WAYNESBORO – Santa is taking off his coat and putting on a swimsuit Sunday, Dec. 15, for a “Swim with Santa” fundraiser at the Waynesboro Area YMCA.
The Y needs $350,000 to replace its pool pumps as well as the filtration and chlorination systems. The mechanisms serve the small pool and the lap pool, the latter of which is original to the building opened in 1975.
“Next year is our 50th anniversary,” CEO Kimberly Eaton said. “I don’t care what it is; when you reach 50, you need a facelift.”
Approximately $100,000 has been contributed thus far to the pool project.
“People have been very generous,” Eaton said.
Swim with Santa will be held from 2 to 4 p.m., with games, movies, crafts, raffles and photo opportunities. Registration is $15 per person. The event is open to Y members and non-members.
Registration can be done at waynesboroymca.org or by calling 717-762-6012.
The Y intends to close the pools for four weeks in late March to tear out and replace the mechanisms. Its leaders are working around the schedules for two swim teams.
“As soon as they dip their toes in the water for the last time, it’s being shut down,” Eaton said.
Eaton applied for federal grants for the project and thus far has been unsuccessful. It was on a guided tour for one of the grant applications that she saw how much the leaking had worsened.
The Y only exists because of community generosity, as it is structured as a nonprofit organization that gives away more than 300 memberships a year to people in need, Eaton said.
She enjoys hearing from people about what the Y has meant to them.
“Everybody has a Y story,” she said. “It’s an icon of Waynesboro really.”
