When the Northshore YMCA fund-raisers want to rally, they take their duty to the hilt.

During their Feb. 22 meet-up to discuss the 2012 Partners With Youth Annual Giving Campaign, Erv Desmet stood in front of the group and, with arms and voice raised, fired them up with a “boom shakalaka” chant.

Partners With Youth is the YMCA’s main fund-raising campaign to help kids participate in its summer camps, before- and after-school child care, education and leadership programs, swim, sports and play programs and more, according to Emily Senff, director of development and engagement. Its goal was to raise $146,000 by the end of February, but they accept donations all year round at http://www.seattleymca.org/Locations/Northshore/pages/Home.aspx.

The “On Track to Success” campaign kicked off Feb. 1, and the Northshore group held gatherings each Wednesday throughout the month to discuss fund-raising strategies and check on each other’s progress.

“We don’t want to have to say ‘no’ to a child or a family, just because of their inability to pay. We want everyone to be able to come participate in camps, swim lessons, whatever program it may be,” Senff said prior to the meeting at the Seattle Times building in Bothell.

Added Dyana Berger, who’s on the YMCA board of managers: “Without this community’s support, we would not be able to help well over 400 families in the Northshore area alone. We’re putting programs in place that have an immediate impact in our community, providing programs for children that otherwise would not be able to participate in sports, after-school care and summer camps — things that some of us in this area may take for granted.”

Gretchen Walla, YMCA program director for before- and after-school child care and 1998 Bothell High graduate, put together a video with her brother Chris, guitarist for Death Cab for Cutie, on her fund-raising page that revealed a special incentive for donors. For every $25 that people donated, their name would be put in a jar, with the winner joining Gretchen at Death Cab’s May 13 concert at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.

Chris, a 1993 Bothell High grad, has been involved in Partners With Youth’s campaign for a few years and will personally thank the winner at the show.

“This is the community that we grew up in, and so (Chris) sees how passionate I am,” said Gretchen, who’s been with the nonprofit organization since ‘98. “We’re not just a swim and a gym — we offer so many different programs.”