YMCA Of Montclair Receives $20,000 from Sovos Brand/Rao’s Homemade for Playground Construction at Geyer Family YMCA 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

YMCA Of Montclair Receives $20,000 from Sovos Brand/Rao’s Homemade for Playground Construction at Geyer Family YMCA 

Montclair, NJ — Put on hold this summer due to the pandemic was the YMCA of Montclair’s plans to break ground for a new playground behind the Geyer Family YMCA.  However, the dream of the playground was kept alive by staff, volunteers, and donors who believed in the importance of creating an imaginative and accessible public playground. 

The YMCA of Montclair has received generous donations from Investors Foundation, the Provident Bank Foundation, as well as several individual donors for the playground. Today, Sovos Brands/Rao’s Homemade joins this effort by generously providing the Y a contribution of $20,000 for playground construction. 

“Demonstrating support for our community is extremely important to us always, but especially during this time,” said Risa Cretella, Executive Vice President, Group General Manager at Sovos Brands/Rao’s Homemade. “We are thrilled to be part of making this playground possible and giving children a safe place to have fun and make friends.”   

“We would like to extend our deepest thanks to Sovos Brands/Rao’s Homemade,” said Buddy Evans, President & CEO of the YMCA of Montclair. “Having a place where local children of diverse abilities can engage in free play and healthy physical activity fills a real community need.”    

The playground was designed in collaboration with Professor Gary Fredriksen and student interns at Montclair State University’s Department of Art and Design. The playground was imagined as an accessible Rainbow themed playground that would include a Play Tower with an ADA staircase, slide, a greenhouse and florist play space, sand and water play, a tiered mountain riding road, an urban garden, and more. 

The Y plans to restart construction as soon as possible. The YMCA of Montclair is fundraising to reach their goal of $200,000 to build the playground.  If you are interested in donating, please contact Anneke Demarest, Chief Development Officer at ademarest@montclairymca.org.   

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ABOUT YMCA OF MONTCLAIR 

The YMCA of Montclair welcomes all. We are a nonprofit that strengthens individuals, families, and community by developing spirit, mind, and body. We focus on healthy living, social responsibility, and youth development. Serving Bloomfield, Bloomingdale, Clifton, Cedar Grove, Glen Ridge, Haskell, Montclair, Verona, and West Milford. For more information, please visit montclairymca.org. 

ABOUT SOVOS BRANDS
Sovos Brands is a food company with a mission to acquire and build one-of-a-kind brands that bring today’s consumers delicious food for joyful living. Sovos Brands invests in brands that have exciting growth potential, combining industry expertise with fresh thinking to bring its products into more homes across America.  

The brands in its portfolio include Rao’s, a line of premium pasta sauces, soups, frozen entrées and dry pasta; noosa, a producer of thick, velvety whole milk yoghurt; and Michael Angelo’s, a leading producer of authentic frozen Italian entrées. 

SOVOS™, RAO’S®, RAO’S HOMEMADE®, NOOSA® and MICHAEL ANGELO’S® are trademarks of Sovos Brands. 

Find out more about Sovos Brands at www.sovosbrands.com, Rao’s Homemade at www.raos.com, noosa at www.noosayoghurt.com, and Michael Angelo’s at www.michaelangelos.com.