INDIANAPOLIS — Community members rallied Saturday morning to save the Ransburg YMCA on Indianapolis' east side, which is set to close permanently on March 31.
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The decades-old community center has served as a lifeline for east side residents, but financial struggles now threaten its future.
"When I told [my 4-year-old son] Benny that we were going to come to a rally today because this Y[MCA] was in danger of closing, he asked me, 'Why?'" said Christina Lear, a Ransburg YMCA member. "And I said, 'Well, they're saying they don't have enough money,' and he literally said, 'Mom, we can go to our piggy bank, and we can bring some money.' So Benny brought two quarters today."
"We will suddenly have 1,800 kids who have nowhere to go. Not a safe place to go to. Active older adults who won't have a community connection location," Vanessa Stiles, a Ransburg YMCA board member, said.
Cecilia Morris-Walton has been coming to the Ransburg YMCA since 1966. She emphasized the facility's importance for working families in the area.
"This Y also serves the children in the neighborhood, and without that, a lot of single parents and a lot of parents can't afford the childcare," Morris-Walton said.
Community members are now hoping to find a donor willing to support the facility and convince the YMCA association board that the Ransburg location is worth saving.
"If a 4-year-old can bring two quarters, then surely the people in our community that care about public health and public safety and the education of our youth and our senior citizens can make sure that we are also investing in this community," said Lear. "The east side deserves investment."
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