Planning Underway for Powdersville YMCA Facility

The Pickens County YMCA's future plans include a facility in Powdersville.

“It's still in progress as to what we want to do and when we want to do it,” said Pickens County YMCA CEO Sid Collins.

The Pickens County YMCA has purchased property on Wyatt Road and Highway 81.

“But what we're going to build, when we're going to build, how we're going to build, the board hasn't made a decision yet,” Collins said. “That'll be made hopefully within the next 18-24 months, as far as what we'll be doing.”

The Powdersville site is 30 acres. The Y will own about 22 acres. Grace Church will own about 8 acres of the site, Collins said.

“It is an opportunity to share infrastructure costs,” Collins said, of the arrangement between the YMCA and Grace Church. “We are not partnering as two organizations. They'll have their church, what they do as a church, and we'll have our property and the Y and what we do as a Y. We're sharing parking lots, playgrounds, stormwater management, site development, but the two entities are still independent and separate in their goals and missions. We're neighbors.”

The founding principles of the YMCA are what's driving the Pickens County YMCA to look at Powdersville, Collins said.

“The mission of the Y worldwide is to serve the people,” he said. “What is unique YMCAs worldwide ... is that we meet the needs at the time. Which means our mission, over the decades, over the years, changes to meet those needs. We can come to the community and meet the needs of that community. YMCAs nationwide – some are resident camps like Camp Greenville, you have what we call family YMCAs like we have in Easley and Pickens, you have some foster care homes that are YMCAs.”

He said the Y looks at every population cluster to assess those needs.

“If the needs aren't where the YMCA can meet them, then we don't go there,” Collins said. “Either somebody else is serving them or it's just not a problem, whatever it may be.”

When YMCA officials look at the Powdersville community, “we see the same opportunities that presented themselves in Easley 50 years ago and Pickens 12 years ago,” Collins said.

“One thing we do not want to do is just come in and build a building,” he continued. “That's not what we do.”

The Powdersville branch will be fully self-supported by the Powdersville/Wren community, Collins said.

“We operate them budgetarily separate from other,” Collins said. “It's not any resources are being drained from here to there. All donations stay local.”

Powdersville needs a place that defines the community, he said.
“Is it Northern Anderson? Is it Wren? Is it Mt. Airy community?” Collins said. “Where is a good landmark – kind of a stake in the ground that says this is a community that is important and significant. The YMCA's presence can help establish a community.”

He said the Y can also help fight the nation's obesity epidemic.

“We have resources that are second to none, as far as providing resources not just to adults but to children,” Collins said. “The Healthy Living initiative is not just about exercise – it's about education. It's not just about exercise for adults – it's permeated in our entire mission in what we do.”

The Pickens County YMCA has been working with students in Anderson School District One more than a decade.

“The youth in Anderson District One, they are awesome kids. We started programs in 2000,” Collins said. “We've seen the need for those programs to grow. We're getting phone calls about serving middle schools, about what other afterschool programs do we have? We need a place to go. People want a place for their children to go afterschool that's safe.”

The Y has already begun gathering community input and demographic research regarding the future facility

“We have an idea what the needs are,” Collins said. “We've met with Wren Youth Association, Tri-County Soccer. We've met with community leaders already, with politicians and school officials. We're getting a good feel about what the community needs, what they want, what's missing.”

Collins said he didn't think there was a need for recreational programs in Powdersville.

“Wren Youth does a great job of doing that,” Collins said. “I think there's a need for facilities for them. For us, the question is not what programming can we come in and duplicate, but how can we come in alongside them as the YMCA and support them? How can we assist Wren Youth? How can we assist Tri-County Soccer? How can we help?”