YMCA ANSWERS CALL
The organization has provided a range of services during the pandemic amid financial uncertainty
Having to temporarily suspend its normal operations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a good thing in some regards for the YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County, but it has been a challenge to keep the charitable non-profit organization financially in the black and it is unclear what the rest of the year will bring, President and Chief Executive Officer Heidi Kirschner said.
“Instantaneously it just changed the whole organization and the structure of the organization in one moment,” Kirschner said of the impact of the coronavirus.
When Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down non-essential businesses in March, the YMCA had approximately 120 employees, of which 14 were fulltime, Kirschner said. During the height of the pandemic, that number dropped to 10 to 15, she said.
Kirschner said, though, the staff recognized that they were a community organization and there were needs that had to be met during the pandemic and resulting closures. She said the YMCA stepped up to offer emergency child care during the months when COVID-19 cases were at their highest in the area and also provided a site for local food distribution programs. Staff from the Kingston YMCA Farm Project worked at the distribution site to help with logistics and some of the YMCA staff volunteered, Kirschner said.
The YMCA also began offering some virtual fitness classes, choosing the most popular ones so that members could sign on remotely and participate, Kirschner said. She said the in
person classes provide attendees with physical activity, as well as socialization and bonding with other participants.
“We particularly felt it was important for our seniors so that they could continue that socialization and have that contact with other people,” Kirschner said.
And when it was allowed last month, the YMCA began holding some of its fitness classes outdoors, Kirschner added. The volume was not a lot at first, she said, but has grown to 12 classes outdoors each week. The YMCA facility also has reopened with a
limited capacity and hours, according to Kirschner.
“We’re being extremely cautious,” Kirschner said. “We’re kind of balancing it with the demand.” She said the facility at the corner of Broadway and Pine Grove Avenue in Midtown is open for three hours in the morning and two in the evening. People can make reservations all day, but the capacity has to be monitored closely, Kirschner said. She also said there are other restrictions, like people having to bring their own equipment and only two people being allowed to use the same basketball hoop at one time.
There is also still child care being offered, which allows parents to work and for children to still participate in online learning
through their schools, Kirschner said. She added that when the children are not learning online, there are activities and clinics they can participate in that are socially distanced.
“Still, nonetheless, we’re significantly off where we were last year,” Kirschner said. She said the organization has survived through August, but the last four months of the year will be a bit of a challenge because the YMCA does not have the gym activity, child care, and leagues and other events that it has historically had.
“So, it will be a challenge for us to finish out the year in the black,” Kirschner said. “And we’re doing everything we can, but it’s concerning for us because I appreciate my staff. I don’t want to reduce the headcount.
We have good people working here.”
Kirschner said her staff is back up to 34 full-time equivalent employees. Last year it was at 49 full-time equivalents, she said.
The community has been very supportive, though, and there have been good communications with the city and Ulster County, Kirschner said. Most community organizations are in the same position as the YMCA and are doing what they can and making the best business decisions possible, she added.
“You absolutely want to continue serving the community,” Kirschner said. “You just have to be really careful and keep your eyes open so that you can continue serving the community.”
Part of serving the community has been done through making repairs and improvements to the YMCA facilities, Kirschner added. She said the closure of the Midtown facility was a bit of a silver lining because it enabled more work to get done repairing and improving the pool area there without people being in the building.
The staff was also able to take training it needed and make repairs at the YMCA’s Camp Seewackamano in Shokan, Kirschner said.
The YMCA also offered its normal camp season, she said, though at a reduced capacity. She said the organization was also able to offer more scholarships to children who wanted to attend but would not otherwise have been able to.
As for the pool, Kirschner said she hoped the repairs and improvements would be completed in November. She said she would like to celebrate its reopening with a “big splash,” even if only 50 people could attend an event in-person and the rest in a virtual format.