The Warren County YMCA has been serving the Monmouth Community for 139 years and CEO Sam Brooks says the community was extremely supportive in keeping the Y’s legacy going through the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We had the vast majority, probably 75% of our membership stay with us, continue to pay their membership, even when we couldn’t offer services. Each month we would call and say it was another month we needed to know if they were able to stay with us, if not we understand. It was so humbling to me to see people step up and say that of course they will stay with us. That was their way of helping to support us. That helped us carry through. We lost a lot of revenue, I mean for sure, we did not come out of it unscathed by any means, but we were able to come out of it because of people loving their community, loving their Y and it is very humbling to me. What I tell people now when they ask how we are doing right now and I tell them we are on the cusp of a rebuild.”
The YMCA has begun their classes again which include fitness programs both on land and in the water, Rock Steady Boxing, youth sports and much more. Masks are required in the common areas of the YMCA as well as social distancing. The Wellness Center for general health is open 24 hours a day and the staff continues to use a fogger while disinfecting all machines for safety precautions. Brooks says the Pattee Water Park will be open in late May or early June and Kidtropolis is open by appointment.
