MONROE — Big changes are coming to the Green County Family YMCA. 

Thanks to a workforce innovation grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the longtime Monroe fitness center is receiving up to $3.7 million dollars. The state announced the decision, along with 11 other projects, in a press release Dec. 14. A total of $59.5 million was awarded in total. Another round of funds will be awarded around the state in 2022.

“I’m so excited for this project, not only for the Y, but for our community, our families, our kids,” Green County Family YMCA Executive Director Trent Henning said. “It’s going to change after school care, daycare — all child care. I’m excited for all of the partnerships we will have, and I think that is one of the most special things about this grant — how many people we can include in this project. It is not just the Y, it is the partners that are going to be working very closely together to make this work.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government designated money to each state through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). 

Henning and Membership & Community Engagement Director Luke Smetters led a group that brainstormed and devised a plan when submitting the grant. 

“Luke wrote that grant. It was our vision, but Luke put it to paper,” Henning said Dec. 15 during a local ceremony announcing the big news. 

The grant was very in-depth, Smetters said. 

“There were a lot of pieces and components to it. Several months ago I just got an email in my inbox forwarding the grant to me, and the words simply said, ‘Let’s be creative.’ And we did just that,” Smetters said. “This is going to be hugely transformative for not just Monroe, but for all of Green County. We’re trying to represent the needs of all of Green County.”

Henning said the vision of a youth development center and daycare started in 2019. Henning and board president Lynn Wheeler were discussing two important questions for the future: “What can the ‘Y ‘do for this community?” “How can we be a community hub for everybody?” And, “How can we address community needs” — which is really what the community does, Henning said.

“Looking at what other YMCA’s have done — not just here in Wisconsin, but across the United States — they have collaborated with so many other nonprofits to make everything work. Especially in smalltown Monroe, we need everybody to pitch in to serve our kids and our families,” Henning said.

According to the WEDC press release, “Green County Family YMCA will use these funds to facilitate the addition of a 5,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art daycare and preschool wing for licensed programs and classes, as well as an addition of a 6,000 sq. ft. Youth Development Wing. Through a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Vitality Youth Services, Jacob’s Swag, Avenue’s Counseling, and the Multicultural Outreach program this investment will help Green County Family YMCA meet the diverse needs of area youth.”

Local YMCA staff, board members, partners in the project and other community members met in the YMCA gym Dec. 15 to celebrate the grant. 

“The development of this facility allows us to address the obstacles that have been a reality for far too long. This complex presents Green County and the City of Monroe the opportunity to partner and raise the bar for our future leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries,” Monroe Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melissa Even told the crowd from the podium. “Today is a day of pride for everyone involved. I look forward to this vision coming to fruition.”

Presenting the grant from the state was Missy Hughes, WEDC Secretary and CEO.

“My excitement is like … I’m not even able to think straight right now,” Hughes said laughing. “I just really want to emphasize that while we’re talking today about a $3.7 million grant to build a building, we’re really talking about generational change. … It’s incredible what you all are doing to provide for your community and to come together and work on this grant. We’re so thrilled to have your back.”

The grant will help expand childcare facilities and to provide opportunities for area residents to bring their children to the YMCA and then be able to go to work — and make that as accessible and safe as possible, Hughes said. It’s a situation that hit near and dear to her heart.

“As I was coming here today, I was really reflecting on the fact that when I was a young baby, as a young child, my mom took me to a YMCA for care during the day,” Hughes reflected. “My mom was a doctor … She was one of the first women to graduate from Columbia Medical School in New York City, and went on to have an incredible career taking care of patients and taking care of her community. She was able to do that because she had access to a place where she could drop me off.”

Henning spoke to the crowd about what the YMCA meant to him in his youth, and since taking over in 2018, what his vision is for the future of the facility.

“I grew up at this YMCA. I’m usually a very laid back, even-keeled person, but I am filled with emotion this morning,” Henning said. “It all started for me here in this gym being 4- and 5-years-old doing Dribbling Dinosaurs and having (former Executive Director) Reid Stangel, who’s in the crowd today, teaching me how to play basketball.

“I can’t tell you how much this project means to us. Seeing everyone in the crowd today, I cannot put it into words right now. I really can’t.”

Megan Schilt, who owns and runs Avenues Counseling in Monroe with her sister, Emily, also spoke at the ceremony. Like Henning, Schilt (formerly Rufenacht) spent lots of time as a child and teenager at the facility.

“I was born and raised in Monroe and it’s where I’m raising my four children. My husband and I met here — and spent a lot of time at this YMCA. Coming full circle as an adult and business owner to be a part of something like this is huge; absolutely huge on every level,” Schilt said. 

Schilt said that over the last several years, mental health has been a growing focus across the social landscape.

“In the wake of COVID and everything that’s happened in the last couple of years — burnout, stress — we are all feeling it. Mental health is important to everyone right now. We have an opportunity to build protective spaces; to build protective relationships,” Schilt said. “That’s what the Green County YMCA has found to be of value and is bringing into their vision. We are so much stronger together, and that what this is going to prove. The part that excites me the most is that we are coming together and we are sharing resources; we are collaborating; we are collectively connecting — and that is what is going to bring more jobs and health and wellness to all community members in Green County.”

Smetters said the facility is simply too small for its current needs. 

“It may not look like it at 9 a.m., but from 4-7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, the parking lot is full. We don’t have a group exercise studio, so we have to use the gym, which forces kids that want to shoot hoops out of that space,” Smetters said. The same can be said about the current 4K, after school and child services. “We just don’t have a big enough space. Each program is already at max capacity with a waiting list.”

Henning and Smetters both said that they will begin deeper talks with partners and YMCA staff about brainstorming specifics for the project — a wish list of sorts, Smetters said.

They will also have to talk to the architect to get a better understanding of availability, cost and access to materials, and other hang-ups various supply chain delays may cause. The sizable additions to the building will likely be separated, and there is currently no directional location on or off the table at this point.

The funds must be used according to the submitted project proposal. Other projects the YMCA would like to carry out will need to come up with separate funding, which Smetters said campaigns for would likely roll out in the coming months as well.

Henning added that the School District of Monroe and the MultiCultural Outreach Program of Green County will also have a seat at the table. “We have a lot of brainstorming meetings in 2022, and I’m so excited to be able to work with all of you guys,” Henning said. “I’m so excited for all the families and children that will be able to use this facility.”