$1M Grant Awarded For Future 2-Campus Palisades-Malibu YMCA

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — Bank of America is contributing $1 million to rebuild the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, which was destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

The bank on Friday announced the grant to the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. The future Palisades facility, previously known as the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, will be known as the Lowe Family YMCA.

The YMCA announced the renaming in August following a $10 million gift from the Lowe family.

The Y's original facility on Via de la Paz was destroyed in the fire. Officials are now planning to rebuild a facility on that site, as well as a second one at Simon Meadow.

The Simon Meadow expansion is set to include indoor-outdoor space "rooted in nature, allowing for expanded programming and greater capacity to serve families," YMCA officials said.

"As we mark the first anniversary of the devastating fires, we also celebrate the incredible progress of the YMCA's efforts to rebuild its destroyed Via de la Paz site and a nearby campus," Raul Anaya, Bank of America president for Greater Los Angeles, said in a statement. "The wildfires destroyed so much — thousands of homes, businesses and communities — but it never destroyed L.A.'s spirit. As a longtime supporter of the YMCA, we're proud to help bring this space back to life for so many residents, and encourage other donors to help bring this important effort over the finish line."

Bank of America said the grant is the first corporate award to date for the YMCA's $25 million capital campaign for the Palisades launched over the summer. The project is expected to break ground this spring, bringing new facilities and additional programs for working families and seniors in the community.

"We are deeply grateful to Bank of America for their generosity and for being our first corporate donor to this campaign," said Victor Dominguez, president and chief executive of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. "Our corporate partners are critical to engaging our full communities in the rebuilding process. As the Center for Community Well-Being with dozens of locations across the LA region, we activated on day one of the fires to support our communities. We will continue to help Palisades rebuild not just the buildings, but the community and connections that make it so special."

More information on the Lowe Family YMCA capital campaign is available on the YMCA's website.

City News Service contributed to this report.