| Even with the downturn in the economy and ensuing caution among donors, we had success moving the Soundview Family YMCA forward. It is something the shoreline area residents have wanted for a long time and we had over 200 people join us for a festive groundbreaking ceremony in June of last year. Attendees joined us on-site to see our dream start to take its physical shape. Fundraising for Phase I is complete, bringing in a total of $9.2 million.
Sophisticated donors understand the importance of having local support from individuals as well as community organizations and businesses. Being the recipient of a grant from the Branford Community Foundation helped leverage confidence in the reality of our project.
The original plan of the Soundview Family YMCA was to build a 53,000 square-foot facility to better serve the needs of families in Madison, Guilford, Branford, North Branford and East Haven. However, we are building the new facility in two phases, which allows the community to see tangible evidence of a vision realized, while giving the staff and volunteers the opportunity to secure additional pledges. Our board worked hard to prioritize the project based on the wishes of our donors and community need. Phase I consists of a 35,000 square-foot building that includes two swimming pools, a teen /older adult center, a multi-purpose room, an aerobic room, a spinning room, men's, women's and family/special needs locker rooms, a fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment, a child-watch room and meeting room. Phase II will include a gymnasium and childcare spaces in 20,000 square feet.
The facility is almost complete, with staff moving into their new offices in the middle of June. Membership sales have been ongoing since mid-March with more than 1,700 people joining so far. Charter memberships (the first 500 families to join) sold out in five weeks!
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