Community Corner

YMCA Shuttering Boughton St Branch, Doubling Down on Greenknoll

The Regional YMCA will be closing their Danbury branch and shifting focus to the facility in Brookfield.

The Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut will be closing the Boughton Street Branch in Danbury later this month and shifting its memberships and programs to the Greenknoll Branch in Brookfield.

In a release issued Tuesday, the Board of Directors reaffirmed their commitment to the entire Greater Danbury area but noted that they didn’t need two facilities “just 6 miles apart.”

“As we look at ways to best impact the Greater Danbury area, we are restructuring in order to put our limited resources into our many community based programs,” YMCA of Western CT President and CEO Marie Miszewski said. “We appreciate the loyalty of so many people to the Y over the years and look forward to continued growth, service to Danbury and community partnerships during our next phase of development.”  

Read the full release below:

This week, the Board of Directors of the Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut has made a decision to make significant changes to the organization and effectively restructure how we deliver our services. As part of the restructuring, the Boughton Street YMCA facility will close effective July 25, 2014. Our community based programs will continue throughout the Greater Danbury area and membership programs will be offered at our Greenknoll branch.
 
This does not mean that the Regional YMCA is no longer focused on Danbury. On the contrary, our commitment to Danbury and the health, wellness and education of its residents is greater than ever.  The Regional YMCA currently serves over 5,200 Danbury residents through our many programs and will work to have that number grow even more.  ESCAPE to the Arts in downtown Danbury, our two Children’s Centers, our Greenknoll branch, after-school programs, community health programs and day camps (all of which serve Danbury residents) will continue. We will continue to partner with other area agencies to meet our community’s most pressing needs.  Our focus remains on our many initiatives in the areas of Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility.
 
The decision to close Boughton Street was not an easy one.  The building has been a part of the Regional Y’s health and wellness programming since it was built in the 1960s. From those roots, the Y has grown to include two fitness facilities, an outdoor aquatics center at our Greenknoll branch, ESCAPE to the Arts center in downtown Danbury, a 900 acre outdoor education center, and two children’s education centers.
 
At this time, it is simply no longer financially feasible to maintain and operate two fitness centers that are just 6 miles apart. We have made a business decision to restructure our operations in order to direct our limited resources to key programs that best serve our diverse community.
 
The Y is not about the buildings we occupy. Our members, volunteers and staff always have been and will continue to be the heart and soul of our YMCA. We are an association of people from all walks of life who share a passion for nurturing children, improving health and well-being and supporting neighbors. 
 
Our mission has not changed.  If anything, with this restructuring, we will be in a position to accomplish even more in Greater Danbury. The YMCA is committed to operating in a fiscally responsible manner and being good stewards of the funds entrusted to us to best impact our community.


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