Moments ago, Westport Weston Family Y CEO Rob Reeves sent this strongly worded email:
The Family Y held a Public Presentation on Monday night. We have a $6.2 million gap to goal for the project to build a new Family Y at Mahackeno. We have a May 14th deadline to raise a substantial amount of the remaining funds, or the project may come to a halt. After this many years I would hate to see that happen.
But read on, we have some good news to share!
This spring is crunch time for the Westport Y.
Since we have made the $6 million gap public last week, we have had a wonderful response from several donors. Once we get their final okay, we expect to be reporting close to $1 million has been raised in the last several weeks. That would put our gap now under $5 million, which is great news.
Thank you to many who have supported our campaign to date. If anyone would like to discuss helping support the project to keep our 88-year-old organization alive to serve the communities of Westport and Weston for another 88 years, please let me know. All gifts are welcome, and I will meet to discuss our plans with anyone who is interested.
Thank you for your consideration. I hope you can’t imagine not having a Y here to serve the community like we do, and would be willing to discuss how you can help!
That’s some letter. The news of the Y’s funding shortfall has the town buzzing. It’s also revived talk — dormant for a couple of years — of the Y staying downtown, perhaps at a property like the Imperial Avenue parking lot.
What can the Y do to raise nearly $5 million in less than 2 months? Is its scaled-down (2-phase) building plan for the Mahackeno property helpful? Is a downtown site a reality? What would Westport be like if the Y folds? Click “Comments” below.