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Le Mars YMCA reports membership gains, expanded programs and $33,000 in financial assistance in 2024
Summary
YMCA CEO Jackie told the council memberships rose across most categories in 2024, the Y expanded childcare and summer-camp capacity, started 24-hour access and distributed more than $33,000 in financial assistance.
Jackie, CEO of the YMCA, told the council the organization saw year-over-year membership gains in 2024 and expanded program offerings, childcare capacity and financial-assistance awards.
The presentation summarized membership as a December snapshot; Jackie said every membership type was up compared with 2023 except youth, which was down by two units at the December snapshot. She said the YMCA tracks both membership units (the membership types tied to fees) and the number of people covered by those units.
Insurance-covered memberships have increased: the Y reported four contracts with insurers that pay for memberships or usage — SilverSneakers, Renew Active, SilverFit and Molina Healthcare. The YMCA began 24-hour facility access in April 2024; Jackie said 62 members pay an add-on to access the building overnight. The CEO noted alarm-related operational headaches when members trigger building alarms.
The YMCA reported a 26% increase in the monetary value of financial assistance distributed in 2024 compared with the prior year and said it awarded more than $33,000 in assistance for programs including summer camp, after-school care, tutoring, youth basketball and household memberships. Summer camp enrollment rose sharply: unique camper counts increased by about 30%, and weekly attendance nearly doubled; the Y said it raised its weekly licensed capacity from 56 to 96 campers.
Jackie described expanded childcare services: licensed after-school programs operate at four elementary schools, and the Y provides early-out care for families on school early-dismissal days. The Y added adaptive youth sports (baseball and basketball), nearly doubled weekly pickleball court hours, and added new fitness equipment including a treadmill, a stair-climber and an additional recumbent-style "side fit" machine.
Other program notes included CPR/AED/first-aid classes twice a month, new babysitting classes after the local hospital stopped offering them, monthly LifeServe blood drives that yielded 368 donors in 2024, and family events such as a daddy-daughter dance that drew about 150 attendees. Jackie said the Y is launching a new website and will add an 11th week to summer day camp in 2025 and a mom-and-son event in March.
Council members thanked Jackie for the update; no formal council action on YMCA programs or funding was recorded in the transcript.
