The Morris Community YMCA’s Capital Campaign, which is raising funds to develop a new 50,000-square-foot YMCA and healthcare center adjacent to Morris Grade School, received a major boost thanks to the announcement this week of a generous $250,000 gift from Grundy Bank.
For more than a decade, the Morris Community YMCA has been serving residents in Grundy County by offering programs in the areas of youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. To further grow its impact in the community, the Y announced plans in 2018 for the development of a new full-facility in partnership with Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers. While the YMCA hopes to open this new facility within the next several years, the size, scope, and timing will ultimately be determined by the generosity of the community in support of this project.
“We are so grateful for Grundy Bank’s generous support of the YMCA,” said Chief Operating Officer Missy Durkin. “Grundy Bank has a long history of supporting initiatives in our community, and has been an invaluable partner of the Y since we first opened our doors in 2015 on Wauponsee Street. We are humbled by the Bank’s amazing generosity and continued partnership,” added Durkin.
Grundy Bank’s $250,000 gift will fund both the Y’s Capital Campaign and provide ongoing scholarship support through the creation of The Grundy Bank/Ron Wohlwend Childhood Development Fund. This endowed fund, named in honor of the late Ron Wohlwend, who served as Grundy Bank’s president and chief executive officer for 18 years and honorary chairman of the Morris YMCA’s Capital Campaign before his passing earlier this year, will be used to provide assistance for children in need, helping to ensure that no child will be turned away from the Morris YMCA due to the inability to pay.
“Grundy Bank is proud to support the YMCA’s Capital Campaign,” said Grundy Bank President and CEO Kevin Olson. “Like so many Grundy County residents, we are anxious to see a full-facility YMCA in our community. The Y will be a wonderful amenity for local residents of all ages, and we are very excited to help make this vision a reality,” added Olson.
“Furthermore, we are honored and humbled to work with the YMCA to create an endowment in Ron Wohlwend’s honor. Ron was a servant leader in every sense of the word, working tirelessly each day for the betterment of Morris and Grundy County. Grundy Bank is proud to carry on Ron’s work and cement his legacy in our community.”
As one of the nation’s leading nonprofit charities, the YMCA is committed to strengthening local communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. A branch of the Greater Joliet Area YMCA, the Morris Community YMCA brings families closer together, encourages good health, and fosters connections through fitness, sports, fun and shared interests. Through its financial assistance and scholarship program, the YMCA works to fulfill its mission of ensuring that its programs are available to everyone and no one is turned away due to the inability to pay.
To learn more about the Morris Community YMCA’s Capital Campaign, please contact Chief Operating Officer Missy Durkin at (815) 513-8080 or visit www.jolietymca.org.
