Nap Mats To Join Gym Mats At Clark YMCA
Winchendon facility branches out
The venerable Winchendon gym and community center known as The Clark, which became a YMCA last year, is poised to expand beyond its traditional mission of providing exercise and recreation.
Brian Dubois, executive director of The Wendell P. Clark Memorial YMCA, said there is a need for center-based child care in Winchendon to supplement the home-based daycares already available.
He said the Y, which is the number one child-care provider in the country, is helping The Clark move into the new line of business.
Satellites
DuBois said he expects to start with satellite child care centers, possibly at local churches and schools, as soon as fall of 2009.
After getting a feel for the demand, he said, The Clark could eventually open a larger facility at the downtown center itself.
DuBois said that before the center affiliated with the YMCA in August, there was some initial opposition from town residents who worried it would lose local control and become a franchise of the Y.
"That was the fear, that people were going to come in and tell us how much ketchup and mustard to put on our hamburgers," he said.
But DuBois said the YMCA actually functions as a membership organization, much like a chamber of commerce, providing training, insurance and other services at a discount. He said the affiliation has allowed for more staff training, bringing the cost of a workshop on yoga instruction from $400 to $70, for example.
DuBois said The Clark is also striving to increase its membership numbers. He said it succeeded in more than tripling its membership, from 837 in 2004 to 2511 last year.That number has since declined, he said, probably because of economic trouble hitting local families. He said the center wants to double its membership again to help move toward self-sufficiency.
Historically, The Clark has received much of its funding from the Robinson-Broadhurst Foundation, which pays for many community needs in Winchendon. Dubois said that won't change, but he wants to avoid excessive dependence on grant money.
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