ROCKPORT - The Penobscot Bay YMCA is committed to strengthening community.  The Y is here for its friends and neighbors including the federal employees whose families and loved ones are impacted by the current partial government shutdown.

If any federal employees who are current Y members, worried about paying membership dues or those who are considering joining the Y but cannot due to the furlough, please stop by the Y’s branches located in Rockland or Rockport to discuss potential options.

“Our Y offers financial assistance on an individual basis that can be utilized for membership dues, swim lessons, summer camp, or programming.” Said Melissa Bellew, CEO of the Penobscot Bay YMCA. “We acknowledge the stress federally employed families may be experiencing and we are here to help. Our Y donors who fund our financial assistance program want families in times of crisis to have support.”

Originally founded in 1913, the Penobscot Bay YMCA started as the Camden Area YMCA, remaining to this day one of our country’s oldest, continuing, small community YMCAs.  From 1916 until 2002, the Y operated from a center village site in Camden, Maine.  In November, 2002, the YMCA moved to a new facility on Union Street in Rockport, allowing expansion of membership, programming, and offering to our Midcoast region. 

Today, the Penobscot Bay YMCA serves more than 6,600 members, ranging from infants to seniors. Currently, the Y is the largest childcare provider in Knox County, serving about 325 children on a weekly basis through its early learning programs, drop-in care, and before/after-school programs. The Y also offers one of the largest youth sports programs in Knox County, with more than 1200 children participating in swimming, gymnastics, basketball, and recreation programs. In addition, the Y serves a large senior population, offering its popular Healthy Seniors fitness and wellness programs, senior aquatics programs, a therapy pool for rehabilitation services, and luncheons for seniors. In addition to year-round offerings, the Penobscot Bay YMCA also operates the largest summer camp program in Knox County. In 2018, more than1400 individual children participated in one or more weeks of summer camp.