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09/25/2018 04:09 PMAn upcoming capital campaign at the Valley-Shore YMCA (VSYMCA) received a nice public boost last month with a $100,000 grant from the Westbrook Foundation.
“We are so grateful of the Westbrook Foundation’s tremendous commitment to support the future of our Y and the surrounding community. This catalyzing gift will create excitement and awareness toward our project and galvanize our community toward our project’s ultimate goal: a comprehensive, state of the art, newly transformed campus that brings our community together through programs and services for every age and ability,” said VSYMCA Executive Director Chris Pallatto.
The VSYMCA capital campaign is still in the planning phases—no specific fundraising target has yet been set or announced—but the outline of the projects that the VSYMCA board and Pallato plan to pursue with the capital funds raised include a new, state-of-the-art wellness center with sufficient space for various types of activities for those of varied physical abilities. Also planned are improvements that would create secure and welcoming areas for the families, including family locker rooms and a renovation of the children’s play space.
Less glamorous but equally important are the replacement of aging and failed infrastructure at the VSYMCA facility. Proposed fixes and upgrades include changes to make the facility overall more handicapped-accessible and ADA-compliant.
The exact scope of the projects that the VSYMCA’s Capital Campaign will fund is still being refined. Once the board early next year announces the target for the fundraising campaign, a more public fundraising phase will begin in earnest.
The VSYMCA facility on Spencer Plains Road in Westbrook currently averages 700 visitors a day and has had one million visitors since its construction in 1975.
This new grant continues in the foundation’s tradition of support for programming and projects that support youth and families in Westbrook. The foundation has given several grants to the VSYMCA over the past 15 years.