SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – Despite the financial hardships and the pandemic challenges, Sarasota’s ‘Our Y’ came out on top and survived. And its adamant about remaining independent of the other YMCA affiliates on the Suncoast.
Perseverance. That’s ‘Our Y’. After raising more than a million dollars when it almost shut down forever, the ‘Save our Y’ effort saved two branches, one at Potter Park Drive and the other on Euclid Avenue. Plus, it survived the pandemic.
“This has been completely worth it,” Our Y’s Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, Libby Soderberg said.
This is something the community really wanted, the community supported, they wanted these branches and this organization in this town, serving the community, the way they have been these last 75 years.”
“I’ve always enjoyed the regular activity, regular workouts and more recently I’ve had some medical issues,” Our Y member, Peter Varty said. “And being able to go to the Y on a daily basis has helped me to recover.”
During Thursday’s town hall, board members announced they’re choosing to remain independent of the national YMCA organization.
“We couldn’t become a YMCA again without merging with another YMCA because Y USA is no longer granting charters to independent organizations or to stand-alone organizations,” Soderberg said.
And after exploring the option with the Sky Family YMCA in Venice, which has a charter for the Sarasota area, they decided to stay independent.
“Given the post-pandemic climate, and what our mission and what we’d like to be doing in this community, we felt that it was better for us to remain independent until we have more clarity on some of these issues,” Soderberg said.
Member, Leo Santana Aguilar says this is a good thing.
“It’s an example of how the community could come together to create a service that it really needs,” Santana Aguilar said. “A community doesn’t grow when an outside force comes in and establishes something to solve a problem that the community might not have had.”
Even though the organization is not merging with the YMCA, it’s remaining true to its name.
“The things we used to do as a Sarasota YMCA, we’re still Y-like, doing the same mission, doing the same kind of things, plus some new exciting things that haven’t been done before,” Soderberg said.
There are advantages to not being part of a large national organization.
“Keeping the funds that we raise, local, and using them to support our local residents,” Soderberg said.
‘Our Y’ keeps striving to become more than a gym. It has raised more than 65-percent of its annual fundraising goal of $200,000. If you want to learn more or make a difference, you can click here.
