Georgia Mountains YMCA Association Facts:
The Georgia Mountains YMCA has five areas of impact: Health - reaching out to all people to help them grow healthier in spirit, mind, and body, Families - strengthening the relationships between children, their parents, and other adults who care for them, Relationships - fostering social interaction and caring, Bridge-Building - bringing diverse individuals, groups, organizations, and communities together, and Servant Leadership - challenging individuals to work to improve their community.
The Georgia Mountains YMCA was chartered in 1995. The YMCA includes the J. A. Walters Family YMCA; 52K sq. ft was built in 2007, the North Hall Early Learning Center and Gainesville Early Learning Center in partnership with the Evangel Church. The
J.A. Walters Family YMCA Features include a chapel, health/wellness facility, five group exercise rooms, multipurpose/conference room, basketball gymnasium, Kid Zone, indoor lap pool, indoor family pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam room, outdoor playground, multipurpose field space, men’s/women’s/boy’s/girl’s/family locker rooms, café/meeting space, and office space.
North Hall Early Learning Center – property is owned by the Y, licensed with the state of GA and exclusively used for childcare.
Note: (Capital renovations on the J.A. Walters YMCA occurred in 2017 and maintain reserve funds to address capital expenses as needed).
North Hall Early Learning Center: Fair condition (facility improvements ongoing – plan and funding in place).
YMCA Membership Features Include: The Georgia Mountains YMCA serves the diverse communities of Hall, Dawson, Banks, and Towns Counties.
They currently serve 4,801 members (1842 units).
Volunteer impact is evident at this Y. Volunteers are engaged in committee work, youth sports coaches, and annual campaign/fundraising.
Programs: The Georgia Mountains YMCA has a robust schedule of programs for children and adults. A full range of programs can be found on our website. Child-care programs are a strength at the Georgia Mountains YMCA. There are currently four school district partnerships (serving four counties and over 1,200 children per day) as well as two Early Learning Centers (both opened in 2020). Aquatic safety is a priority. Swim lessons are currently in partnership with Hall County Schools serving 1,500 children. Evidence-Based Health Initiative programming recently resumed to include LiveStrong at the YMCA and Enhance Fitness. There were four hundred participants as of Spring 2022.
Partnerships & Collaborations: Schools: Hall County, Dawson County, Towns County and Banks County School Districts, Evangel Church, Northeast Georgia Health System and Northside Hospital.
Board: There are currently nineteen board members. The board is diverse in age, race and ethnicity, gender, town of residence, industry, and occupation.
Staff: The Georgia Mountains YMCA staff team are a diverse, highly motivated, and committed group of leaders who reflect the community. The CEO is solely responsible for five direct reports: VP of Operations, Finance & HR Director, Association Childcare Director, Development Director, and Administrative Assistant. There are 33 FT staff and 103 PT staff.
Philanthropy: We seek to be fairly priced and affordable to all. A total of $226,000 was raised in annual campaign contributions in 2021. $200,000 was raised in 2021 for program support (school swim lessons, LiveStrong at the YMCA, etc.) $250,000 is projected to be raised in 2022 (this amount does not include COVID relief funding or grants). A generous and easily accessible financial assistance program is in place.
Financial: This YMCA is in a strong financial position. The current annual operating budget is 4.7 MM. Fiscal year is January to December.
Community: The Georgia Mountains YMCA is in the city of Gainesville, located in Hall County. Some attractions include Lake Lanier, the beginning of the Appalachian Trail, hiking, kayaking/tubing, waterfalls, local community activities and events throughout the region. The YMCA is, close to Atlanta for international airport/travel, professional sports teams, major attractions, children’s hospital. Experience all four seasons. Excellent school systems including several universities.
Feel free to visit the links provided for a closer look at the Georgia Mountains Community:
www.hallco.org (Hall County Schools)
www.ghcc.com (Hall County Chamber of Commerce)
www.gainesville.org (City of Gainesville)
www.gcssk12.net (City of Gainesville Schools)
Other sites for information:
www.gamountainsymca.org
www.ymca.org