SANFORD – Just over a year ago while at lunch, Dick Lolley sat down with his friend and YMCA board member John Roux. The two friends discussed golf, life, and eventually the conversation turned to the Sanford Springvale YMCA. Dick recalled that John’s excitement about the opportunities afforded to local youth by the Y’s summer camp program was “contagious,” said Y spokeswoman Sari Hazzard,  and this enthusiastic spirit inspired him and his wife Pam to become involved.

The Lolleys became increasingly involved in supporting the Y’s summer camp program, receiving the Y’s 2016 Youth Development Community Pillar Award along with Celine and Arthur Dumas for their support in establishing the Y’s “Kid to Camp” program. This collaboration between the YMCA and the Sanford School Department made it possible for 53 Sanford children to attend the Y’s Camp Marland for one week, children who otherwise would not have benefited from a summer camp experience, Hazzard said.

A year after that lunch in 2016 John and Dick met again, this time discussing the Y’s capital expansion project. The new 22,000 square foot expansion space  will allow the Y to have even greater community impact through improvements such as larger wellness and program spaces, new fitness equipment, a new community game room, a larger Child Watch space, and more.

Dick and Pam recently donated  $100,000 in support of the Y’s expansion project and the new opportunities it will create for the well being of the Sanford Springvale community. “Since Pam and I had such a good experience with the summer camp ,we decided to get involved with the new construction expansion,” said Lolley.

“Although we have not lived in Sanford for over 10 years, we consider ourselves Sanford people and proud of it,” Lolley added.

In particular, said hazzard,  it is the Y’s impact on local youth that has been meaningful for Dick and Pam. This year more than 300 campers entering grades K-10 experienced YMCA Camp Marland, making friendships, lifelong memories, and cultivating independence and leadership skills through traditional camp activities like canoeing, fishing, nature exploration, archery and more. As autumn approaches, the Y will continue to enhance its focus on youth development through new opportunities created by the completion of expansion project, hazzard said.