Press Release

KEENE FAMILY YMCA KICKS OFF CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO RAISE $10.1 MILLION FOR ITS NEW BUILDING ON SUMMIT RD.

Keene, NH -- June 23, 2008 --The Keene Family YMCA officially kicked off its capital campaign today to raise $10.1 million for its new building to be built on ten acres of land donated by Rick and Jan Cohen. Campaign Co-Chairs Robert Englund and JoAnn Fenton, flanked by a group of Keene Family YMCA preschoolers, addressed a crowd of about 150 donors, volunteers, and Keene business and community members to announce that the Y has raised $7,481,236. in pledges as of 2 pm today.

Campaign Co-Chair JoAnn Fenton thanked Rick and Jan Cohen: "Rick and Jan Cohen have stepped up for the Keene community to make a difference for future generations. In addition to their gift of more than ten acres as the site of the new Y, and their unprecedented financial support, the Cohens, in an effort to broaden participation in this project from others in the community, have offered to match pledges of $25,000 and up made before June 30th, two to one, up to $1.7 million. Pledges can be paid over a period of five years. This is an extraordinary opportunity for others to step up and make a difference."

Jan Cohen praised the volunteers for their efforts and expressed her pleasure with what the project will mean to the greater Keene community: "Rick sends his congratulations to JoAnn, Ira, Bob, and the Y Board on this exciting and historic undertaking. What would we do without this wonderful facility and organization? We all know a healthy Y is a hallmark of a strong and healthy community. Everyone who walks through its doors will find something of interest and benefit there."

Board Chair Gary Henricksen told assembled volunteers, donors, and Y Board and Trustees, that "We have a lot to celebrate today. The Y Board and many volunteers have been working for almost five years to build a new Keene Family YMCA. I want to remind you though, that no matter how excited we are about our new building and our new site, the new YMCA is about so much more than a building. This new YMCA is about the Y's mission to serve the Keene region with programs that develop healthy minds, healthy spirits, and healthy bodies. It's about serving infants and toddlers and families and seniors. The Y represents the core of what a healthy community is, and where kids learn about respect, values, and healthy living, and where families can have fun together."

Campaign leaders added that while the official campaign goal is $10.1 million, which is thought to be at least twice the amount of any capital campaign ever launched in Keene, the cost of the entire building project is estimated to be in the range of $14 million. The Y will address the total cost through a combination of philanthropic support raised through the campaign and through low-interest loans. The Y will also apply for state-sponsored tax credits.

Campaign Co-Chair Bob Englund said, "We'd love to bust through our official goal. Every dollar above $10.1 million means less money we have to borrow to make this incredible new building a reality."

The building, designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, will encompass 60,000 square feet, an increase of 100% in useable space over the current Y on Roxbury Street. The design, approved by the Keene Planning Board on May 27, 2008, is inspired by the historic farms that populate this area of New Hampshire. The building's massing and materials carefully articulate the region's barn vernacular. Incorporated in the design are gabled roofs, rich red corrugated siding reminiscent of vertical wood boarding, a heavy timber canopy, crisp white trim that consistently frames the windows and openings, and a grey metal roof. MacMillin Company is the Construction Manager.

The new Y's groundbreaking is scheduled for fall of this year. Y leaders hope to open the building in September 2009.

Campaign pledges to date reflect 124 pledges made during the quiet phase of the campaign. Campaign leaders will now broaden the campaign to reach out to the wider membership and community

The Everyone Campaign for the Keene Family YMCA is the culmination of more than five years of intensive planning and community needs assessment. Y volunteers carefully considered more than 17 sites during their search for a new Y site. In addition to conducting a community needs assessment, a marketing study, two Y membership surveys, a fundraising feasibility study, and corporate surveys with major local employers, the Y researched the experiences of other new Ys built in the northeastern United States in the past five years. Ira Besdansky, the Y's Executive Director said, "We needed a minimum of five acres to provide the services this community has said they want; to have adequate parking; to be able to build a combination of two pools; to have outdoor green space for programs; and room for possible expansion down the road. The Y has its own school bus which will pick up kids from schools all around Keene to bring them to the new site. We also will work with local transportation groups to extend bus lines to the new Y."

In addition to thanking Jan and Rick Cohen, JoAnn Fenton singled out some other major supporters of the project, including the Cheshire Health Foundation; Economy Mechanical; Markem-Imaje; Timken Foundation of Canton; Fenton Family Dealerships/Bill Fenton; The MacMillin Company, Inc; Walter Rohr; Hoffman Family Foundation; Cheshire Oil; Peerless Insurance Company; The Stabler Family; Tim and Talu Robertson; Gail Robertson in memory of John and Norma Holbrook; Joe and Stephanie Baute; Clarke Distributors, Inc.; Bob and Dita Englund; Ruth Ewing; Patricia Gallup; Gary and Charri Henricksen; The Kingsbury Corporation/Kingsbury Fund; and The Melanson Company, Inc.

Campaign Leaders include Honorary Tri-Chairs, H. Thayer Kingsbury and Talu and Tim Robertson; Campaign Co-Chairs, Bob Englund and JoAnn Fenton; Founders Circle Chair Sym Goodnow; Advance Gift Co-Chairs, Walter Rohr and David Stabler; Leadership Division Chairs, Cheryl Belair and Dave Therrien; Foundations Chair, Dr. Joseph J. Guarneri; Staff Division Chair, Tammie Patnode; Communications Chair, Ruth Sterling; Awareness Chairs, Joan Berriman and Marianne McGauley; and Treasurer, Matthew Morrison.

Y leaders hope to complete the fundraising effort by the end of 2008. The pledge period extends for five years, For additional information about the Campaign, contact the Campaign Office at 603-283-0264 or via email at EverYone@Keene-YMCA.org. More information will soon be posted on the Y's website at www.keenefamilyymca.org.