AN UPDATE FROM THE Y

Dear YMCA of the Sandhills Family,

I hope you are doing well. At this time, I have some good news and some bad news. Let’s get the bad news out of the way. The office of the Governor did not allow gyms to open in Phase 2 of his reopening plan. So, our regular Full-service operations will remain closed for a little while longer. While we’re disappointed, we have some good news: indoor pools are allowed to open and restrictions on outdoor gatherings and activities have lightened. This means that on Monday, June 1st, we’ll be able to open our indoor pools at our Fayetteville Branch and Saleeby Branch.

In addition, we’re taking the gym outdoors! We will be setting up limited free weight areas and group exercise classes outdoors at the Hope Mills, Fayetteville and Saleeby Branches. Unfortunately, due to the facility location we cannot open our North Branch at this time. North members are welcome to use any of our other branches during this time.

Beginning Monday, June 1st our pool hours and outdoor fitness hours will be as follows:

Monday through Friday 6:00-10:00 am AND 4:00-7:30 pm

Saturday 8:00 am to 12:00 pm

Sunday CLOSED

Due to CDC recommendations, showers, steam rooms, saunas, Child Watch and other indoor fitness equipment and amenities will not be available. Outdoor group exercise classes as well as outdoor fitness center capacity will be limited to 25 participants at a time. If it is raining, operation of outdoor activities will be suspended. Indoor pools will remain open under normal weather guidelines but will be limited to 50% capacity.

For your safety, members will be asked to sanitize hands upon entry and face coverings will be encouraged. Proper social distancing will be enforced at all times. We ask that anyone who is experiencing any symptoms or has someone in their household who is sick, to stay home. Staff will be present to diligently sanitize equipment throughout the day and we will ask that you sanitize any equipment before and after each use. We are increasing our after-hours cleaning process and opting to close on Sundays to allow an additional day for a full and complete deep clean.

Beginning June 1st, we will be offering Summer Day Camp at our Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Saleeby locations! Spaces will be limited, and camp will look different from previous years, but we promise it will still be fun! Please see our website for more information and registration.

I know you have questions about your membership and at this time I have a special request. I am asking our members to stay with us. We need you to help us ensure that when this is all over the Y will still be here as we have been since 1888. I understand times may be tough. If you are experiencing financial hardship, we have options. At this time, we are offering to put memberships on hold for the month of June. If this is the option you are choosing, please call us at 910-426-9622 by THURSDAY, May 28th at 5:00 PM. As a courtesy, those who placed their membership on hold in May WILL NOT be required to do it again for the month of June.

Stay tuned for Pool and Group Exercise schedules. For those not quite ready to visit us in person, we will continue to host virtual group exercise classes via Zoom as we have since we closed. Until June 1st, our phones will be staffed from 9am-5pm Monday through Friday and staff will be available for questions about our facility operations. After June 1st, phones will be staffed at the hours of operation listed above.

Though it may not be ideal, know that we are doing our very best to serve you in the capacity that we are able. Our priority is the safety of our members and our staff. We know exercise is vital, especially in times like this and we hope that this modified facility operations will help you stay connected to the Y.

I want to express my deepest gratitude for those of you who have stuck with us these past two months. Your gift and continued membership support has allowed the Y to survive and serve our great community another day. On behalf of our employees, volunteers and the tens of thousands we serve, thank you.

Stay safe, we’ll see you soon!

Sincerely,

Rick Houp

CEO

YMCA of the Sandhills