Members work out at the Lima YMCA on Friday.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA —Two area recreation centers will fit under one brand beginning in April.
The Lima Family YMCA announced that Bluffton Family Recreation Center will be renamed Bluffton Family YMCA and that the YMCA will operate both facilities and offer programs in both cities.
“The BFR is familiar with non-profit work and we thought it was a good match for us and our mission,” Lima Family YMCA CEO Jared Lehman said about how the idea, which started 8 to 9 months ago, came to fruition. “We felt like it was a good opportunity for like-minded entities to collaborate and pursue mission together in a similar service area.”
Lehman said that joining together in operations will offer current BFR members access to other YMCAs across the country and that it will provide additional benefits to both them and current Lima YMCA members.
“There are some programming opportunities that we’ll consider moving forward,” he said. “BFR has a nice indoor soccer facility and we have plenty of outdoor soccer programs so it’ll be interesting to incorporate that into what we do here. And members there don’t have a swimming pool so they will have access to the one in Lima. It will be an exciting trade-off for both parties.”
In a statement, the YMCA also said that members of both facilities will receive member pricing on programs at both locations.
For now, though, there just remains some paperwork to be completed before the change can become official in April.
“We’re working on a lot of the details of blending the two organizations together,” Lehman said. “We’re getting it all rolled out here in the weeks ahead. We have a lot of work to accomplish.”
More than 14,500 people will be members and participants at the two organizations when they are consolidated. 134 people will work at the locations and they will provide nearly $227,700 in charitable community impact every year, according to the YMCA.
Amy Byers, who leads the BFR currently, has been named Bluffton Family YMCA Executive Director.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
