New Hardwood Floor for Merrimack YMCA Basketball Players
New Hardwood Floor for Merrimack YMCA Basketball Players
Local donors make $80,000 project possible
April 7, 2008 Merrimack, NH: The Merrimack YMCA is pleased to announce that thanks to the support of many in the community, a brand new hardwood floor has been installed on the facility's basketball court. The court is open for use starting Monday, April 7, 2008.
This major investment was prompted by two avid basketball players and YMCA members who could no longer play the game on the facility's concrete with epoxy covering floor. "These two individuals approached me separately within a matter of weeks and said ‘the concrete is hard on my joints and I'd like to help the YMCA install a hardwood court so that I can play again and it will be a safer surface for all'", said Mike LaChance, the CEO of the YMCA of Greater Nashua.
The two donors - The Conway Family and The White Family Foundation - had stipulated a three month deadline to raise the funds and get the floor installed. With half of the $80,000 price tag of a new hardwood floor committed, the YMCA staff immediately started reaching out to get others aware of the challenge issued.
Dozens of children in the YMCA's pre-school, kindergarten and youth sports programs raised pledges through a shoot-a-thon. A 3-on-3 tournament featuring 10 teams raised funds for the efforts. A $5,000 contribution was received from The Agnes M. Lindsay Trust and several others stepped forward with gifts ranging from $25 to $500 and Sports Radio WGAM 1250/900 followed the progress of the court through a series of Public Service Announcements and interviews.
With the deadline to raise the additional funds needed fast approaching, the opportunity to bring a hardwood floor basketball court to the Merrimack YMCA was shared with an individual who had expressed interest in supporting the YMCA in some way. When she heard of the approaching deadline and all the people who were working so hard to make this a reality, she stepped in to contribute the balance of the funds needed, nearly $31,000. The gift was made through the Betty and Henry Roberts Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the community foundation for the 29-town Greater Hartford, Connecticut region.
"This is a great example of everyone getting behind a project and coming together to see it through. This hardwood basketball court is the newest of many great assets that the Merrimack YMCA has to offer the community," said Jen Melker, the YMCA's Director of Development.
As the construction was about to begin, a family in Merrimack that also uses the YMCA expressed interest in supporting the project. With this gift the YMCA logo was painted on the court and new backboards purchased.
A private court unveiling and opportunity for project supporters and their families to be the first to use the new court was held on Sunday. The court is open for use by the YMCA community as of Monday. "The YMCA, in Merrimack, in Nashua, and at Camp Sargent, has so many stories of impacting lives of children, adults and families that go untold. We are so happy to share this success of bringing the community a new basketball court where families can spend time together for generations to come," said, Marsha Bottino, Associate Director of Development for the YMCA of Greater Nashua.
The YMCA is seeking donations of new and gently used basketballs (youth and adult sizes), cages or racks to hold basketballs, and mesh jerseys for our youth basketball league. If you would like to donate any of these items, please contact Marsha Bottino at 603-689-2402.
