YMCA Centre for Life: Community Building in Belleville
Accessible, inclusive, community services. Talk to Dave Allen, President and CEO of YMCA Central East Ontario about plans for the new facility slated for construction in Belleville’s west end and those words come up again and again. Named the Centre for Life, the facility aims to fulfill all the familiar tenets of YMCA philosophy, important elements like strong kids, healthy families and inclusive communities, while also thoughtfully updating the approach to making it all work.
Written by Angela Hawn
Read time: 4 min
If anyone knows the YMCA, it’s Allen. He’s been with the organization in one capacity or another most of his life.
“I turn sixty on Sunday and I’ve never done anything else since I was seventeen years old but work for the Y,” Allen chuckles, acknowledging that birthday makes him roughly the same age as Belleville’s current YMCA building.
The organization itself has come a long way since those days. Allen describes a constant evolution and expansion in programming, from fitness classes to day camps.
The YMCA now serves as the region’s largest provider of childcare and community outreach has become standard operating procedure. The Centre for Life aims to build on that solid foundation to do even more.
“That vintage 1964 Belleville building does not meet today’s standards for us or for the community’s expectations,” Allen admits, ruefully lamenting the steep and narrow staircase familiar to any parent bringing kids to swimming lessons. “We want to serve everyone, regardless of their inability to pay, physical challenges, religious background, sexual orientation, all of those things.”
Picture a facility where both building design and programming aim to meet the ever changing needs of a diverse community. Next invite a number of community groups to share the space, service organizations whose own mission statements reflect a similar vision. Imagine a dynamic partnership between the YMCA and service providers like Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Community Learning Alternatives, Community Services of Belleville and District and Volunteer & Information Quinte. Suddenly that warm and welcoming space starts to look even friendlier. Next, plant the actual building in a central location, just a few kilometres from the bridge over the bay to Prince Edward County, mere minutes from Hwy 401 and walkable from downtown.
Sounds like an enormous and expensive undertaking. Fortunately, the leadership cabinet behind the Centre for Life campaign appears to like a challenge. While various levels of government will provide much of the money needed to complete the job, this local team has already raised $6 million of their $9 million target, just over a third of what the entire project will cost. Allen admiringly refers to the individuals who make up this group as people who don’t say no. Their diligent and never-ending efforts achieved the financial goal necessary to green-light shovels in the ground, a milestone likely to go ahead in the summer of 2024.
“Being part of a legacy project that will impact on the community for years to come appealed to me,” enthuses campaign co-chair Kristin Crowe, whose sons grew up with the YMCA and still maintain their ties to the organization as young men. “One of my favourite things is to get to know people and hear their story and their connection to the Y.”
Fellow cabinet member John Mastorakos couldn’t agree more. His involvement with the YMCA started in adulthood, developing over time well beyond a need for somewhere to work out. He appreciates the fact his own membership fees help make that valuable experience affordable for everyone, a concept bound to inspire others as the organization launches its public fundraising campaign.
“I think the Centre for Life is the next big thing for our community and for our YMCA organization of Central East Ontario,” Mastorakos declares. “As one hub for so many resources in one area, the new facility is going to be a gathering spot for the whole community and a place we have needed for a long time.”
Learn more about the YMCA Centre For Life Capital Campaign at ymcaofceo.ca/centreforlife.
