BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK – The Raritan Valley YMCA has opened its new wellness center and is holding an open house next week.
The wellness center, which is the most recent component to be completed at the YMCA’s new Tices Lane location, includes state-of-the-art training equipment, according to the Executive Director Gina Stravic.
In an effort to involve the community, the YMCA is taking part in Activate America, a nationwide Y campaign to be held Sept. 30. The YMCA will be open from noon to 4 p.m., free of charge, to anyone interested in taking part.
Stravic described the event as an effort “to stir people to exercise.”
The wellness center includes free weights and machine weights, Stravic said. It offers a number of treadmills, bicycles, rowing machines, Arc trainers and Cybex exercise machines.
Stravic said the YMCA also has a specially designed room for younger children, people in wheelchairs and those with disabilities. It is also designed for people with visual impairments.
The YMCA moved to Tices Lane after selling its Dunhams Corner Road property, with the stated goal of expanding and offering more programs. The wellness center follows the opening of the new child-care facility.
The next step, Stravic said, is raising funds to build the swimming pool, for which the Y will need $2 million to $3 million.
Township Councilwoman Catherine Diem, who sits on the Y’s board of directors, said the improved facility is “a long time coming.” Diem, who has been involved with the Y for several years, said she had seen facilities in other parts of the state and wondered why East Brunswick’s couldn’t be as good.
“I don’t think people in this area know what a full-service Y is like,” she said.
Stravic said the plan is to begin the fundraising campaign immediately. There are no set plans as far as the design of the pool area is concerned.
The approximately 5,000-square-foot wellness center will undergo “continual upgrades,” she said, including adding new equipment. The center is located near the main entrance.
Only adults and high school-age children or older are allowed to use the center.
The Y also offers a training program and a variety of exercise programs, Stravic said. There is also a Silver Sneakers program that is free to senior citizens.
An annual membership to the Y is $350, and members can pay up front or monthly.
Diem said the new facility is the result of a great amount of work by a number of people.
“It’s a great example of what a group can accomplish,” she said