The YMCA is a hub for Caldwell kids and adults alike: Since opening in 2005, the Y has acquired 12,000 members who give the community center 'mind-boggling' participation and financial support

By Kristin Rodine

Mar. 22, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Kids skitter, slide and bob through bubbling, spraying water.

Business folk, teens and retirees sweat on fitness equipment while adolescents roam from gym to rock wall to snack bar.

Caldwell's YMCA is a busy place. It has also become the community's hub.

Before the Y opened across from Caldwell High School in October 2005, the city had no place for teens and families to gather, get fit and stay safe. That bothered residents and leaders, especially after a survey of local teens showed they lacked support structures and recreational outlets.

Today, the Caldwell Y has 12,100 members, with many taking advantage of family memberships that cover the whole clan for $62.90 a month. It gathers people of all ages.

"All my friends come here after school," said 14-year-old Vallivue student Tyler Barker. "It's a good place to hang out, and our parents approve it."

And while Caldwell has a lower median household income than most Treasure Valley cities, a fundraising campaign to help people who cannot afford membership has just exceeded its goal.

Members and community leaders laud the Y as a success story.

KEEPING AN EYE ON KIDS

On Thursday afternoon, Barbara DeMoss sat in the humid aquatic center watching her 8-year-old daughter swim. Her son, 11, was upstairs in a youth fitness class learning to use the varied equipment. Now he'll be able to work out next to his mom.

A Nampa resident, DeMoss joined the Caldwell Y about six months ago. It's closer to her house than the Nampa Recreation Center, she said, "and there's a better pool and more stuff for kids to do." One highlight, she said, was her daughter's youth yoga class.

"They really watch the kids well," she said.

Terry Reilly Health Services brings grade-school students to the Y for fitness fun and nutrition training. The Caldwell and Vallivue school districts bus young members to the Y at no charge every afternoon.

Branch Director Scott Curtis is proud of how closely Caldwell's Y reflects the population it serves. About 20 percent of members are Hispanic, as are nearly 23 percent of surrounding residents.

SUPPORT 'OFF THE CHARTS'

Many thought Caldwell didn't have the philanthropic spirit or deep pockets to support a Y, said Jim Everett, head of the Treasure Valley Y system. They were wrong.

"The need is higher and the ability to meet that need is lower, but the results are off the charts," he said.

Everett had tears in his eyes Thursday when the result of the Caldwell Y's fundraising campaign was announced: $142,319 to help pay fees for kids and families who can't afford them. The tally was more than $8,000 above the branch's goal.

"I bet there won't be another branch that's over its goal," he said, adding that Caldwell's fundraising clout is second only to the Downtown Boise branch, which has been around for more than a century.

The Caldwell community's sense of ownership is "mind-boggling," Everett said.

Mayor Garret Nancolas, a man known for enthusiastic declarations, outdoes himself on the subject of Caldwell's Y.

"This is the most exciting, rewarding, inspiring, amazing project I have ever been involved in," Nancolas said. "Ever."

CHALLENGES AND CHARMS

But the Y still faces significant challenges, Curtis said.

Popular as it is, Caldwell's Y is not financially self-sufficient, falling about $200,000 short in annual cash flow from a $2.1 million budget, he said. Operating expenses are higher than expected, he said, especially in the aquatic center.

Other, longer-established Treasure Valley Y branches make up the shortfall, but Curtis had hoped his Y would be in the black by the end of its first year.

Membership needs to grow -- he'd like to see 15,000 members -- and the expansive aquatic center could handle much heavier use, he said.

"We'd love to increase our day use," he added.

At midday Thursday, the Y was mostly quiet, with about a dozen adults using fitness equipment and several women striding around the track. A handful of people swam laps in the aquatic center while others relaxed in the Jacuzzi.

"Retired people like me like the middle of the day," said Alton Tyer, whose family joined the Y "while they were still painting it."

But the Y gets crowded in the morning before people head to work, he said, "and once school lets out it never stops until they throw everyone out at 10."

PARTICIPATION RATES BEAT OTHER Y BRANCHES

Silvino Jimenez, a senior at Vallivue High School, likes the bustle.

"Hearing the kids playing and laughing, it just makes me feel better," Jimenez said. "It relieves stress."

Mikelle Oliver, a freshman at the College of Idaho, grew up in Eagle and belonged to the Y on Chinden Boulevard before she started college in Caldwell.

"I actually like this one better," she said.

Oliver particularly likes working out on the treadmills that overlook the aquatic center, watching kids in the pools and enjoying views of sky and mountains beyond.

Leon Williams lives in California but comes to Caldwell on spring break and in the summer to be with his Y-member daughters, ages 9 and 6.

"I haven't seen anything as nice as this in Sacramento," he said as he watched his daughters in the pool. "It's amazing."

Next week, Caldwell's Y will host 500 children ages 14 and younger in eight different spring break camps, plus 300 children of all ages in a water safety course dubbed "Splash!"

Everett said those numbers are stunning, far outdoing other Treasure Valley Y branches.

"You just have to wonder," he said.

"Three years ago, where would all these kids have been during spring break?"

Kristin Rodine: 377-6447

Newstex ID: KRTB-0234-23954587