Ymca Opens Major Fund-Raiser Most Of $5.4 Million Would Be Used To Build Valley Facility

The YMCA of the Inland Northwest has quietly begun a campaign to raise more money than any social service drive ever has in Spokane.

The non-profit organization is trying to raise $5.4 million to build an aquatics center and gym in the Spokane Valley, upgrade the 32-year-old YMCA downtown and replace 12 cabins at Camp Reed.

“What’s at the core of this is our mission: To give kids and families a place to go, with structured, supervised activities,” said executive director Rich Wallis.

Board President Heidi Stanley said she may sound like Pollyanna saying that children are Spokane’s greatest asset and they need good community experiences to become good citizens. But that has been and remains the Y’s mission.

“Every day at the Y we are impacting someone’s life,” she said.

The Young Men’s Christian Association, now called the YMCA, dates to 1884 in Spokane, when it was founded to develop Christian leadership among young men.

In 1906, it moved to a five-story building at First and Lincoln. It moved to Riverfront Park in 1964, as programs were extended to women and girls.

Each year, the YMCA raises money for scholarships that allow 2,300 kids who otherwise couldn’t afford it to play T-ball, learn to swim or play basketball, Wallis said.

Now, board members are asking for far more to serve families in the Spokane Valley and increase community use of Camp Reed.

The proposed Valley complex would not change the after-school and child-care programs already at 16 Valley schools; or the swim lessons and day camps at Valley parks. It may not even close the YMCA’s branch office in the Tidyman’s store, 13014 E. Sprague, where the staff works above the pharmacy and their boss, above the checkstands.

But it will tap a market so eager that disbelieving researchers called people back to double-check results.

Telephone surveys showed 14 percent of families contacted in 1995 “would definitely” join a Valley YMCA three times what Y surveyors found in Vancouver, Wash. Another 46 percent said they would “probably join.”

Demand and growth in the Spokane region has driven the discussion, which began in 1992.

Consultant Kent Adams, who’s leading the fund-raising, said new Valley memberships will help pay for the estimated $6 million building. Support must come from city and county businesses and residents alike, for a building that no doubt will be a regional draw. Among the features: a traditional lap pool and a “fun” pool with water slides and fountains.

Construction would begin in March 1998, with a tentative opening in February 1999.

Fitness centers already in the Valley include Stroh’s, Giorgio’s, Central Park and smaller studios. The largest of Sta-Fit’s seven centers is at 14210 E. Sprague.

Scott Sherman, general manager of the Sta-Fit Racquet and Athletic Clubs, said he has no problem with the competition, but he does question the fairness.

“We really support the Y’s traditional charitable mission. We don’t support their tax exemption for selling memberships or their entire adult fitness program - that competes directly with the private fitness market. They should be on the tax roll just like Sta-Fit is.”

Adams said the courts have upheld the Y’s non-profit status. The Y’s scholarship and family programs make it distinct.

“The Y is so different than for-profit providers,” Wallis said. “We serve people of all ages and all income levels.” Of the 14,000 Y users, 85 percent are children. Volunteers do much of the work and the board is unpaid.

“In my mind, it’s apples and oranges.”

Also included in the fund drive:

Replacing lockers, exercise equipment and lighting, and remodeling teen rooms at the YMCA downtown. Cost: $292,495.

Building a 30-foot climbing tower, paving walkways, upgrading staff housing and replacing 12 cabins at Camp Reed. Cost: $449,000.

About 1,600 children attend the camp at Fan Lake, 20 miles north of Spokane. Another 4,600 members of church, school and community groups attend retreats there annually. Use is limited in the spring and fall, though, because of the aging cabins’ lack of insulation.

“Part of the boys’ unit goes back 40 and 50 years,” Wallis said. “We have people with fond memories of lying in bed looking at the stars.”

The Y employs about 150 full-time and seasonal workers. Stanley never expected staff earning modest salaries to offer to donate payroll deductions for the next five years. Several did.

One anonymous person gave $250,000. The Comstock Foundation, a 42-year-old Spokane philanthropy, has pledged $600,000. Trustees said the YMCA’s history and goals led to the decision.

Trustee Horton Herman, 84, remembers his mother enrolling him at the YMCA for some positive male influence after his father died when Herman was a child. He played basketball, and later volleyball, at the downtown YMCA.

The athletics “probably had a more formative effect on me than anything,” he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo