La Porte County Family YMCA to Bring its Mission to Michigan City

rot2Here's some exciting news for La Porte County: the La Porte County Family YMCA is planning to expand beginning in January 2015!

On Tuesday December 16, the Michigan City Board of School Trustees voted on whether to allow the Y to rent space from the former Elston Middle School, which had closed in 2014 due to operation costs. The result was in the Y's favor as the vote concluded 5 to 1. The Y will rent gyms, locker rooms, and the pool at Elston for $1 per year.

"We secured a memo of understanding with the school corporation. We've been working with them for many months to make this a reality and we're very excited," Cindy Berchem, Executive Director for the La Porte County Family YMCA said. "We've had a lot of support from the Mayor's office to the parks department, boards of the school and the Y and it's really been a labor of love and a collaboration of everyone coming together to bring something that's much needed to the community."

The old location that the YMCA had in Michigan City closed seven years prior, but after the multi-year hiatus, Michigan City will once again benefit from the Y's mission. Community members will be able to give input on what they think needs to be done with the space and the YMCA plans to work with other organizations to get things in motion.

The programming will take place in three stages beginning with putting in a security system, implementing preschool basketball, preschool cheerleading, youth coed basketball and indoor soccer, and coed cheerleading in January. The second stage will bring in wellness classes and special camps like "Snow Day" and "School Day Out". The third and final stage will be the implementation of a Wellness Center.

Members of the La Porte County Family YMCA will have access to all of the Y branches in the county including the new addition. Members in Michigan City no longer have to drive to La Porte to access a YMCA and those who aren't members yet due to distance and transportation issues now have a chance to take part in the organizations worthwhile offerings. 

The La Porte County Family YMCA now is able to realize a long awaited goal. Michigan City is sure to benefit from the Y's presence, and the Y will benefit from the support and attendance of the Michigan City citizens.