Community leaders Jim and Nancye Fitzpatrick visit the wellness center construction site, which will be named in their honor. The Jim and Nancye Fitzpatrick Wellness Center is set to open in September.
Princeton Family YMCA named their new wellness center after longtime Princetonians Jim and Nancye Fitzpatrick.
For more than a year, volunteers of the YMCA have been quietly raising capital funds to surprise the Fitzpatrick’s by naming the new wellness center in their honor. On June 19, the organization announced initial funding is secured and the new facility will be called“The Jim and Nancye Fitzpatrick Wellness Center.”
The renovation of the Athletic Building, called “Project Jumpstart”, is set to create an updated wellness center. It is Princeton Family YMCA’s first major renovation is about 10 years.
The plans include physically improving the lower level area by knocking down walls to create an open space providing a centralized area for new cardio equipment, strength training and free weights.
“To date, more than 40 generous donors have contributed $300,000 for the project and aim to raise $200,000 more. The enhanced space will help us advance our mission of healthy living, and encourage more people of all backgrounds and abilities to become members and a part of the YMCA family,” CEO Kate Bech said in a statement.
Jim Fitzpatrick has been connected to the YMCA for most of his life. His father was a chaplain with the Y, his children participated in a variety of Y activities and programs as they grew up and several of his grandchildren have attended and worked at YMCA camps.
Today, his son Hugh serves on the national YMCA of the U.S.A. board of directors.
Jim served as a bomber pilot in World War II. After being shot down over Germany, he became a prisoner of war. While in a POW camp, Jim and his fellow soldiers received supplies from the YMCA.
For its part in the war effort, the YMCA provided items such as books, athletic equipment, musical instruments and art supplies. Jim credits the books he received about economics for capturing his interest and sparking a passion that ultimately put him on his career path in finance.
Following the war, Jim went on to get an education and eventually became the Chief Investment Officer for the national YMCA Retirement Fund. During his tenure, Jim helped thousands of YMCA employees maximize their savings for a secure retirement.
Nancye Fitzpatrick started teaching English at John Witherspoon Middle School in in 1966. She retired in 1982.
A devoted volunteer, she served as a director and president of New Grange and became a mentor with the Trenton Afterschool Program in the late eighties. She continues to meet monthly with one of her young charges, now a 33-year-old woman.
The Fitzpatrick’s hope the wellness center’s renovation will drive Princeton residents to join the YMCA’s movement, which helps millions of children and youth reach their full potential around the world.
Locally, an expanded YMCA membership can support programs such as Princeton Young Achievers, an afterschool program for economically-disadvantaged children, and Y Scholars, a group mentoring program for young people that fosters education, aspirations and goal-setting.
The renovation is expected to take 12 weeks, during which the YMCA will be open on a modified basis.
A grand re-opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony set to take place following Labor Day when the Wellness Center will be dedicated formally to the Fitzpatricks.
More information is online at princetonymca.org.
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