In the Photo: John Anderson (friend of Gentil Vandenabeele), MPP Steve Peters, Katie Payler (GM of Family YMCA), MP Joe Preston, Shaun Elliott (CEO YMCA Southwestern Ontario), Mayor Heather Jackson- Chapman


St. Thomas, ON – The Family YMCA OF St. Thomas-Elgin held an official ceremony to celebrate the completion of expansion and upgrades to the facility today.

Joe Preston, MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London; the Honourable Steve Peters, MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London; and Shaun Elliott, CEO, YMCA of Western Ontario, are pleased to see this important community recreational infrastructure project reach completion.

Work on this project included upgrading the pool and adding an additional therapy pool, constructing a second floor to expand the fitness space and multipurpose room; a new child minding area and upgrading the change rooms, roof and parking lot.

The governments of Canada and Ontario have each committed up to $700,000 towards the project. The Family YMCA of St. Thomas-Elgin contributed the balance of the project costs which was made possible though a donation of $750,000 by the late Gentil Vandenabeele, a valued YMCA member for over 30 years for a total cost of $2.1 million.

“The upgrading and expansion to the Family YMCA of St. Thomas-Elgin will be easily accessible and additional space will allow community members to enjoy a variety of sport and leisure activities,” said MP Preston. "Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, we are creating jobs and promoting healthy lifestyles by providing families recreation facilities they will enjoy for future generations.”

“The project we are celebrating today supports the provincial government’s Open Ontario plan to stimulate the economy and create new opportunities to support healthy, active living while creating jobs,” said MPP Peters. “In St. Thomas, Open Ontario is supporting local trades and businesses while promoting a stronger, healthier community.”

“We are grateful to the federal and provincial government for providing the Infrastructure funding to make the Family YMCA of St. Thomas-Elgin building renewal possible,” said Shaun Elliott.

This project is one of more than 760 across the province that is moving forward thanks to a joint federal-provincial investment of more than $380 million under the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program in Ontario and the Ontario Recreation Program. The governments of Canada and Ontario teamed up to support Ontario's communities and create jobs by improving recreational infrastructure, as these types of projects also encourage higher levels of participation in physical activity and community building. For more information on this initiative, please visit www.rinc-on.ca.