Port Colborne YMCA having positive impact, council hears

Port Colborne’s YMCA will continue to strengthen community partnerships and bring quality experiences to the people who use it.

Terry Suess, a volunteer and YMCA board of directors chair, and Sharon Schilz, centre manager for Port Colborne YMCA, were before Port Colborne city council Monday night to share a five- year operations report.

Since the YMCA opened at Vale Health and Wellness Centre in 2013, the pair said, its services, programs and support has continued to grow.

“The YMCA continues to have a significant and positive impact on the community,” Suess said during the presentation.

The organization has 75 staff and nearly a hundred volunteers, with about 20 per cent of the Port Colborne community actively engaging in programs and becoming members at its facility.

Inclusivity and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to participate at the YMCA are part of its mandate. Suess said over the past five years, more than $ 330,700 has been given out in assistance to families, children and individuals who might not otherwise be financially able to use the facility.

There have been 2,000 camp days.

The YMCA is actively partnered with 24 community organizations and agencies. It is also partnered with the city.

“The YMCA continues to provide leadership in a number of community events while actively being involved in many City of Port Colborne events,” Suess said.

Just this past weekend, the YMCA pool and gymnasium were open for use during Port Colborne’s annual SportsFest.

New programs are created at the YMCA based on public feedback. Because of that, 33 new programs, such as pickleball and and YMCA Kid Fit, have been created at the facility.

Schilz said the first five years have laid a solid foundation for years to come.

She said productivity and return on revenue have remained stable since Year 2 and the Port Colborne YMCA continues to “demonstrate strong fiscal responsibility despite increasing costs and program expansion.”

Ward 4 Coun. Ron Bodner extended his gratitude for the work that the YMCA and its staff have done, noting that the partnership with the city has been important.

“We never could have gotten this far, this fast and we’d still be looking at programming and everything,” he said of if the city had had to take on this task itself.