Northeast YMCAs adapting and working to be more sustainable

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted a lot of organizations but the head of the YMCA Canada said it's looking positive for his group in the region.

The YMCA in Sudbury and the YMCA in Sault Ste. Marie both struggled during the pandemic as a result of declining memberships and revenue.

Last year, the YMCA in Sault Ste. Marie announced it intended to close. That closure was averted after the city and a local charity group stepped in.

Now, the president and CEO of YMCA Canada is visiting locations across the country to promote the charity's new initiative called Communities That Thrive. The focus is on how the YMCA can grow and adjust, help communities meet social challenges and support people.

"We wanted to reinforce that message in local communities about the challenges that we're seeing around loneliness, around isolation, around the need to increase the sense of belonging and wanting to come to places like this," Peter Dinsdale, national president and CEO of YMCA Canada said.

"To have a place that has some positivity and people to come gather, I think that's critical."

Dinsdale said he's pleased to see the progress both the YMCA in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie have made after a challenging time through the pandemic.

"When there is challenges, we help support those Ys move forward. And that's what you're seeing the Sault Ste. Marie. And that's what you'll see in other jurisdictions that have challenges, and that won't end," he said.

"However, we are trying to turn our attention to make sure that our YMCA's are thriving, not just not in crisis. And how can we grow the YMCA and how we serve them to really show excellence and be a thriving Y and to be a community that shines."

Over the last year and half, president and CEO for YMCA Northeastern Ontario Lorrie Turnbull said memberships in Sudbury have grown from 3,600 to 5,500.

"We've got thousands of people coming through the door every day and kids and families. So there's something right there," she said.

"That says to me is Sudbury needs a YMCA. The potential is all ahead of us right now because you know there are other things that we can do and continue to do to support the community."

Turnbull said it's important for the community and local leaders to know about the work the YMCA does.

"There are issues among us, some you don't necessarily see necessarily, but we see kind of the downstream effects of it," she said.

"We need to be working better in partnership, more international collaboration, understanding each of our organization and association strengths so that we can work together effectively and not be duplicating our efforts or duplicating our services."