Sault YMCA stabilizes finances, eyes new future through partnerships

“We want to work together to serve the community. We want to strengthen the relationship with Sault Ste. Marie. We have a shared commitment to thrive,” Sault YMCA CEO James Chan said.

Article content The Sault Ste. Marie YMCA has stabilized its finances, strengthened its governance and will be drafting its future vision in short order. That’s the message city council received Monday from Sault YMCA CEO James Chan and YMCA Canada’s President and CEO Peter Dinsdale.

Recommended Videos With 700 members using the facility daily and 500 childcare spaces filled across Sault Ste. Marie, the picture is brighter than what it was in April 2024 when it was announced that the YMCA was putting its McNabb Street property on the selling block and winding down its operations due to its bleak financial situation. The non-profit corporation blamed increasing operational costs on an old facility, coupled with inflation and a slow return to pre-COVID level memberships.

The announcement came as a blow to the community, and a local group was formed to lobby decision makers to save the important community facility. The Lukenda Foundation purchased the property, the City of Sault Ste. Marie signed a lease agreement and provided a guarantee for lease payments and provided $505,000 for capital upgrades.

The agreement was approved by city council. Current membership numbers have increased to 2,808. Childcare programs, summer day camps, swimming programs, youth development initiatives and community recreation opportunities add to health and wellness programming.

Layoffs at Algoma Steel have not negatively impacted membership numbers. Dinsdale told city council that the Sault YMCA is in better circumstances than it was in the spring of 2024, but “surviving is not the same thing as thriving.” A transformation is needed to determine what Sault’s YMCA should look like in the future and that vision will not be the status quo, said Chan.

The transformation will likely mirror the changes in Sault Ste. Marie and will be designed to serve even more of the community through the creation of partnerships, both with the city and with private entities, he said. “We want to work together to serve the community.

We want to strengthen the relationship with Sault Ste. Marie. We have a shared commitment to thrive,” Chan told city council.

The four-pronged approach includes what it has been doing for the past two years – strengthening its governance, returning to stable financial grounds, ensuring quality and safety for users and developing a future vision. “We are stable financially but as a charity we are not out of the woods,” Chan said. In an interview with The Sault Star, Chan admitted the existing building is 60 years old and a lot of capital investment has been injected into that facility.

“We are looking into the future and increasingly investing in larger capital items,” he said. “And we are looking into the future at a new building, or partnering with the city to find a bright new look and feel for a YMCA.” Chan said that may or may not be something that occurs at the McNabb Street location.

He said the existing building is not viewed as the future YMCA for Sault Ste. Marie. “In fact, I see quite the opposite. There are a lot of great examples of YMCAs that have partnered with municipalities and or built on their own and there are a lot of different models that have taken place, including partners with residential facilities or others,” he said.

Chan said the YMCA has been in talk with other partners and he anticipates a capital fundraising drive could be announced “in the very near future.” “We are looking for strength in numbers and there are other facilities in the city that are in need of new facilities because their infrastructure is aging,” he said. “We are looking at all possibilities, all partner types but I can’t give too many details at this point.

That would be premature, but all options are open.” Chan said the YMCA is about to embark on its fourth pillar – it’s future – and looking at developing partnerships, including the mainstream health sector, long-term care facilities, or residential developments, among others to build health programming and those conversations are underway. “The landscape of Sault Ste.

Marie is ripe for change and the time is now for the YMCA to step up and be part of that change,” Chan said. He said it is important for the YMCA to have a solid vision for the community’s future needs and a vision for a future building before a capital fundraising plan is launched. “I want to thank the community for truly supporting the YMCA for 125 years.

It’s an honour leading this organization and our employees put their heart and sole into the environment and the YMCA,” he said. The YMCA annual board report and plan will be available on its website at ssmymca.ca .