Brian Koeller/The Bryan Times
Two local agencies that strive to improve the community are partnering to provide even better service to the county.
The United Way of Williams County is moving from its current office on East High Street to within the facility housing the YMCA in Bryan.
“We’re really excited about it,” said Amy Kirby, executive director of United Way of Williams County. “We hope that it’s going to be a great partnership that between the programs we run or that we fund, and the programming that YMCA does, that there’s going to be some good crossover.”
She added the move was considered in November as part of a way she and the local United Way board were looking into the organization being more efficient and fiscally responsible. She also believes the move will provide United Way with more visibility.
“We had our first meeting about it in November, and we were just like brainstorming and thinking pros and cons and all that, and we brought it to the board at our January board meeting,” Kirby added.
She said Daniel Tinch, executive director of the local YMCA, came to the meeting to help make the pitch.
“Daniel reached out and said, ‘Hey, what do you guys think of this? I’ve got space,’” Kirby said.
She added the move makes financial sense for her agency, which will allow it to provide additional funding for programs.
“We’re going to save a lot of money, and that was one of the biggest things that when we started talking about this back in November, and certainly when I took over, we started looking at our revenue and expenses, and how can we put as much money back into the community as possible,” Kirby said.
“We want people to know when they give to the United Way, we value their donation,” she added. “We know they absolutely don’t have to. There are other places they could give or spend their money, but if they’re giving it to us we want to make sure we’re utilizing it to the best of its capability.”
She pointed out she is the only employee of the United Way currently, and the East High Street office was too big for a one-person operation.
Christina Englehart, United Way of Williams County board president, said there was also an eye to the current economic situation and the board realizing it may need to provide even more aid in the near future.
“We just knew with the state of the economy and inflation going up, and us being part of the homelessness coalition, and knowing the things that were going on in the community, we wanted to make smarter decisions,” Englehart said.
She added it was fortuitous that the YMCA offer “fell” into their laps while they were having these discussions.
Tinch said the move also has the potential to help the YMCA and its programming.
“We work so well with United Way, we’re just like-minded people wanting to help other people,” Tinch said. “Anytime for us that shared services can come in, I think it’s a win-win.”
He added the economic situation played a role for his agency, as well.
“I think everyone is worried about the economy right now,” he added.
Along with that, he pointed out the YMCA will be offering a program by which members who lose their job and want to remain members can get 50% off their membership for three months. He said the agency wants to do this so people can have a healthy way to deal with the stress of job loss and an unknown future.
Kirby said the United Way and the YMCA have one program of overlap currently, the Let Me Play Fund, and that United Way provides funding to the YMCA as part of its programming. However, she and Tinch agreed there may be opportunities for increased partnerships in the future.
“They (YMCA) have child care there, and we do the Dolly Parton Imagination Library,” Kirby said. “So I think there are really good opportunities for us to really promote those programs and then see what else we can come up with.”
Kirby said the move has been ongoing this week, and she hopes to have it completed by Saturday or early next week.