funds are raised from its annual campaign.
“Financial assistance is a 12-month program, where people can be on a discounted or free membership, which then gives the incentives for discounted programs or free programs,” Stidham said.
The financial assistance then makes the programs more accessible for people to have after-school childcare, swim lessons and other programs.
“It’s such an epidemic right now to find affordable childcare,” she added. “The swim lessons are vital to young people’s health, as well as anyone living in this area because we are surrounded by water.”
Last year, the event benefitted the Davis Family YMCA; however, this year, Stidham said, “It has expanded to benefit all of YMCAs in East Tennessee, so we have seen a lot of support from companies all around Knoxville.
“We are hoping to continue the legacy as well,” she said.
