One of our goals at the Kloiber Foundation is to enrich people’s lives through community programs and outreach. To achieve this, we have partnered with the YMCA organization which has been a resource for communities for over 150 years.

Like the Kloiber Foundation, the YMCA believes that access to affordable family health and wellness facilities should be available to everyone. To ensure that no one is turned away simply because they cannot pay, the YMCA offers up to 50% financial aid to any program that is offered, providing access to services that would be otherwise inaccessible. This is made possible by donations from a variety of sources. Community fundraising drives, private endowments, as well as staff giving account for the majority of capital raised by the YMCA. In an astounding show of support by its employees, staff giving alone has raised almost $50,000 since the beginning of 2018. However, larger projects depend on the generosity of members of the community, which provides the perfect opportunity for a collaboration between our two organizations.

Rendering of the new Whitaker Family YMCA Pavilion.

Throughout the years, the YMCA of Central Kentucky has utilized partnerships and donations to establish a large presence in Fayette County. In Lexington alone, we have multiple beautiful facilities, with the newest of them being the Whitaker Family YMCA in Hamburg. Until October of 2016, families in this area of town did not have easy access to YMCA facilities. This made the Hamburg location a perfect fit for the community, and in its inaugural year grew to nearly 12,000 members. It has created a community center where families can come to exercise, learn, and take part in sports programs for all ages.

“Like the Kloiber Foundation, the YMCA believes that access to affordable family health and wellness facilities should be available to everyone.”

One of the quintessential experiences of childhood is summer camp, and the Whitaker Family YMCA was thrilled to serve children in their first summer of operation. In 2017, the camp hosted over 200 children each week and over 600 individual children throughout the summer, about 50% of which received financial aid. Because the facility was less than a year old, the outdoor accommodations were temporary, and included shade tents and portable restroom facilities. The need for a permanent structure quickly became clear, and the idea of a Whitaker Family YMCA Pavilion was born. With restrooms, water fountains, and permanent shaded areas, summer camp will have the facilities needed to better serve the children and their families. It will also have the added benefit of creating a more secure check-in/check-out process, while creating storage space for the campers’ gear and equipment. Even though the pavilion will primarily serve the summer campers, all YMCA members will have access to picnic tables, water fountains, restrooms, and shade. The Whitaker Family YMCA Pavilion is expected to be completed in time for the first week of Summer Camp 2018. This will go a long way towards preparing for the next step of the Whitaker Family YMCA’s outdoor vision: sports fields.

The Kloiber Foundation grant for the pavilion will ensure that the YMCA can continue its good work of providing community services to all who are interested. We are glad to join forces with them this year in their next step of enhancing their already impressive facilities.