Good and Bad News on YMCA Program Frustrates Parents

The news was staggering for these Eagle Rock and Highland Park parents: An anonymous donor had stepped forward and offered $100,000 to reopen a YMCA branch and its child-care center that is scheduled to close because of financial problems.

But their elation turned to frustration this week when YMCA officials said parents need to raise $25,000 in the next three weeks to help match the donation.

“I feel like this is an impossible situation,” said Richard Bentley, whose daughter Hope has been enrolled in the program for the last two years. “To raise this money in three weeks is just unrealistic. I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

YMCA officials said the donor has requested matching funds, and in order to hire staff for the fall, they need some money by the middle of August.

“We have to be sure there is some community support for continuing this,” said Alan Hostrup, senior vice president of the Metropolitan YMCA. “The Y just can’t get caught moving forward with no support. In the past, the leadership left and the resources left, and the Y has struggled to do it on its own.” YMCA officials notified parents in early July that they were shutting down the child care program because of budget problems and the lack of an adequate site.

At least 35 children who attended the Eagle Rock center would be displaced if the after-school program fails to open in the fall. Many of those children also attend the YMCA’s summer day camp program, which ends Aug. 29 and is not expected to reopen.

Discouraged parents met with city staff and YMCA officials Wednesday night to reach an agreement, but left afraid that their only chance to keep affordable child care in the working-class community is slipping through their fingers.

“They want us to match it--how?” asked Christine Garcia. “It’s amazing they would even ask. I wouldn’t even know how to go about getting that.”

Now, it seems unlikely that the program will reopen in the fall, although officials are considering keeping the doors open through October so parents have longer to find alternative child care.

“I understand that the thought of raising that kind of money is frightening, but I was surprised there wasn’t more of an appreciation for the Y going out there to secure funds and keep it going,” Hostrup said.

The $100,000 would pay for more than the child-care program, but would be used to reestablish a YMCA program in the community, he said.

YMCA officials said they are interested in maintaining a presence in the area, but they also need the parents to help locate an alternative site for the center.

Currently, the child-care facility is housed in a building the YMCA sold to Victory Outreach, a church that works with former gang members and recovering drug addicts.

Many parents said they were frustrated by the YMCA’s requests, arguing that the organization should be working on maintaining services in the area.

“I would really like this place to stay open because I think the kids really enjoy it,” Garcia said. “But truly in my heart, I don’t think they want to keep it open.”