With each punch, the teenager gained confidence.
“Boom, boom — just think about the rhythm,” instructor Jose Hernandez told him as they squared up in a studio at the Maplewood YMCA.
Moments later, the young man started landing his jabs, his gloves hitting Hernandez’s pads with pulsing repetition.
“There you go!” Hernandez said, urging him on.
Teens are the heart of the YMCA of Greater Rochester’s growth projections.
A new five-year strategic plan aims to triple the number of city youths and teens in YMCA programs. And double city membership, from 10,000 up to 20,000, with a focus on the west side.
“I think that's more than doable,” said Ernie Lamour, president and CEO of the local YMCA chapter.
The push comes as the nonprofit is seeing overall membership rebound to pre-pandemic levels. Its program revenues and participation are on the rise as well.
So far, seniors and families have fueled the rebound in members. A new Canandaigua branch has exceeded membership targets. A new exercise center at Innovation Square in downtown Rochester has not, but is gaining traction, Lamour said.
Going forward, the YMCA hopes to increase the number of people served across Greater Rochester — urban, suburban and rural — from 90,000 up to 150,000 by 2028.
But the strategic plan doesn’t point to any more new buildings. Nor does it project a reopening of the Carlson MetroCenter branch beyond the existing uses for child care, some youth programs and administrative offices. There is talk of renovations or building onto existing facilities. But new ones?
"As a right now, no," Lamour said. "There's not a another project and site to say, 'Hey, we're building another YMCA facility somewhere.' And, again, it goes back to service, mission, impact. How do we show up in various communities?"
Back in 2021, a YMCA task force had sought to determine the feasibility of a second full-facility YMCA in the city, and potential reuse of the MetroCenter with a partner that could bolster youth development and teen services downtown.
Both remain on the table, a spokeswoman said. But Lamour put the focus on building programming, capacity and access. With the Y playing a supporting role, in many cases.
“When we talk about the growth, it’s gonna come in a number of ways,” Lamour said. “Through our facilities, through us going to other places, in partnering with others in the communities that we serve.”
The Y released its five-year strategic plan in December, concluding a seven- to eight-month process.
Connecting with city youths
City youths already could get free tennis lessons, free access to a basketball camp, or participate for free in the Y’s Power Scholars Academy day camp. More recently, the Y added free “community memberships” to programs at its Rochester facilities, like the after-school programs at the Maplewood Teen Center.
Seventy-two teens have signed up since September.
“It's like something where teenagers come to enjoy yourself after school,” said Kisa Mitchell, 13. “Something chill, like before you go home-type stuff.”
She took a turn learning the proper boxing stance and form. Her favorite activity, though? "Probably swimming. Yeah, I love swimming.”
The Y serves free meals to all comers at its Maplewood, Lewis Street and Thurston Road facilities. From May through December 2023, the Y served more than 2,000 meals, a spokeswoman said.
“We went back, during the pandemic, to some of our roots,” Lamour said. “How we showed up to serve community that time, I think also helped us in how we’re doing now.”
A new partnership with Nativity Preparatory Academy in the South Wedge will have the Y teaching swimming to middle schoolers from historically underserved backgrounds. And the Y is looking at creating deeper partnerships with the Rochester City School District and charter schools.
“There's got to be more for us to do here, to have impact, to serve kids, their families,” Lamour said. “You think about how kids are sort of failing in a school district, that's not just on a school district, right? That takes all of us to play a role in getting that right.
"And I'm a firm believer that the Y can do more in that realm," he continued. "We're not educators as it relates to what the public school does. But boy, can we partner with them to provide wraparound services; to show up and do things that the families can't necessarily afford to do in the city."
Facing criticism
The Y has faced criticism in recent years as it closed and sold the Monroe Avenue branch in 2020 and closed the Carlson MetroCenter fitness center on East Main Street a year later. Officials blamed a drop in usage. Meanwhile the Y built a lavish new Schottland branch in Pittsford in 2019, and a new Sands Family branch in Canandaigua, which opened in October.
But officials also point to last year’s opening at Innovation Square downtown. The Y also bought and took over operations of the Lewis Street neighborhood center in northeast Rochester. Neighborhood centers — the Y has another on Thurston Road in the southwest part of the city — have before- and after-school programs, a wellness center, sports and rec camps, and early learning, family and older adult classes, depending on location.
“We are meeting a need in this community,” Lamour said. “I don't want anybody to think that, you know, all of our services belong in one particular part of the region.”
The strategic plan specifically calls for increased funding of urban programs, seeking 5,000 participants in youth enrichment programs by 2028. It also aims to increase participation by 10% annually in all city centers with a focus on families and seniors.
Louis Colon is a new YMCA member.
He has lived in Rochester the past five years. A few months ago, he ventured to the Maplewood YMCA and got a membership, thanks to a partnership between the YMCA and his insurance provider, United Healthcare.
On a recent afternoon, Colon was in the gym at the Maplewood Y, shooting baskets with his 7-year-old nephew, Nathan Perez.
“And we're having fun,” Colon said. “We're happy with this.”
Looking ahead
Next month, the YMCA will mark 170 years in Rochester. And Lamour just marked his first full year on the job. He said the attention to the city is part of what drew him here.
Born in Haiti and raised in Connecticut, Lamour could go three places as a kid — to school, to church and to the neighborhood Y. He grew up to be the director of his childhood YMCA. And he has spent 22 years in the nonprofit sector, landing in Rochester last January.
“I care about community,” he said. “I care about what happens in the communities that we live and work in, and play. And there's opportunities for the Y to show up each and every day and make an impact. And so, my vision, my goal is for us to continue to do that in a meaningful way.
“And measure the impacts.”
Lamour hopes to address affordable child care deserts in Perinton and Penfield, and to create city programs that could include teen nights and bring e-gaming to Maplewood.
“It’s not just to say, ‘You’re going to come to the Y, and you’re going to play video games,’” Lamour explained.
Rather, it will be part of a larger program that touches on job skills, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math education), and he added: “The socialization side of it, right?
“How do we start moving them to think about things a little bit differently?” Lamour asked. “Because our job is to also help raise these kids, too. They are part of our community.”
