MSCF Helps Bring Summer Fitness to Southington YMCA

April 2024 - Published in: 2024 Spring Newsletter - The Southington-Cheshire Community YMCA has been serving their community for over 90 years and their programming has only grown in that time. Within the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in day camp enrollment at the Y, which has led to the need for a larger aquatic program area. Between 2019 and 2023, MSCF has awarded grants totaling $229,983 to the Southington YMCA to fund the construction of the new 2,200 square-foot Bradley & Leila Barnes Spray and Splash Park at Camp Sloper. The splash park features nozzles that spray, mist, and rain water into the air, providing a safe outdoor area to play and cool down in the summer months. It officially opened on the first day of the 2023 summer camp season.

YMCA works to strengthen the foundation of the community through youth development and teaching healthy living and social responsibility. The new splash park hits upon these two focus areas by providing the opportunity for kids to be outside and active, away from electronics and devices, making new friends, and of course, having fun. The YMCA also opens the splash park on summer weekends for all members and hosts community hours on Sundays where the facility will be open to all Southington residents, regardless of whether they are YMCA members.

grants awarded from MSCF to fund the splash park were from the Bradley Henry Barnes and Leila Upson Barnes Memorial Trust. This Trust was established by Bradley Barnes in 1973 in order to create a resource that would benefit the health and well-being of Southington residents; it was then transferred to MSCF in 2004. Since then, many organizations serving Southington have been awarded grants to improve health outcomes for Southington’s residents. Projects like the Bradley & Leila Barnes Spray and Splash Park invest in the health of residents in a unique way by providing a safe place for children to play, which has an undeniable positive impact on them, their families, and the community’s well-being.