UPDATED: Anonymous buyer steps forward to save the YMCA

Just one week before its expected closure, an anonymous buyer has agreed to purchase the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA building, allowing the organization to operate its programming and daycare through at least the summer.

The announcement was made Tuesday afternoon in a news release by the City of Sault Ste. Marie, just over a week before the expected May 15 closure.

”The YMCA has reached an agreement for a local charitable foundation to acquire its building at 235 McNabb St. in order to assist the YMCA in improving its cash flow and helping to sustain operations,” said the news release, which can be read in its entirety at the bottom of this story.

Reached by phone, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker said the local charitable foundation that stepped up to purchase the building represents the best qualities of the Sault.

”It saw something that the community was rallying around, very much like you saw with Harvest Algoma, and when when you get that type of community reaction — and it's clearly something that's important to the community — I think it gets the attention of those who are in a position to help,” he said.

Shoemaker noted that the connection between the unnamed foundation and the YMCA may never have been forged if not for the grassroots community organizers who banded together to show their support for the organization.

”The community's passion for the Y wouldn't have been known without the community groups stepping forward,” he said.

In the news release, Shoemaker acknowledged the significant anxiety the closure announcement caused when it was made on April 16.

Ali Dennie created the Save our YMCA Facebook group shortly after she attended the April 17 members meeting where interim CEO John Haddock and board member Jake D'Agostini took questions from members.

Media were not allowed to ask questions at that meeting and numerous interview requests with Haddock, D'Agostini and other local Y leadership have not been granted in the weeks since. As a result, the reasons for the rushed decision to close the Sault Y has never been disclosed to the public and may remain a mystery.

SooToday was able to break the news to Dennie about the plans in place to continue the Y’s programming and daycare until at least the end of the summer.

“I’m really excited to hear that they can continue operations immediately. That is fantastic news, especially for the folks that are using the daycare,” she said, when told the news. ”It's also just a big relief of looking towards the future.”

Members of the Facebook group staged a rally outside the building and held a town hall meeting at The Machine Shop before presenting to city council about the importance of the local Y and their hope to be a part of the working group that was working toward a solution for the impending closure.

Dennie said she has heard from a number of people that the group she started and the support it showed brought the Y leadership back to the table to find a solution.

”It was the fact that the community does still want this and we're going to keep to fighting to keep it,” said Dennie. ”I think the group had a role in that too and recruiting folks and saying ‘put your money where your mouth is’ a little bit.”

In an emailed statement to SooToday, Sault Y spokesperson Don Ferguson said the organization is pleased to confirm it will stay open.

“Our current programs and services in health and fitness, child care and school-aged care will continue to be operated by the YMCA of Sault Ste. Marie, and that our staff will be able to continue to deliver these important programs and services,” Ferguson wrote. “This very positive news was shared with our staff on Tuesday.”

Asked about the status of summer camps, Ferguson said only that additional details about programming will be made available shortly.

”We understand that this has been a very challenging time for our YMCA members and the community – most of all, our valued staff and volunteers. Our most important priority today and in the coming days is communication with staff and those we serve in health and fitness and child care,” said Ferguson. ”We offer our deep gratitude to staff, members and families for their resilience and unwavering support during this time, and we will share more information with the community as the situation permits.”

Below is the full press release from the city:

The City of Sault Ste. Marie wishes to provide an update on the efforts to sustain the operations of the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA.

The YMCA has reached an agreement for a local charitable foundation to acquire its building at 235 McNabb St. in order to assist the YMCA in improving its cash flow and helping to sustain operations. The local charitable foundation has expressed a desire to remain anonymous at this time. The due diligence period for the agreement is taking place over the next 60 days and the previously announced closure date of May 15 is postponed until further notice. Plans are underway to continue, and to resume, programming through the summer, including childcare operations.

“We have been working around the clock with our partners to develop and implement a plan to secure the future of the YMCA in Sault Ste. Marie,” said Mayor Matthew Shoemaker. “I know the tight timeline following the YMCA’s original announcement that operations would cease caused significant anxiety for community members, and I wanted to ensure we communicated an update to the public about the situation as soon as possible. We will continue to do so moving forward.”

City staff have been working with multiple community partners, including the local charitable foundation and the YMCA, through a working group focused on determining short and long-term plans for the Y. The framework for the agreement contains a plan for continued operations of the YMCA over the next several years; however, for it to be finalized, commitments are needed from multiple stakeholders and the public. There will be a report on the agenda for City Council’s meeting on Monday, May 13 with details about these commitments. More information will be available when the agenda for the meeting is released on Thursday, May 9.