THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407130123
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DELORIS MOYLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
It's 6 a.m. and cars are zooming in and out of the parking lot at the Chesapeake Family YMCA on Greenbrier Road.
The center is alive with activity as mothers and fathers hustle in to leave their children for day care and various camps. In addition, staffers are arriving for work, senior citizens are heading for their swimming lessons and young mothers are preparing for aerobics.
But there is only one door to get inside the recreational center, and things are getting crowded. It has been that way for years, partly a result of Chesapeake's booming population.
``We are busting at the seams,'' said Kathryn Jones, the center's member marketing director.
The Chesapeake Family YMCA is currently serving 4,000 residents, executive director Crystal C. LaTulipe said.
To better serve the Chesapeake community, the organization has launched a campaign to raise $280,000. With those funds, the YMCA hopes to build a 10,000-square-foot expansion.
``With the expansion, the Y will be able to serve about 3,000 more children and adults each year,'' LaTulipe said.
The addition will include a gymnasium, a fitness nautilus center, a multipurpose room and a larger pre-school and after-school child-care facility.
The fund-raising effort targets two areas: community and business.
So far, about 70 volunteers working in teams have collected more than $80,000 for the community portion of the drive. That effort recently ended.
But the major gift portion - donations from businesses and other organizations - is continuing. So far, about $40,000 in major gifts has been raised, Jones said.
The United Way will match each dollar collected up to $250,000.
Tax-deductible contributions can be paid over a three-year period. Friends contribute $360 to $1,499; patrons, $1,500 to $2,999; leaders, $3,000 to $4,999; benefactors, $5,000 to $9,999; and founders, $10,000 or more.
The drive began in April and ends in August.
LaTulipe said she hopes the addition will help the YMCA continue a tradition of promoting good values, teamwork and cooperation.
Those goals are the same now as they were when the Young Men's Christian Association was founded in 1844.
The association, better known as ``The Y,'' was founded in London by George Williams. The organization's mission was to spread the Christian message primarily among men.
Nearly a century and a half later, the YMCA retains its religious orientation and attempts to mold character through activities for children and adults, males and females.
Groundbreaking for the new expansion is slated for the fall. It will become the third major project at the YMCA since 1985. The other projects were a multipurpose wing and an outdoor swimming pool complex that includes a separate, 18-inch-deep kiddie pool.
The addition is scheduled to open next summer.
The YMCA offers adventure, experience and kinder camps. It also has Counselor In Training for ages 14 and 15 and after-school programs. There is swimming for adults and children, aerobics, karate and more.
It costs adults $80 to join in addition to $30-a-month membership dues. The initial cost for families is $120, plus $42-a-month membership dues.
The Chesapeake YMCA opens daily at 6 a.m. and closes at 9:30 p.m. There are more than 80 employees, including part-timers and seven professional directors. by CNB