NILES — In 2016, the Niles-Buchanan YMCA launched a capital campaign meant to fund dedicated well-being and learning spaces to people of all age demographics. Three years later, the YMCA has received major funding, bringing it close to its goal.

The “Changing Lives & Improving Health” campaign seeks to raise $3 million from donations and grants to primarily build a teen room, a youth room, a second gymnasium and third fitness center. The additions, slated for construction in August, will add about 14,000 square feet of additional space to the YMCA location on Front Street in Niles.

Last Tuesday, the nonprofit announced that it had received a $25,000 matching grant from a local family foundation wishing to remain anonymous thanks to donations from community. Then, the YMCA was about two-thirds towards its goal.

This Tuesday, the organization announced that a $500,000 matching grant by another anonymous local family foundation was offered. If the YMCA can match the grant, it would reach its capital goal.

“We’ve been very fortunate as a nonprofit in this community that we have had several family foundations and several community leaders that have contributed to support what The Y is doing,” said Jill Haboush, director of fund development and marketing.

She also said that members and non-members alike donated to the programs. Some donated hundreds and thousands of dollars, others less.

All donations, though, go toward the YMCA’s goal to create dedicated space for youth and more room for YMCA members.

“When you look at the bigger picture of our community, there’s not a lot of space for these kids to be or to hang out,” Haboush said. “If they’re in organized sports, that’s one thing, but once school gets out, they’re pretty much expected to leave school grounds.”

The teen and youth rooms are not meant for physical activity but are hoped to be places where youth can be educated on health. Haboush envisions the space to have multiple purposes that serve youth needs in a safe, educational space.

“How can we impact those teens and youths so that we have more kids graduating?” she said. “How can we offer nutrition education and teach them how to better manage their physical activity to combat obesity? How do we provide food for those children that have food insecurity?”

The answer, she said, are the rooms. It goes back to the YMCA’s three core values: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

“In any of our areas, we’ll be able to pin back to any of those given areas what our focus is,” she said.

Educational programming by the YMCA and other partnering organizations could occur in the rooms; so could personal tutoring, study time and volunteerism.

The multi-purpose rooms also reflect the YMCA’s offerings outside of physical activity, Haboush said. Those current programs could also be offered in the rooms.

“Most people think swimming and fitness,” she said about the YMCA. “Well, we do a lot of that, but we also get out into the community. We have youth programs. We have after-school programs. We have summer day camp programs.”

Some of these programs, she said, are free and do not require membership.

The upcoming gym and fitness center are meant to create more space for programming and for open use.

For example, the annual youth basketball league would no longer need to be split between the YMCA and Niles High School’s gym. In the winter, spaces to play pickleball or volleyball would not be as crowded with a second gym.

After construction for the additional facilities break ground, Haboush estimates that, if all goes well, the additions to the YMCA should open in April 2020. Most current facilities will remain open during construction, she said.