VERMILION — The Vermilion Family YMCA and the YMCA of Greater Cleveland have approved an agreement to merge, effective Oct. 1.
The move was announced Friday by the YMCA of Greater Cleveland.
The goal of the partnership is to expand services and programs to residents of western Lorain, eastern Erie and northern Huron counties, according to YMCA officials.
“We saw it as an opportunity to enhance our reach into those counties,” Rick Haase, YMCA of Greater Cleveland vice president of marketing, said Friday.
Haase said both Ys have been planning for the merger, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both organizations, for more than two years.
Work to be done to mesh the two different operations will include re-carding members of the Vermilion Y.
“They have a different computer system than we do, so we have to obtain data on their members to enter into our system,” Haase said. “We’re hoping it will be a seamless transition.”
The Vermilion Y began as a branch of the now-defunct Lorain Family YMCA in 1965 but became an independent operation in 1981.
Staffing levels will be looked at, although it is not immediately known whether the merger will result in any changes at the Vermilion Y, Haase said.
The Vermilion Family YMCA will become the 14th full-service branch to be operated by the YMCA of Greater Cleveland across Northeast Ohio.
Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.
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