The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
25TH ANNIVERSARY
YMCA: Open House being held Oct. 1-8 welcomes new and old members
ONEIDA, N.Y. » For 25 years, the Oneida Family Y has been part of the community, and to celebrate, they’re opening their doors.
“Every year, we do an open house event,” said multi-team leader Stephanie Neff, but this year they wanted to make it extra special.
From Oct. 1-8, the public is invited to try Y for free, tour the facility, participate in events and see first hand what the Y has to offer them.
Saturday, Oct. 7 is the Y’s big birthday bash, featuring presentations on traditional archery history by Ron Patterson from Warrior Archery at Oneida Heritage; a youth wildlife craft activity and presentation by Camille Warner, conservation educator at the Great Swamp Conservancy; bounce houses, pickleball, open swim; and the Holy Smoques barbeque food truck.
“It’s the Oneida YMCA’s 25 anniversary, but for me it’s my 23rd,” said CEOHank Leo. “It’s been incredible to watch the Y grow from what it originally started as, which was a dream by some local community leaders who wanted to bring the YMCA here.”
A feasibility study was conducted more than two decades ago to see how many people would sign up for the YMCA and if the community would support it. When the numbers came back, they didn’t look good and the study suggested that the YMCA not be built, Leo said.
Instead, the community went along with it anyway. The original Y was built on donated land from the former Oneida City Hospital, and when the time came to clear the land, survey and start digging, local residents volunteered to help.
Today, the Y is an integral part of the community.
Member Carol Whitney likes to keep herself active and participates in a number of classes at the Y.
“I needed to get moving again,” she said, noting how participating has helped her back and legs. “I do the pre/post surgical class and in the afternoon I do the young at heart aerobics class for seniors and I also do the silver sneakers classic aerobic class. I love it.”
Whitney stressed the importance and need to keep moving and active, some- thing that echoes with the roots of the organization.
Established in the mid1800s, the YMCA was created as a response to the changing times and living conditions of the Industrial Revolution, and has only grown in size and scope since its inception.