PG&E donates former service
center
to Berkeley-Albany YMCA
From The Globe Community
Desk
Pacific
Gas and Electric Company recently handed over
the keys to a former service center building
to the Berkeley-Albany YMCA. The YMCA will now
turn the building, located across from City Hall
at 2111 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Berkeley,
into an LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design) site for teens.
“PG&E is very proud to make this $2.1-million building
dedication, the largest building donation, and one of our largest corporate
contributions ever, to the YMCA,” said Ophelia Basgal vice president
of civic partnerships and community initiatives at PG&E. “This exciting
partnership will provide Berkeley youth a needed teen program space and the
building will carry the values of an environmentally conscious vision.”
Currently,
the Berkeley-Albany YMCA has less than 400 square feet of permanent space in
downtown Berkeley dedicated solely to its teen programming. The renovated 8,000-
square-foot building will allow the YMCA to double the number of participants
in programs such as Y-Scholars, The Outsiders Club and YMCAYouth & Government
that address critical teen needs, such as college preparation, job training,
career planning, mentorship, community service and leadership development.
“This
generous donation is exemplary of the type of corporate philanthropy we hope
for in Berkeley,” said Fran Gallati, Berkeley- Albany YMCACEO. “This
gift is timely, in line with what the community needs and wants, and will benefit
many generations to come.”
The YMCA is currently in the process of hiring
teen leaders for paid internships on the newly formed Teen Task Force. Members
of the group will work with real estate developers, architects and teen program
providers for the next 12-18 months to help design the look, feel and programs
for the new center. Participants will also receive an educational grant.
Applications
for the Teen Task Force are available online at www.baymca.org or at the downtown
Berkeley YMCA’s Teen Department, located at 2001 Allston Way.
