Cambria County, Pa. (WJAC) — For 150 years the Greater Johnstown YMCA has been a part of the community, but staff are worried they won’t be in Johnstown for 150 more.
After closing for nearly four months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, CEO Shawn Sebring, says only half of the YMCA’s members have returned.
”What they’ve been telling us is many of them are working from home so they’re not working downtown and the YMCA is not the most convenient place for them to exercise now. Others are not feeling comfortable being out in the community,” said Sebring.
Before reopening Sebring says they had to cut staff and now with members not returning there’s the potential for the YMCA to close.
“We are at risk of having to do something drastic like possibly close our doors for periods of time or maybe indefinitely in maybe as early as 30 days from now,” said Sebring.
Sebring says the YMCA has already gone through its Paycheck Protection Program money and that they’ve reached out to city and county officials for funding.
Besides potential funding, Sebring says the only way to keep the YMCA open for the community is with the community’s help. He hopes current members will stay members, people will consider signing up for a membership or make a donation.
“We want to continue to support our members and offer whatever programming we can to make sure we’re able to survive and serve our members,’ said Sebring.
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