Belvidere’s struggling YMCA reaches out to Rockford branch for a lifeline

BELVIDERE, Ill. (WTVO) — In response to declining membership at the YMCA of Belvidere, the organization reached out to form a partnership with the Rockford branch to keep its services intact.

“I took over the CEO position about three years ago and continually noticed that we’re not just getting our memberships, and we’re not getting the community as involved as we want to,” said Belvidere’s CEO Cherie Dollinger.

An assessment was conducted in response, and one suggestion for improvement was to partner with a neighboring YMCA.

The YMCA of the Rock River Valley was the obvious choice, Dollinger said.

“They’re helping us with some areas that we are a little deficient in, such as HR, if you like things like that. There are three full-time staff here. And so we were doing the work of a lot of people, and we just felt we needed that extra help to get more programming, to get ourselves back out in the community,” she said.

YMCA of Rock River Valley CEO Brent Pentenburg said the partnership is not only about improving services, but securing the future of the Belvidere YMCA.

“How do we how do we ensure that the Y stands the test of time?” Pentenburg said. “The great thing is that we’re … part of an organization that has been around for 175 years. And, and we’ve been serving locally here in our communities for over 100. And so, we want to ensure that we’re here for another 100 years. And, partnerships and collaborations with neighboring YMCA allow us to do that,” Pentenburg said.

While the two YMCAs will operate independently, the new security will allow each to make the most of its resources, according to Dollinger.

“Staying in this community is the biggest thing,” she stressed. “We want to make sure that we’re here all the time. We know that we need to be here for the school districts. So we just want to continue to grow. Who knows what’s in the future? We’re still new. It’s just our second week working with the Rock River Valley, but it’s been nothing but great and exciting. Enthusiasm is very good.”

Dollinger added that the new partnership will allow the YMCA of Belvidere to expand teen services, including podcasting and computer programming.