The Riverview and Gibsonton communities have enjoyed a brand-new YMCA since January 2019. The Spurlino Family YMCA is the newest location in the Tampa YMCA Association. The building is LEED Gold certified and won a design award from the Hillsborough County Planning Commission in fall 2019.
Families can join a reading club for little ones, youth sports and swimming lessons for all ages. Adults and kids also can enjoy the great outdoors on the walking trail and shaded picnic areas. The Spurlino Family Y is more than a place to work out, as it’s also a place for family fun.
“It has since grown to be one of the largest YMCAs in all of the Tampa Bay region,” said Spurlino Family Y’s executive director, Jarrod Williams. “We staff approximately 120 employees.”
This past year, the Spurlino Family Y has provided over a quarter of a million dollars in financial assistance to families struggling financially.
“We have a board of advisors comprised of 18 volunteers,” Williams said. “The Spurlino Family Y is the perfect place for health seekers and families alike to stay engaged in a variety of classes and programs designed to develop health and wellness.”
Williams has made the YMCA his career. “I have been working in the YMCA movement for more than 12 years,” Williams said. “I have been working in the Tampa Association for four and a half years. Three years were spent at the Campo Family YMCA in Valrico, and I have been leading the Spurlino Family YMCA since May of 2021.”
The Spurlino Family YMCA is a staple in southern Hillsborough County.
“Many of the programs we offer are also offered at other Ys in the area, but the thing that sets the Spurlino YMCA apart is that it was built with efficiency and conservation in mind,” Williams said. “We have been recognized for our outstanding building strategies and practices. This is something we are very proud of.”
If you ask Williams what his favorite part of his job is, he will tell you it’s seeing guests transform.
“What I like most about what I do is seeing lives positively transformed on a daily basis,” Williams said. “Whether it is someone on their weight-loss journey, a child learning how to swim or a child scoring their first soccer goal, we change lives every day and the stories that stem from these moments are powerful.”
Williams and his staff are excited about new programming that will be offered at the Spurlino Family Y very soon.
“We are excited to be launching a pediatric cancer program for children battling and recover from cancer,” Williams said. “The official launch date is still to be determined, but we are hoping to start in late fall.”
If you’d like to learn more about the programs offered at the Spurlino Family Y, you can visit its website at www.tampaymca.org/locations/spurlino-family-ymca-big-bend-road or call 813-228-9622. The Spurlino Family Y is located at 9650 Old Big Bend Rd. in Riverview.
