Waldo County YMCA

CURRENT HOURS

Monday-Thursday
5:30 am - 9:00 pm

Friday
5:30 am -6:00 pm

Saturday
7:30 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday
noon - 3:00 pm

HOLIDAYS:
The YMCA will be closed on the following dates:
 
*Fourth of July
*Thanksgiving Day
*Easter Sunday
*Memorial Day
*Labor Day
*Christmas Day
*New Years Day

Waldo County YMCA
157 Lincolnville Ave.
Belfast, Maine 04915
(207) 338-4598

E-mail: Information
E-mail: Webmaster

click here to purchase a 6"x6" tile-------------click here to purchase a 12"x12" tile

COMMUNITY PHASE FUNDRAISING
NOW UNDERWAY

WITH TILES,
SMALL FISH ENABLE Y TO SEE BIG PICTURE
BY SARA STALLA, The Republican Journal, July 24, 2008

BELFAST - When the sketches for the Waldo County YMCA facility were first drafted, a pool was part of the plan. Insufficient funds required a cut, however, and the pool was replaced by a more-affordable indoor track.

Although the track has become an indispensable feature of the YMCA facility, many still yearned for a pool. Accordingly, the YMCA Board of Directors launched a fund-raising campaign a few years back called "Keeping the Promise." The effort has raised funds to accomplish this deferred task.

Dee Bielenberg, a board member, said there were some benefits from the postponement. The plan, she noted, has expanded. "Now, we can be smarter about the plans; we've planned things we may not have done seven years ago," she said.

The Tom & Sally Savage Pool Complex, with a projected completion in early 2009, will contain a regulation-size, six-lane, 25-yard pool; a hydrotherapy pool; and a warm water therapy pool. The YMCA will work in conjunction with Waldo County General Hospital to ensure the therapy pools are useful resources to patients, especially infants, seniors and disabled persons.

Fully equipped with an aquatic. director, lifeguards and program personnel, the pools will be used for everything from lessons and swim team practice to scuba and kayaking training. They will also be available for rent for parties or events like Project Graduation.

Pool construction has begun and the fund-raising is ongoing. "We are now entering our last phase of fund-raising - the community phase," said Annie Pickford, a board member.

The goal is $3.75 million; $3,461,393.92 has thus far been raised.

When the facility was first built in 2001, many large companies, including MBNA, awarded generous grants. This time; most of the contributions have come from community members and private donors, with the largest gifts exceeding half a million dollars.

During the final stage of fund-raising, the YMCA has decided to repeat a successful venture: A tile wall. This campaign's version will be more elaborate.

The idea was inspired by the children's book "Swimmy," by Leo Lionni. In the story, a school of small fish unite to form the shape of one large fish in order to protect each other and stay strong. The tile wall will show a big fish composed of many little tiles: A 160-square-foot mosaic of the YMCA swim team mascot, the Bluefish.

Tiles went on sale Saturday, July 19, at the YMCA booth during Arts in the Park. Two tile sizes are available: a 6x6 inch tiles costs $100, and a 12x12 inch tile costs $500. Each tile will portray a computer image of a colorful tropical fish printed on the back of a slab of glass,' produced by Pinnacle Graphics in Rockland.

The tiles will also be for sale on the YMCA Web site, www.waldocounntyymca.org. Order forms will also be available at the front desk. Don't wait to purchase a tile - Bielenberg and Pickford expect the tiles to be sold out by October.

From left: Dale Cross, Waldo County YMCA Executive Director, Don Hoenig and Jim Miller, Capital Campaign Co-Chair, and Martha Bjelland, Capital Campaign Consultant (Photo Waldo County YMCA)

$1 Million in Anonymous Gifts
Nearly Fill the Waldo County YMCA Pool Fund

November 2007: The Waldo County YMCA announced today an additional $1 million in anonymous gifts has been pledged to the Campaign, bringing the total raised to just under $3.2 million. “We are finally on the last lap,” said Don Hoenig, Campaign Co-Chair and Board member. “And it is a great feeling of accomplishment for our Capital Campaign team. Our Board was adamant we would complete this facility by incurring no long-term debt. With these gifts we are closer to that reality. Our Campaign Cabinet and volunteer solicitors have been working at this campaign for nearly three years through uncertain economic times, and are thrilled to be this close to our goal.”

The planned complex will include a six-lane pool, warm-water therapy pool and hydrotherapy pool. The existing six-year old YMCA facility on Lincolnville Avenue in Belfast was completed in 2001 with nearly $4.8 million raised during the initial capital campaign. The Board of Directors planned the building in phases, intent on building without incurring long-term debt. The facility was financed with short-term debt that was paid in full in January 2004.

Jim Miller, Campaign Co-Chair, added, “We are grateful for the support we’ve received from this community. Our donor list has grown to nearly 300. With about $400,000 to go, we will be going back out to the community and asking folks to jump in and help us fill the pool fund. For those who have been on the fence, now is the time. Capital campaigns build infrastructure for the future and our kids are the future. By investing in the pool project, donors are investing in the future of our community as well as ‘giving back.’

The Waldo County YMCA’s mission is to provide quality programs that promote physical, mental, social, and spiritual development of Waldo County children and families, in conformity with the purpose of the YMCA of the United States.

David and Jimmy Crabiel review the Waldo County YMCA Capital Campaign site plans with Executive Director, Dale Cross.
(Photo Waldo County YMCA)

January 2008: Brothers, David and Jimmy Crabiel of Belfast, ages 7 and 5, emptied their piggy banks to bring in a donation for the Waldo County YMCA Capital Campaign to build a natatorium.

The campaign total is nearing its goal of $3.5 million with just over $150,000 left to raise. The planned natatorium will include a six-lane swimming pool, warm water therapy pool and a hydrotherapy pool. It will enable the “Y” to offer a broad spectrum of quality aquatic programs to people of all ages and abilities, and thus strengthen our core mission of “building strong kids, strong families, strong communities.”

The seven-year old YMCA facility located at 157 Lincolnville Avenue in Belfast was completed in February 2001 with nearly $4.8 million raised in the initial campaign. The fiscally conservative “Y” Board of Directors originally planned to build in phases, without incurring long-term debt. The existing facility was financed with short-term debt that was paid in full just three years after opening. As of December 31, 2007 we have pledges totaling over $3.3 million. We have had over 330 donors pledge their support, with the average donation nearly $4,000.

David and Jimmy shared that they are excited about the pool coming to the YMCA and that they are considering donating again next year!

Groundbreaking Ceremony

May 2008:The Waldo County YMCA formally broke ground for a new addition to house the natatorium on May 4, 2008. More than 100 children and adults took part in this ceremony that signifies the start of construction.

Large blue tarps symbolized the exact locations of the six-lane lap pool, the warm-water pool and the hydrotherapy pool. Children, including our YMCA Bluefish Swim Team lined the six lanes of the lap pool in mock swimming positions. Parents with infants in their arms were seated on the tarps representing the warm pool. Individuals whose medical rehabilitation calls for hydrotherapy treatment took their positions in chairs on the area representing the hydrotherapy pool. Many donors helped to form a large rectangle on the footprint of the natatorium.

The campaign has raised nearly $3.4 million dollars. Fund-raising is still taking place to raise the rest of the money. The YMCA is selling tiles with donor names on them. These tiles will be part of a mosaic on the wall of the natatorium.

The Waldo County YMCA was for 22 years, a “Y without walls”. In February 2001, the new facility was opened built with donations totaling $4.7 million. The facility was built with the intention of adding a natatorium in the future. In August 2004, the second capital campaign “Keeping the Promise” began with a goal to raise $3.5 million to complete the Y with a natatorium addition.

To contact the Y or to make a donation, call 338-4598 or visit the website at www.waldocountyymca.org.