MISSOULA - The YMCA of Missoula has been fundraising for its $19.3 million capital campaign to expand and revitalize its building and services for the past two years.
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust donated a matching grant of $1 million to the YMCA, another step towards the finish line of their fundraising goal.
The Murdock Trust is an organization started by the late Melvin Jack Murdock. It gives grants to educational, spiritual and cultural organizations in the Pacific Northwest.
The YMCA is $5 million away from its fundraising goal, but CEO Heather Foster says the Murdock grant is a testament to the supportive community around the YMCA.
"The last two years of funding have been pretty overwhelming," she says. "The support we've received from the business community has been incredible. We have about $5 million left in our campaign, so I kind of feel like this is our final phase."
The YMCA broke ground on the Phillis Washington Early Child Care Center in early June. The construction of the new facility is expected to take 11 months. They've also started the expansion of their locker rooms and will soon begin to remodel on their health and wellness center.
"We're so excited," Foster says. "I think it's one thing to have the groundbreaking ceremony, but it's a whole other thing to see dirt being moved and concrete will be poured in the new childcare center this week, so we're really starting to see progress."
