My mom Marcia Schepici was a woman whose kindness and passion left a mark on the South Shore YMCA Germantown Neighborhood Center. As a longtime volunteer, she dedicated her time to teaching cooking classes, preparing meals, and working in our food pantry
After my dad passed, my mom found her purpose again at the Germantown Neighborhood Center. It gave her life meaning to be in a place where she could share her talents and love for others. She didn’t just volunteer—she became family to so many.
Anytime there was a birthday at the center, you could count on my mom to bake a homemade layer cake from scratch. She’d show up with bags of beautifully packaged meals and desserts, always thinking about people in the Germantown community who, as she said, "needed a little extra love." I’ll always remember how much she loved teaching moms and their kids how to cook. She’d share her family recipes and lead classes in the teaching kitchen. She would buy all the ingredients herself before class and make sure everyone attending had a special dish to bring their creations home in. She just had this way of making people feel special and cared for.
My mom taught me that no matter what, there’s always room for others. I think that’s why her work at the Germantown Neighborhood Center meant so much to her. She wanted to give people what she always gave our family: love, acceptance, and a sense of belonging.
Even after she passed, her legacy continues to shine. At her wake, so many people from the Germantown community came to share how much she had meant to them. One woman told me, through tears, how my mom had taught her to bake a pie years ago. She said it wasn’t just the lesson—it was the way my mom made her feel special and cared for.
The YMCA was more than a place for my mom—it was a family. It gave her the opportunity to share her heart and her talents, and she gave it everything she had in return. I will always be grateful for that. Her time at the Germantown Neighborhood Center not only provided comfort and care to countless individuals but also left a lasting, positive impact on the entire community.
