Rocky Mount’s Huge New YMCA Facility Offers Something for Everyone
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Reminiscent of Dorothy landing in Oz‚ a member of the new Harrison Family YMCA was heard to exclaim: “I don’t believe we’re in Rocky Mount anymore.”
The state-of-the art complex on Thorpe Road is‚ in fact‚ a dream come true for its members.
YMCA services were split between three facilities until 2005‚ when those centers were replaced by an 85‚000-square-foot Y that offers something for everyone‚ from toddlers to seniors. Membership in the new Y swelled to more than 11‚000 after 3‚000 joined within a five-month period.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the level of success and the way the community has received this new YMCA‚” says president and CEO Laura Thompson. “It has been a big morale booster for our town‚ which has come through some difficult economic times.”
The new building includes a childcare center‚ aquatic center‚ cardiovascular center‚ gymnastics center and climbing wall.
The childcare wing is the largest provider of day care in the county‚ offering after-school and summer day-camp programs. For younger children‚ a child-watch center provides supervision while their parents workout. There’s also a wireless Internet café‚ where adults may work while their children participate in one of the many programs available for them.
The aquatic center sports an eight-lane competition-sized pool and a recreational pool with a two-story spiral slide.
The cardiovascular center houses a theater‚ where users may don headphones to watch one of several television sets while engaging in heart-strengthening aerobic exercises.
Workout options also include free weights and weight-resistance machines‚ treadmills‚ exercise bikes‚ two aerobic exercise studios and an indoor elevated running track for walkers and joggers.
Then there’s the gymnastics center where the YMCA’s successful teams train. There are also three gymnasiums‚ three basketball courts and two racquetball courts.
A capital campaign to build the new facility began with a $1 million gift from RBC Centura Bank. Additional funds were generated by an aggressive community-wide fundraising effort‚ as well as through the sale of the former YMCA building in downtown Rocky Mount‚ which is now used as a senior center. The new YMCA was named for longtime community leaders Kate Harrison and the late Billy Harrison after a significant donation to the building fund was made in their honor.
Donations from the membership base also helped‚ says David Farris‚ past chairman of the YMCA board that spearheaded the campaign.
“The new Y has helped us connect as a community in ways perhaps we haven’t before‚” says Tom Rogers‚ current board chairman. “People feel welcomed‚ feel that this is the place to be. It has become a center‚ a meeting place.”
YMCA member Jennifer Shrimper‚ mother of four with another on the way‚ agrees.
“You get to see almost everyone in town‚” she says. “We’ve used the town’s three YMCAs almost daily‚ and my children were practically raised in the Y nurseries. The nicest thing for me now is that everything is under one roof.”
Story by Bridget Huckabee
Photo by Stephen Cherry
