Power Couple for Good – Nikki and Allen Grumbine
It is not uncommon for YMCA volunteer leaders to begin their Y story as children. This is the case for long-time YMCA of Greenville supporters Allen and Nikki Grumbine. Allen was five years old when he walked to the Y to take swimming lessons. The Y is also where his boys grew up playing soccer and t-ball, and participated in the program that is now called Adventure Guides. Nikki earned her lifeguarding certificate at her local Y in the suburbs of Philadelphia as a teenager, which gave her the opportunity to have her first job as a lifeguard.
When Allen and Nikki started dating, Allen encouraged her to join the YMCA and told her she would make lifelong friends there. Not only was that true, but it also led to many years of both serving on different boards throughout the association to help make Greenville County a better place to live for all.
Both agree that the YMCA of Greenville’s mission aligns with their personal values. They both love the energy, diversity of people involved, and how the Y is an equalizer, where everyone is accepted. Allen states that, “The YMCA lives its mission better than any organization I’ve ever seen. They put it to use and lift it up in a practical way.”
Allen was instrumental in shaping the future of the association while he served as the chair of the Metro and Foundation boards in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was responsible for bringing a well-known, national YMCA movement luminary Gary Schlansker to serve as the CEO of the association. He then served on the YMCA Camp Greenville board of advisors, and hired Cory Harrison, a highly respected camp leader, to preserve the magic on the mountain and to position the 100-year-old camp for future growth to ensure its longevity.
He is now serving on his second stint on the camp’s board of advisors, and the Grumbines were a lead donor to revamp the camp square, which included updating the gaga pit, adding sun sails to protect campers from exposure, and the ever fun bouncing blob.
Allen says, “It is really satisfying to see Cory and his team succeed so well.”
Nikki recalls that when she retired, she was most excited about having more time to give back to our community. She didn’t realize at the time how much she would truly invest in the organization. She has served on the Metro and Foundation boards, and currently serves on the board of advisors for the YMCA Judson Community Center.
Nikki, who is incredibly passionate about preserving our environment, collaborated with the Y and other environmental nonprofits to elevate the awareness of the Caine Halter Family YMCA’s unique location close to downtown and nestled on the banks of Greenville’s treasured Reedy River. By doing so, more people, including children participating in the branch’s afterschool and summer day camp programs, were able to experience learning about the river’s ecology and our impact on it and the surrounding environment. She also helped design the different gardens across the campus, and financially invested in the Duke Energy Outdoor Classroom and the Spirit Center amphitheater.
Nikki says that the first social justice initiative for children that she has been involved in is the YMCA Judson Community Center. She and Allen gave the kids an outing to a pumpkin patch, and said it was so heartwarming to watch them pick out their own pumpkins to bring home, an expense that may not have been in their parents’ budgets.
Allen says the YMCA is home and has a sense of belonging. “The Y lives its mission in a very concrete way. Whatever help you give, financially or by volunteering time, impacts all people’s lives in Greenville, not just a subset,” says Allen.
Nikki says she feels like the people she meets at the Y become family, and that volunteering gives her a sense of purpose. She believes that there are three ways to give back: philanthropy, volunteerism, and advocacy. “Whatever your passion is, the Y’s got it.” When asked why people should get involved, Nikki says to pay it forward, quoting the Bible verse Luke 12:48, “For to whom much is given, much shall be required.”
Looking back at the impact the Grumbines have made on the YMCA, it is clear that they put their words into action to make Greenville a better place for all of us.