New Britain, CT— May 31, 2016—The New Britain-Berlin YMCA board of directors and the Meriden YMCA board of directors agreed to merge into one association effective June 30th to better serve all three communities.
YMCA's across the state and U.S. often collaborate on marketing, applying for grants, sharing ideas and resources. Numerous YMCAs across the country have merged and there are YMCA associations already here in Connecticut. The goal is better service for members and community, economies of scale in purchasing and providing service, and access to talent and resources to expand service offerings and help more families.
Committees from both boards spent several months examining the possibility in depth before voting May 25th to merge and form a new 30 person board with representation from all three communities.
In an association, each YMCA retains their identity, members and community relationships they have fostered through years of service while gaining greater benefits.
An association name of Nutmeg YMCA is still under review by the national YMCA. As an example of what the new name might look like in New Britain, you might see on letterhead the New Britain YMCA, a member of the Nutmeg YMCA Association.
In this new association, Meriden, Berlin and New Britain members can take group classes at any of the three locations, and register for any children’s youth sports or arts programs at the lower rate for full members. Normally, you would have to be a member of a particular YMCA branch to get the lower full member rate and take group exercise classes. All full members can take advantage of the New Britain YMCAs 24 hours a day 7 days a week fitness facility.
The New Britain-Berlin YMCA and Meriden YMCA offer different group exercise classes, all of which full members can access. For example, New Britain has S.W.E.A.T., Yoga, Bike-O-Vision, Silver Sneakers, Treadmill Bootcamp, Cut and Core, The Bottom Line and Intro CrossFit. The Meriden YMCA offers Jump Fit, Combat Cardio Kickboxing, Piloxing and more. New classes such as PiYo and Country Heat are planned for the Fall.
More offerings have already been added in the Berlin-Kensington community. The Berlin YMCA Program Center at 362 Main Street now offers convenient group exercise classes, youth theater, Little Chefs, Crafty Kids and more. The next session of group exercise classes begins July 11th. Before and after school care will be available in Griswold Elementary, Hubbard Elementary, & Willard Elementary Schools in Berlin in the Fall. Families can register for any program including Camp Thundermoon at the Berlin YMCA Program Center or at the New Britain YMCA at 50 High Street in New Britain, whichever is most convenient for them.
In this new association, New Britain, Berlin and Meriden members can take group classes at any of the three locations, and register for any children’s program such as swim lessons, youth sports, theater, and many more programs at the lower rate for full members. Normally, you would have to be a member of a particular YMCA branch to get the lower full member rate and take group exercise classes. All full members can take advantage of the New Britain YMCAs 24 hours a day 7 days a week fitness facility.
The fundraising we do in each of our communities will continue to benefit children and families in each community. We are committed to continuing to operate in a fiscally responsible manner and being good stewards of the funds entrusted to us. While we believe the most generous gifts have no restrictions, we welcome donors to instruct us regarding how their gift should be used.
By working together we believe our YMCAs can deliver more services of the best quality in the most effective and efficient manner to strengthen the communities we serve.
About the Y
As the nation’s leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community, we are dedicated to building healthy, confident, connected and secure children, adults, families and communities. Every day our impact is felt when an individual makes a healthy choice, when a mentor inspires a child and when neighbors come together for the common good.
Everything the Y does is in service of making us–as individuals and a community–better. For a better you. For a better community. For a better country. For a better us.