Kelowna

Construction on the $5.7 million expansion at the Kelowna Family YMCA-YWCA will begin in early August.

The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon after the Y exceeded its $5 million fundraising goal.

The fundraising total of $5.23 was unveiled during ceremonies in front of the Rutland facility. The total was bumped up by a further $100,000 after TELUS presented an additional cheque.

The federal government contributed $1 million towards the 18,000 foot expansion while the City of Kelowna, which owns the facility, kicked in another $1.6 million.

A further $800,000 gift was contributed anonymously by a Kelowna resident, the largest individual donation the Y has ever received locally.

"This is the culmination of a lot of hard work from our campaign and just an overly generous community in Kelowna," says Y Board Chair, Ron Stewardson.

"The economy was tough but the residents of Kelowna and the corporate community opened their wallets and shared with us. We were all totally surprised at the generosity of the Kelowna community."

While more than half of the $5.3 million came from the corporate and private donations Stewardson says there were some anxious moments during the campaign.

"We often wondered if this was the right time to be raising capital, but the Y is a charity that provides services that are needed in a down economy.
The Y provides financial assistance to one in five of its members. No one is turned away for financial reasons."

Stewardson says that's why he became involved and believes that is why the campaign was a success.

The Kelowna Family Y currently serves an average of 600 individuals per day.

The expansion, which includes a new children's centre, youth zone, running/walking track, multi-purpose gymnasium and preventative health and fitness spaces, will allow the facility to double the number of people it serves.

Stewardson says the current facility will be largely unaffected by the construction.

"There will only be a disruption to our exercise class and we found a school temporarily. We are trying very hard to keep all our members so they can enjoy our programs."

He adds there may be a disruption to the pool when energy upgrades are done in March.

The expanded facility is expected to be up and running within a year.