Bid to bring YMCA building back to life
Thewishaw community is rallying round in a bid to save an historic building in the town.
Wishaw YMCA has been on Main Street for more than 100 years.
It is currently going through a regeneration and transitional project after it was forced to close its doors last November after an unexpected visit from Scottish Fire and Rescue.
Organisers are on the hunt for local people to help bring the building back up to scratch to allow them to open to the public as quickly as possible.
Wishaw YMCA Coordinator Garry King, who is leading the project, said: “We are trying to save the local building and by doing this we can improve the quality and standards of one of the world’s oldest and famous charitable organisations, which has been in Wishaw for 104 years.
“Wishaw’s YMCA is in the process of applying for various funding to keep alive the community venue for decades to come.
“We believe that Wishaw doesn’t need another facility closing down.
“The Wishaw institute has supported thousands of people over the years.
“It is our aim in the future to ask the people of Wishaw and beyond to come up with ideas for future activities and events.
“More importantly at this stage we are looking for local businesses and tradesmen to support our campaign to help improve the building, as we still have quite a bit of work to do.
“Quite a number of people have already donated materials and their time to our project.”
Prior to closing, the listed YMCA was in use by various community groups every day of the week, membership was thriving and the hard-working committee – who were responsible for the seemingly-neverending cycle of repairs inside and out – were as active as their predecessors were over 100 years ago.
Garry added: “Let’s not forget it’s a Wishaw project that will help our communities and help young and older people have their say.
“Th e issues of l o n e l i n e s s, alcoholism, drugs, mental health, gambling, isolation, financial insecurity which can lead to suicidal thinking and ill health can affect us all at some point of our lives. We aim to open our doors to a new way of thinking and living.”
If you can help, email garrykingym@ icloud.com It’s easy to get your news into print