Five years after opening its doors, San Benito County YMCA has
become the largest provider of after-school programs in the area,
offering kids a chance to engage in sports and arts and get help
with homework.
Hollister – Five years after opening its doors, San Benito County YMCA has become the largest provider of after-school programs in the area, offering kids a chance to engage in sports and arts and get help with homework.
As a result of its growth in popularity, the Y is planning an expansion over the next couple of years that will add a pool, increase the number of classes and create more space for groups who want to use the facility for classes and meetings, said Lou Bettencourt, executive director of the YMCA.
“Studies have shown that the more assets a child has, the more their chance of success,” he said.
The estimated cost of the new facility, expected to be about 7.5 acres in size, is upwards of $15 million, money the Y hopes to raise in its upcoming volunteer campaign, said Bettencourt. The organization makes its money from fees and grants from private organizations. Bettencourt doesn’t know when the facility could be built or where, but has community support for the effort, including Hollister City Councilman Brad Pike, who will be helping to raise money in the effort.
“A new facility is just the foundation of the program,” said Pike, who is also the father of two young kids. “To say that the Y has had a positive impact here would not do enough justice.”
Without the service, some 100 elementary-age kids who now participate in the organization’s programs would have to compete for space through other providers, such as Go Kids, which has a state-funded after-school program, or in private care. Instead, when the last school bell of the day rings, parents who have their kids in the YMCA’s after-school programs know their children will be entertained, educated and provided for until they pick them up in the evening.
Linda Shutts, whose daughter Taylor, 7, has been attending the Y’s after-school program at Sunnyslope Elementary for three years, says it has worked well for her busy schedule.
If it wasn’t for the programs, “I’d have to pick her up after school and drive her to another care provider,” said Shutts, who lives in Hollister. “This way, all she has to do is walk over.” Shutts says she pays slightly less for the after-school care than she would at a private facility and finds the teachers attentive and caring.
“If there is any problem, they get the parents involved right away,” she said.
In addition to after-school care, 1,500 kids, teens and young adults now participate in classes and workshops at the YMCA, ranging from bowling to yoga to basketball, something previously only available through the Hollister Department of Recreation. The classes and programs are much appreciated by locals, who say they have more choice when it comes to picking activities for themselves and their children.
“Some people actually went out of town to take classes they now offer,” said Gary Byrne, executive director of San Benito Community Foundation, which sometimes uses the Y’s facility to hold its meetings. “It’s had a great impact on the community.”
The Y opened in 2000 after efforts by a group of volunteers to bring the national nonprofit organization, which has over 2,500 branches across the country, to Hollister. Today, there are close to a dozen classes and programs, ranging from an adventure guide group that takes parents and children on outdoor trips to Friday night basketball hoops that gives teenagers something to do on the weekend. There is also the Juvenile Impact Program, a partnership with the Hollister Police Department that pairs at-risk youth with professionals to give them an idea what kinds of jobs exist in the real world.
Karina Ioffee covers education and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach her at (831)637-5566 ext. 335 or ki*****@fr***********.com
