FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JACKSONVILLE, FL – The family of Russell B. Newton, Jr. has pledged $2.5 million to name the state-of-the-art aquatic center in the new Riverside Y, which was recently named to honor local civic leader and philanthropist James H. Winston.
Newton’s son, Russell B. Newton, III, has served in various volunteer leadership capacities through the years, including chairman of the corporate board of directors and, even more recently, as co-chairman of the $22 million capital campaign effort to make the new Y in Riverside possible. The Newton Family also shares the naming of the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast’s most recent neighborhood Y construction in Fleming Island, which opened as the Barco-Newton Family YMCA in 2004.
“My own children, like thousands of others in the area, learned to swim at this Y, and have many great memories from the experience which they still talk about to this day,” Newton, Jr. said. “The First Coast Y organization is about making these life-enhancing experiences possible for every family – no matter their circumstance – and that’s something my family believes in.”
The Newton Family Aquatic Center will feature a six lane Jr. Olympic-sized swimming pool and a warm water therapy pool. The programs and activities offered through the Center will contribute to the YMCA’s goal to provide new and innovative opportunities for youth by directly impacting 5,000 Westside, Downtown and East Jacksonville children through healthy habits curriculum.
“There is a huge need for water safety instruction in the communities surrounding the Riverside Y,” said Eric Mann, President and CEO. “The generous gift from the Newton Family will provide us with a space where we can teach healthy ways to exercise and have fun to thousands of children and families in the area, which may even prove to save their lives.”
The YMCA expects to break ground on the new YMCA in the fall of 2013.
# # #
The Y
For more than 100 years, the Y on the First Coast has been providing men, women and children of all ages, and from all walks of life, build stronger bonds, live healthy and become more engaged with their communities. Learn more: www.FirstCoastYMCA.org.
For more information, contact:
Nikos Westmoreland
Vice President of Communications
YMCA of Florida’s First Coast
O 904.265.1773 M 904.635.0954
nwestmoreland@firstcoastymca.org
