On Monday night we welcomed Megan Toscano as our guest speaker. Megan is the Director of Development for the Ocean Community YMCA going back to 1928. It was meeting a need back then and it began to expand in 1948 with the opening of Camp Watchaug in 1948. In 2000, the Y opened the Arcadia Branch in Wyoming. In 2003, the Mystic YMCA opened in conjunction with the Mystic Community Center. In 2018, a major renovation took place in the center and it was renamed the Naik Family YMCA after a major benefactor to the renovation.
Megan noted that there are over 20,000 members at the current time with over 700,000 annual visits made to their facilities. When you consider the fact that during Covid they lost 46% of their membership. This is an amazing testimony to the value of what they offer to the community. What people may not know is that over 5,000 people received some financial assistance with their membership. 20 percent of the campers at both Watchaug (300 a day) and the Camp Cove in Mystic (250 a day) receive some financial assistance. Every year they give out over $800,000 in scholarships.
As to programming, you name it. They had 9,500 individuals participating in programs last year, that doesn't count the people who simply used the fitness rooms and other areas of access. There were almost 1,200 swim lessons provided with 230 young athletes joining swim teams. Computer classes, pickleball and a slew of other activities make the YMCA one of our community's most valuable assets.
Megan closed by saying that they are always looking for financial partners and volunteers and she'd love to meet with us.
