The two organizations are unrelated, but the YWCO and YMCA share similar missions, play similar roles in the Athens community, and both are embarking on capital campaigns to expand and modernize their facilities.
The YWCO recently sold a 22-acre parcel it had purchased in 2007, when a senior housing developer made an offer they couldn’t refuse for its Research Drive land. That project fell through, however, and the board of directors eventually realized they could not afford to maintain two facilities.
The nonprofit Butterfly Dreams Equine Therapy owns adjacent property on Hog Mountain Road, and had been using the YWCO’s undeveloped land for its therapeutic horse-riding program for the past six years. Two months after putting the property on the market, the YWCO and Butterfly Dreams finalized a deal for the latter to buy the land for $1.85 million.
“The decision to sell our Oconee County property was the end to a challenging period in our history,” YWCO Executive Director Brad Hubacher said in a news release. “While we needed to do our due diligence and market the property, we all harbored a hope that Butterfly Dreams could find a way to use the property for the very good work they do.”
Butterfly Dreams provides speech and physical therapy, in addition to horseback riding lessons, to children with developmental disabilities and people of all ages who are experiencing mental health challenges, serving an average of 50 clients a week.
“Our program has been truly blessed to have use of the property owned by the YWCO,” Butterfly Dreams founder Cat Thompson said in the release. “The additional land has been invaluable—providing grazing space for nearly half of our program horses and essential parking for our dedicated staff, volunteers and families. We are deeply grateful. When we learned the neighboring property might become available, we weren’t sure we’d be able to secure the necessary funds. But thanks to the support of friends and some thoughtful compromises, our family was able to make it happen.”
Proceeds from selling the Oconee County land will go toward upgrading the YWCO’s Athens facility, built in 1981. “Now we’re busting out at the seams,” Hubacher told Flagpole. The gymnasium is off-limits to adults while 225 children use it for summer camp. Pool time is split among lap-swimmers, swimming classes and team competitions. And there aren’t enough fields for a youth soccer program.
Plans are still in the works, Hubacher said, but will likely include an expanded weight room and possibly pickleball courts. He said he’s in the process of creating a business plan that will be presented to the board, donors and members in about a year. “The goal is to make the Y a state-of-the-art fitness facility,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the YMCA launched its own capital campaign in March. It’s already more than halfway toward its official goal of $9.3 million, although CEO Shae Wilson said she would like to hit $11 million.
Wilson is just the fifth CEO since the first, UGA baseball coach Walter Forbes, was hired in 1897. She started out as a youth basketball coach at age 19 and was appointed its leader in 2014.
Founded in 1857 as a men’s Bible study program at UGA, the Athens Y is the third-oldest in the country at 168. Once housed in the building that’s now the Georgia Theatre, with an iron swimming pool in the basement, its current facility on Hawthorne Avenue opened in 1968.
The 90,000 square-foot building on 34 acres currently serves about 1,100 people a day, out of a total membership of 5,500 from five counties. Much like the YWCO, it’s bursting at the seams—there is a long waiting list for swimming lessons and summer camps, according to Wilson.
“It’s a sad situation that made us say, ‘We need to grow,’” she said. “We’ve just maxed out what we can do in so many areas.”
In addition, the building is not as family-friendly as it could be, Wilson said. She is looking at everything from major renovations to add more space for kids to small details like automatic sliding doors to assist parents with strollers. The renovation project will consist of three phases, with the first focusing on youth spaces like a STEM or STEAM lab, a more spacious check-in area and the parking lot. Phases 2 and 3 will include a new, larger child watch center and fitness center, updated locker rooms and a family restroom. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2027, with the entire facility remaining open during construction.
“Families are the economic engine of this Y,” Wilson said. The organization is self-sufficient and debt-free, supporting its operations solely through membership fees, with donations going toward maintenance, improvements and scholarships.
In fact, the local YMCA is not affiliated with the national Young Men’s Christian Association, other than paying a licensing fee to use its branding. “We’re independent of each other,” Wilson said. “You should never walk into a Y anywhere in the country and have it look like another Y.”
Likewise, the YWCO is its own entity. It once belonged to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) but split off in the 1960s, according to Hubacher. “Since that time, it’s just been a local organization supported locally,” he said. (Both organizations are built on Christian principles, but people of all faiths are welcome.)
While the YWCO’s capital campaign has yet to launch, donations can be made to the YMCA by mail or through its website at athensymca.org, which also includes more information about its renovation plans.
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