Aiken Family Y breaks ground
The Aiken County Family YMCA held a ground-breaking ceremony for its new facility on Trolley Line Road Tuesday, with its main building expected to open June 1, 2011.
The organization also plans to complete a water park and outdoor pool by the end of 2011, said Danny McConnell, president and CEO of the Family Y's CSRA regional office in Augusta.
When additional funds are obtained, a second phase will include an indoor pool, teen center and skate board park.
Family Y has two partners with the project. The new facility will house Cedar Creek Church's West Campus ministry and also will include Aiken Regional Medical Center's "Health Connection" services.
"This is combination of partners that is happened with Family Y in other parts of the country with some churches and hospitals," said McConnell. "While this
particular model we're putting together under one roof is not unique, it's pretty close to it."
This project could demonstrate the future for nonprofits as dollars get tighter, McConnell said. Each organization can accomplish its missions while extending one dollar into two, he said.
The Family Y has had a presence in Aiken County for about 15 years through its Prime Time after-school program. The organization opened an office in downtown Aiken in 2004, McConnell said in a press release, which led to a land donation for the permanent facility from FineDeering Development Group.
In 2008, Family Y entered a partnership with Hitchcock Healthcare, opening a fitness center within that facility.
The new project "will end our relationships with that building," McConnell said, "but I couldn't be more thankful to Hitchcock. This got us an initial membership, and that will be valuable to the Y. This worked out well for both groups."
The main Family Y facility will include a large wellness center, an elevated, indoor walking/running track, juice bar, multi-purpose gym, two group fitness rooms and three additional community classrooms. The regional office also coordinates eight facilities in Augusta and surrounding areas.
The organization doesn't require a standard contract. People can pay for membership on a monthly basis, usually through a bank draft, said McConnell, and can end the membership at any time with 30-days notice.
However, "we don't want finances to be a roadblock," McConnell said. "We have to have memberships and program fees, but scholarships will be an important part of what we're doing."
Family Y recently obtained a direct loan of $6.2 million from USDA Rural Development's community facilities program. The loan came from federal funds provided through the federal stimulus funds of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to the press release.
Cedar Creek's West Campus ministry averages about 357 people for its services at the temporary location at USC Aiken's Convocation Center, said the West Campus pastor, Wes Holbrook. The Convocation Center staff has been accommodating in providing the site, he said.
However, the collaboration with Family Y provides entirely new opportunities.
"When we first sat down with Family Y, we talked about sharing a parking lot," said Holbrook. "But the more we met, it made more sense to have a partnership to suit both our needs."
The West Campus will be able to keep its youth-based space permanently set up during the week. The Sunday service will still require a set-up, but the church will have the facility until later in the day. Holbrook will be based there, along with two or three support staffers.
"I love the idea of Cedar Creek being with us," McConnell said. "Any activity that is in line with our mission is a good fit, along with the fact that it will bring people into our facility that might not have seen it."
Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.