Greg and Kathy Spier of Foxborough are issuing a $25,000 challenge grant to support the Hockomock Area YMCA’s Food Access program, a part of the Y’s annual Reach Out Campaign. The Spiers and the Spier Family Foundation will match every donation made September 12 - 19 up to $25,000.
As a non-profit organization, the Hockomock Area YMCA exists to help people be healthier, more confident and connected to each other and their communities. The Y is guided every day to remain focused on how best to respond to the emerging needs of its communities as individuals and families face financial struggles.
In 2025, $3.9 million was invested by the Hockomock Area YMCA to ensure that everyone has the chance to thrive by providing scholarships to people in need in the Y’s 16 town service area to experience YMCA programs and services regardless of ability to pay. Since 2016, the Hockomock Y has been addressing hunger, providing over 152,000 bags of food to neighbors in need through the Y’s weekly food access and food pantry programs as well as served over 608,000 meals to children and families.
Since May 2026, the Y is proudly operating Lenore’s Pantry & Market, located at its new home on Elm Street in North Attleboro, which has given neighbors facing food insecurity more choices, a welcoming place to shop, and an experience rooted in dignity.
“Our Y is proud to operate this important resource for our community – Lenore’s Pantry & Market - as part of our Food Access program,” said Jim Downs, CEO of the Hockomock Area YMCA. “We are fortunate to be surrounded by caring people who are committed to strengthening the quality of life in our communities. Through partnerships and the generosity of donors who support our annual Reach Out Campaign, we’re able to fulfill our mission and be there for our neighbors when they need us most. This vital work is only possible because of the incredible philanthropic support of our community.”
“Greg and Kathy Spier have been passionate, steadfast supporters of our YMCA and their generous challenge will help ensure that we continue to be here for our neighbors,” added Downs.
The Spier family’s impact on our local communities runs deep. Their legacy at the Hockomock YMCA includes the naming of the indoor and outdoor aquatics centers as well as the splash park at the Y’s Invensys Foxboro Branch, along with Greg and Kathy’s parents, Sonja and the late Alex Spier.
Greg Spier shares, “One of my mentors is the late Don Rodman. Don taught me the importance of being philanthropic. He always said how important it was to be philanthropic in the areas where we work and the areas where we live. What better place to be philanthropic in the area than at the Hockomock Area YMCA. The Y benefits thousands of children and families and we’re so proud to be a part of it.”
“The Y is a fellowship that brings people together and provides joy to so many people,” says Kathy Spier. “As our father Alex always said, we want to leave the world a better place and that’s what we are going to do. Please make a gift to the Hockomock Y between September 12 and 19 and we will proudly match it as part of this giving challenge.”
“Thank you in advance from the bottom of our hearts for making a gift and for your generous support,” says Greg Spier.
Every gift matters. To learn more about this challenge and ways to make a gift, visit www.hockymca.org/spier-challenge
To learn about other ways to support this initiative, please contact Katie Fisher at katie@hockymca.org.
About Hockomock Area YMCA:
At the Hockomock Area YMCA, strengthening community is our cause. The Hockomock Area YMCA is an organization of men, women, and children sharing a commitment to nurture the potential of kids, promote healthy living, and foster a sense of social responsibility.
The Hockomock Area YMCA is committed to partnering and collaborating with others to create and deliver lasting personal and social change in the 16 communities they are privileged to serve. The Hockomock Area YMCA is a not-for-profit charitable cause-driven organization with facilities in North Attleboro, Foxboro, Franklin, and Mansfield. For more information visit hockymca.org.
