Two weeks before its planned closing, the New Hope YMCA has been given a reprieve.
The Frank P. Phillips YMCA Board of Directors voted in a special meeting Monday to allow the facility to stay open in response to a grassroots effort from members to save its Y.
The board had voted to close the New Hope branch on Aug. 31 during its regular July meeting for financial reasons. Andy Boyd, executive director for the Y, said the New Hope facility has been operating at approximately a $2,000 monthly deficit, losses the Y could no longer sustain.
Boyd met with members twice — on July 26 and Aug. 2 — to inform them of the board’s decision to close the facility, but left the possibility open the decision could be reversed if a means of closing the deficit could be found.
Members rallied to the cause, raising money through its “Save the New Hope Y” campaign, asking for one-time donations, as well as $15 monthly pledges, to help make up the deficit and demonstrate a good-faith effort by the community to solve the Y’s financial problems. Boyd, who told members at both meetings that he did not have personal authority to change the planned closing, said he would take the members’ case to the board for reconsideration.
On Monday, the board agreed to keep the New Hope Y open for an unspecified amount of time as the community tries to raise funds and enroll new members. Boyd said the Y will continue to look for opportunities to reduce expenses as well.
“Members and community residents are demonstrating support and interest, and the board wants to respond positively to them,” Boyd said. “The concerns and financial support from the community have given the board and staff more time to explore all possible options.”
Boyd said the survival of the New Hope branch will depend heavily on increasing memberships. The Y would need about 50 new members to make up for the monthly deficit as it now stands.
Right now, the New Hope facility has a little more than 300 members.
“We would like to keep the New Hope YMCA open and we will balance that with being good stewards of our limited financial resources,” Boyd said. “We still have work to do.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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