Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow has announced that the Oswego YMCA Boxing Club and the Oswego YMCA will receive a $75,000 from the City of Oswego to expand, renovate and assist with the YMCA Expansion Project.
The Oswego YMCA Boxing Club will receive approximately $30,000 for renovations and improvements to the existing boxing ring, facility and lighting. The Oswego YMCA will receive $45,000 towards the on-going pool connector project, connecting the current YMCA building which will increase membership and activities available. The YMCA Expansion Project will create 5 full-time equivalent positions.
“The Oswego YMCA Boxing Club and the Oswego YMCA are both important and unique assets to the Oswego community and it is critically important to help these organizations as they serve and enhance our community,” said Mayor Barlow. “The Oswego YMCA Boxing Club is truly a remarkable story and offers our youth an opportunity to participate in a different after school activity that not every community has. The Oswego YMCA Boxing Club teaches our children valuable life lessons and encourages physical activity. The club is very much a success story in the City of Oswego and we need to do our part to help promote the club and expand their ability to outreach,” Barlow continued.
Mayor Barlow also discussed the importance of the Oswego YMCA in downtown Oswego and believes the completion of the pool project will only add to the progress and improvements. “The Oswego YMCA is also an extremely important asset to our community and under Kerrie Webb’s leadership, continues to improve. This funding will help expedite the pool connector project allowing the YMCA to have a pool once again and as a result, provide members with more opportunities and potentially boost membership in the future. I commend all the good work being done by Kerrie Webb and her team and hope this funding helps move this massive project along,” Barlow concluded.
Kerrie Webb, Director of the Oswego YMCA, said “We are grateful to Mayor Barlow and the City of Oswego for this investment in our organization. We appreciate their support of the OSWEGO YMCA and in recognizing the positive presence we have in our community. We commend Mayor Barlow along with his outstanding Team in the Community Development office for all their efforts and the great advancements in our city.”
Derrick Falcetti of the Oswego YMCA Boxing Club said, “I would like to thank Mayor Barlow for his vision that he is bringing to life here in our city. As a lifelong resident of Oswego, I am very proud to be a part of the positive movement in Oswego. As kids, Derek and I dreamed that one day, we would be world champions in boxing. It didn’t take long for us to realize that our real dream was to facilitate a boxing and education program that instills great qualities and invests in the youth of our city. We are proud to be a part of the YMCA and look forward to serving our community.
The grant funding comes from the commitment of program income through the NYS Community Development Block Grant program administered and managed by the City’s Office of Economic Development. Last month, Mayor Barlow announced a $25,000 grant from this funding to the Good Guys Barbershop in downtown Oswego.
