Connecting communities, changing lives
Building 10 greener sites key in YMCA’s $250M campaign
There are probably still people who think of the YMCA as just a health and fitness facility. But the reality is that, for 160 years, thousands of employees and volunteers at the Y have been providing important employment, language and settlement help for newcomers to the city, a place for teenagers to hang out, make friends, learn leadership and employment skills or brush up on their studies, green spaces for young children for day or overnight camp, child care and, of course, fitness facilities. And all are done in a way that is, according to YMCA of Greater Toronto chairman Tim Penner, “cognizant of the environment.”
Creating healthy, environmentally sustainable spaces is very much part of the YMCA’s latest $250-million campaign. The goal of the campaign — called Strong Start, Great Future, which is still in the early, quiet phase — is to build10 new YMCA centres of community across the GTA.
Being ‘green’ is a core value of the organization. Environmental education is part of the mandate at not only the day and overnight camps, including Pine Crest and the 264-acre Cedar Glen Outdoor Education Centre, but also at the Y’s child-care centres. “We try to teach children environment responsibility,” says Penner. “We try and train them about they can do to be more environmentally conscious.”
The Y is also deeply committed to creating spaces that help people get outdoors and live in a healthier way. “The organization is based on community health,” he adds, “so we have a responsibility to make sure we do things, the facilities we build, the programs that we run are done in an environmentally sustainable way.”
The Strong Start, Great Future campaign had a huge boost in late September when the TD Bank Financial Group — which helped fund the green roof at the Toronto Central Grosvenor Street YMCA in 2009 — announced a $1-million contribution to be used for green initiatives in some of the new buildings. “It’s a very large capital campaign and very much part of what TD is looking to invest in the communities,” says Alan Convery, senior manager of community relations for the TD Bank Financial Group. “Our focus is on children and youth, and also on the environment. It’s a very good fit.”
TD’s contribution has been earmarked for green initiatives at new and existing YMCAs, including the first three new centres. One is a homeless shelter and drop-in centre for street-involved youth, which will open in December on Queen Street West, and will feature special highefficiency heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology.
The second site is the Cooper Koo Family YMCA on Cherry Street, currently part of the athletes’ village for the Pan Am Games in summer 2015. It will be turned over to the Y in 2016 and will feature a 30,000-squarefoot green roof. “That will serve that burgeoning community,” says Penner. “It’s really an interesting part of town. There’s lot of density coming and they need spaces that help build a sense of community in the inner city.”
The third site to benefit from TD’s gift is a small Y on Kingston Rd. that will be completely redeveloped and fitted with a high-efficiency heating and cooling system. “A million dollars from an organization as prestigious as the TD Bank is fantastic for us,” says Penner. “We couldn’t be more delighted because of what they’re funding, the size of the gift and because it helps give our campaign momentum.”