AUBURN — She’s 84 and small in size, but Tonie Ramsey is a force when it comes to fundraising.

Ramsey, who retired from the YWCA in 1980, has single-handedly raised $135,000 to help keep the Y afloat.

On Aug. 19 the board announced the Lewiston Y was broke and had to close. After receiving help from donors, the board said it would stay open if enough money is raised.

Many are giving. Many are fundraising. Ramsey stands out as among the top fundraisers, said Lee Young, president of the board of directors.

Ramsey is a beloved woman with ties to many organizations and power brokers. It’s just not easy to tell her “no.”

“She is amazing. She has a resume that just won’t quit,” Young said. “Everybody loves the woman. She’s so sincere. So vital.”

Ramsey, now a member of the Y’s board, began contacting Y associates she hadn’t seen for years asking if they could give. “She said, ‘I’m having the time of my life,’” Young said. “How many people would call fundraising having the time of their life?”

Ramsey said she’s helping because she loves the Y. Its closing “would be a blow to this community.” That said, she acknowledges the Y has to change. The building needs to become energy efficient. The Y has to be run like a business “and cost-account every service.” The pool can’t be relied on for sole funding. “We’ve got to expand on our programs.”

Ramsey, who comes across as savvy and warm, knows about programs. From the late ’60s through 1980 she was the Y’s program director, identifying women’s needs in the community and developing programs and classes.

“It was a very different generation with very different needs than today,” Ramsey said. Many women did not work outside the home. Some didn’t know how to write a check, what their life or house insurance entailed, how to get a job, or understand basic concepts of a car.

“We had a powder puffs and piston’s mechanic class that taught knowing if your tire was flat, how to read the dials to recognize that needle is telling you to stop … to understand little knocks or poundings. Very basic things,” Ramsey said.

In the ’70s many women were unprepared “to go out into the world,” she said. “One woman said ‘I never thought of going to work.’ I said to her, ‘Well, you’ve got children growing up. They’ll need to go to college. You’re not going to do that on your husband’s salary alone. You’ve got to get out there and help’” pave the way so your daughter has more choices than being a housewife.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being a housewife, Ramsey said. Housewives made huge contributions to family, communities and schools. But the world was changing. “The Y was very progressive and willing to help women.”

She often saw potential in many and gave them a nudge. Some went into business “and made a damn good living,” Ramsey said like a proud mother.

After retiring, Ramsey stayed involved, serving on the Central Maine Medical Center board, the Woman’s Hospital Association, the Woman’s Literary Union, the Sarah Frye Home, on the Auburn Public Library board, and she solicited with the annual United Way campaigns.

About a month ago she hauled out old records of her Y activities and made a list.

“I said, ‘I know she’s good for $1,000. She’s good for $100 … ‘”

In addition to working to keep the Y open — the goal is to raise $1 million — Ramsey said she’s enjoying renewed contacts.

“Some of the notes: ‘I remember when we did this or that,’ ‘I remember how you helped me.’ ‘The Y was always there when I needed it.’ This has brought back wonderful memories,” she said.

Asking is key, Ramsey said. People need to know you’re sincere. If someone declines to give she doesn’t judge. Whether and how much to give is a personal decision; no one knows their circumstances.

Ramsey said she’s sent out about 100 letters and so far has received donations from about 40.

It isn’t over yet, she said, adding that she’s giving them a little more time.

Helping keep the Y open “seemed like something I had to do, if it’s the last thing I do. I’m 84 and God willing, I’ll hang on until we get this job done.”

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