After more than a year, residents of Little Village will once again have access to their neighborhood YMCA — for free.
The Rauner Family YMCA, 2700 S. Western Ave., is reopening in January and plans to offer free memberships to those living in Zip Codes 60608, 60623, 60632 and 60609, which cover all or parts of Little Village, Pilsen, Back of the Yards and Brighton Park.
Although the Rauner Family YMCA offered child care services during the pandemic, all fitness services and other community programs were canceled.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of maintaining health and well-being, it has also highlighted the severe inequities that exist within our communities when it comes to accessing resources that promote a healthy mind and body,” Dorri McWhorter, the CEO of YMCA of Metro Chicago, said in a press release.
“Offering complimentary memberships to the Rauner Family Y is our way of creating more equity for our Little Village and Pilsen neighbors by encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and we are proud to invest in the community in this way.”
The free memberships are made possible through community and corporate partnerships. McWhorter set a goal of increasing those partnerships when she took over the organization earlier this year.
The Rauner Family Y will be open to those who live outside those four Zip Codes as well. While 2022 rates won’t be released until the center fully reopens in early January, the pre-pandemic rate for a family was $55 a month.
Residents can stop by the Rauner Family YMCA to register during an open house from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday. Residents can also register at the center from 3-7 p.m. Monday-Friday or 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays until the center fully opens Jan. 2. Bring a photo ID and proof of address, such as a utility bill, to register.
Residents of those Zip Codes will also receive unlimited access to all 14 YMCA locations across the city and suburbs.
The free memberships will last through Dec. 31, 2022.
Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South and West sides.
