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Atmore Area YMCA Closing In August; Cutbacks Begin Today
July 14, 2014
The Atmore YMCA is on track to close its door permanently late next month, and the process begins today.
According to an email last week from Paul Chason, CEO of the Atmore Area YMCA, the Y’s board of directors and staff have worked hard to pursue income opportunities above membership dues. The group has submitted grant requests, held fundraising events, submitted grant requests and solicited financial support from area businesses.
“Our country’s and, even closer to home, our state’s economic struggles have made it difficult to obtain financial contributions for the Atmore YMCA,” Chason wrote.
The Atmore YMCA has served Atmore and surrounding areas since June 1995.
“Our YMCA has provided a safe, welcoming environment for members from youth to senior citizens to improve their quality of life through health and wellness activities, educational opportunities, and relationship building. During this time, the YMCA has often struggled financially to remain open. The Atmore area business community has been instrumental in previous years in helping keep our YMCA open for our community through financial contributions and employee participation at the YMCA,” a news release stated.
The step in the closure comes today as the YMCA morning nursery will no longer be provided. On July 16, the YMCA will close on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. with no evening nursery, and the Y will be closed on Saturdays beginning July 19.
“Prior to closure, additional changes may be required to ensure we are able to meet our financial obligations. Barring a major miracle, and without fanfare, the YMCA will progressively reduce operations until closure on August 29,” the news release stated.
“We have heard from many in our community stating they do not want the YMCA to close; however, just talking about it does not sustain the YMCA. We understand the disappointment and emotion involved in this decision…We certainly would welcome an event that would sustain our YMCA financially moving forward which would allow us to remain open.”
There’s no word yet what may happen to the Atmore Area Chamber of Commere, which is located in the YMCA’s building. The facility was constructed in 1926 to house Escambia County High School. The building was acquired by the Atmore Lions Club in 1989 and later dedicated as the Atmore Lions Community Center in 1991. In 2004, the building was donated to the Atmore Area YMCA.
Pictured top: The Atmore Area YMCA building. Pictured inset: The building is the hub of the annual Williams Station Day each October. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
5 Responses to “Atmore Area YMCA Closing In August; Cutbacks Begin Today”
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the tribe doesn’t step in at the last minute and ‘rescue’ the Y. We’ll be changing the name of Atmore to Poarch before it’s all over with, I’m sure. I’m so disappointed to see what’s becoming of Atmore.
There seems to be a lack of leadership in Atmore when it comes to matters such as this.
However, the town suffers from a lack of money, Brewton doesn’t suffer from such a lack of funding that I am aware of therefore there may not be much that the local ruling click (that’s essentially what you have there) can do about it anyway.
It will be interesting to see what kind of “spin” the local politicians will try to put on this so that the stink doesn’t rub off on them….
The city of Atmore doesn’t concern itself with anything that isn’t being built at the interstate. The town is essentially a ghost town, while ALL new businesses are built at Rivercane. With the exception of Walmart, which will shut the grocery stores down and continue the decline of our town.
Many kids have participated in it’s programs through the years. I was the Branch Director (1992-1994) when it was still affiliated with the Brewton Area YMCA. Grants and program fees sustained us for a long time, but the memberships never were high enough to offset annual expenses. When we added the fitness center in 1993 there was a boost in memberships, but I guess program participation fell off. I tried expanding the youth sports program and restructured the child care programs because they were the major programs at the time. I can remember working with some outstanding Board Members from the community. They truly believed in the YMCA Mission and worked very hard to promote it’s purpose. Many hours have been waged to keep the Y alive these 20 plus years. It’s always been a beautiful building to me with a lot of history, so I’m sorry it’s closing down. It will be a significant loss to the community. Maybe a major donor will come to the rescue.
This is very sad. I hope some businesses and the folks in Atmore can help it stay open.