By Gene Galin
Pittsboro, NC — Bruce Ham, president and CEO of the YMCA of the Triangle, came to the Breakfast Club at 79 West on June 2 with numbers, stories and a simple argument: the YMCA’s work is not only about fitness centers, swimming pools or youth sports. It is about building the kind of community infrastructure that helps children become resilient, adults stay connected and families find support before life becomes overwhelming.
During his conversation with Dustin Miller at 79°West, Ham traced the YMCA’s growth across the Triangle, the opening of the new Chatham Park YMCA in Pittsboro, and the organization’s broader mission at a time when communities are wrestling with loneliness, youth anxiety, rapid growth and the need for gathering places that bring people across income levels and backgrounds together.
“We’ve got three themes in our strategic plan,” Ham said. “One is everybody is healthier. Number two, every child and teen is resilient. And number three, no one feels alone.”
Those themes framed a conversation that moved from institutional history to personal loss, from summer learning programs to swim lessons, and from the practical reality of building a YMCA to the deeper civic question facing Chatham County: how does a fast-growing community make sure it grows around people, not just buildings?
A Regional YMCA With Local Roots
Ham described the YMCA of the Triangle as a large regional organization serving a seven-county area through branches, programs and overnight camps. The association includes well-known YMCA camps on the North Carolina coast, including Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer, as well as Camp Kanata, a long-running overnight camp that has served generations of children.
The YMCA presence in Chatham County did not begin with the new Chatham Park facility. Ham said the organization previously operated a smaller storefront YMCA in the county as part of the former Chapel Hill YMCA before the regional merger that brought Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and other operations together under a larger structure.
That merger, Ham said, allowed the organization to think more broadly about regional growth. But Chatham County was not originally at the top of the capital-project list.
That changed when Chatham Park developer Tim Smith approached YMCA leaders with a direct request.
“He said, ‘I want a YMCA in Chatham County,’” Ham recalled. “And we said, ‘Well, we do too, but that’s not at the top of our priority list.’ And he said, ‘Well, how could it get to the top of your priority list?’ And we’re like, ‘Well, if you give us a Y, it would jump right up to the top.’”
According to Ham, the response was equally direct. The developer offered land and the shell of the building, leaving the YMCA responsible for finishing the interior. That arrangement allowed the organization to open in Chatham much sooner than it likely would have under the traditional model of borrowing, fundraising and building from the ground up.
“Chatham Development’s been incredible to work with, and this Y is flourishing,” Ham said.
From Storefront to Community Anchor
The Chatham Park YMCA officially opened in March 2025, marking a major expansion of the Y’s local footprint. The 36,000-square-foot facility includes a wellness center, group exercise studios, indoor and open-air courts, two outdoor pools, a waterslide, youth and family spaces, and multipurpose areas for programs and community activities.
For Pittsboro and Chatham County, the facility arrived at a notable moment. Chatham Park is reshaping the eastern side of Pittsboro, and the county continues to see growth pressure from the Triangle, the U.S. 64 corridor, new residential development and regional job centers.
During the discussion, the interviewer noted that Chatham County is experiencing something unusual: a chance to build a community almost from the ground up, similar in some ways to the civic formation of older towns. Ham’s answer suggested that the YMCA sees itself as one of the institutions that can help shape that growth.
Historically, YMCAs have often been among the first civic organizations to emerge in growing cities and towns. They offered recreation, education, housing, moral formation and gathering space. In Chatham County, Ham said, the same basic idea still applies, even if the modern form includes fitness equipment, after-school programs and youth sports.
The Chatham Park YMCA is not simply a place to exercise, he said. It is intended to be a place where people from different walks of life meet.
Ham used a locker-room example to make the point. One person may be a major donor, while another may be attending with substantial financial assistance. In that shared space, he said, the differences are not always visible.
“They’re talking about politics, they’re talking about sports, and they’re finding community with folks that they may not interact with anywhere else,” Ham said. “And so there’s a real sense of belonging and leveling at the YMCA that we’re pretty proud of.”
The “Third Place” in a Changing County
A recurring theme in the conversation was the idea of the “third place” — a setting that is neither home nor work but serves as a social anchor. For some people, that place is a church. For others, it might be a coffee shop, civic club, barbershop, park, library or recreation center. Ham said the YMCA aims to function similarly.
That role has become more important after years of social disruption, including the pandemic, remote work, reduced civic participation and increased isolation among both young people and adults. Ham tied that concern to the work of former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who has warned that loneliness and social isolation have become serious public-health concerns.
Ham said the YMCA is trying to design programs that do more than provide services. The goal, he said, is to create conditions where people are known, needed and missed when they are absent.
“When they come in the Y, somebody knows their name,” Ham said.
That may sound simple, but Ham described it as part of a larger health strategy. He said the Y is paying close attention to seniors through Thrive programs and volunteer opportunities, as well as to teens who may be struggling with anxiety, depression and disconnection.
“One of my biggest fears is retiring because I’m afraid I won’t matter anymore,” Ham said. “Like, what am I going to do? What am I going to do to bring value? And we are working really, really hard to solve that issue for children, teens and adults.”
A Strategic Plan Built Around Belonging
Ham said the YMCA of the Triangle’s strategic plan centers on three outcomes: healthier people, resilient children and teens, and a community where no one feels alone.
Those priorities reflect a broader shift in how many community organizations define their mission. A gym can measure memberships. A youth sports league can count registrations. A summer program can track attendance. But Ham suggested the deeper measure is whether those programs change the trajectory of people’s lives.
He told the story of a boy named Chris, whom Ham knew decades ago when he was youth director of the Central YMCA.
Chris, Ham said, came to the Y every day for six or seven years. He was also, by Ham’s account, a difficult child. Ham remembered knowing Chris’ mother’s phone number by heart because he had to call so often. He recalled one incident in which Chris threw a pudding cup from a YMCA bus and hit a woman in the head.
“He was a tough, tough kid,” Ham said.
Years later, Ham said, he ran into Chris’ mother while volunteering for the Salvation Army through his Rotary Club. She told him that Chris was married, had three children, was an involved father, worked as a mechanic and served as a deacon in his church.
Then she told Ham something that stayed with him.
“You and the YMCA were a major part of raising him,” she said, according to Ham.
For Ham, the story illustrates what youth programs can do when they give children structure, caring adults and a place to belong. Resilience, he said, can be built. Children who learn independence, problem-solving and connection with trusted adults outside their homes are better prepared when life becomes difficult.
“When life throws tough things at them, they will rise to the occasion instead of harming themselves or harming others or climbing under a rock,” Ham said.
The Personal Story Behind the Public Mission
Ham also spoke about his own experience with grief and resilience. In 2010, his first wife was diagnosed with colon cancer and died six months later. Their three daughters were 6, 9 and 12.
Ham said he was left to figure out how to raise three daughters. His brother-in-law moved in, and the family jokingly called itself “the real Full House.” The story eventually led to an appearance on “Rachael Ray,” where the family met Candace Cameron Bure, who played D.J. Tanner on the television show “Full House.”
Photo: David M. Russell/Rachael Ray Show ©2016 King World Productions. All Rights Reserved.
But the deeper story was not celebrity or comedy. It was how a family survives sudden loss.
Ham said he learned to braid hair and later wrote a book titled “Laughter, Tears, and Braids.” He described the household as funny at times and sad at others, with a widowed father trying to handle details he had never expected to manage alone.
One story involved sending his daughters to a service event with canned tuna, only to learn that the project was actually collecting hygiene items such as toothpaste and deodorant. His middle daughter began crying. His oldest daughter told her to drop the cans off quickly and walk away.
Then she added a line that captured the family’s new reality: “Lucy, you might as well get used to this. This is the way it’s going to be.”
Ham said experiences like that are painful, but they do not have to define the rest of a child’s life if a community surrounds them. For his daughters, he said, camp and YMCA relationships mattered. Counselors, directors and young women on staff provided role models and support that he could not provide alone.
“When you have the support of a community, when you have your third place, it doesn’t have to be the defining experience of your life,” Ham said.
Power Scholars and the Fight Against Summer Learning Loss
One of the clearest examples of the YMCA’s community role in Chatham County is Power Scholars, a five-week summer learning program serving students who are not meeting school benchmarks.
Ham said the YMCA works closely with the school system, which helps identify children who would benefit from the program. The Y hires teachers, uses a specific curriculum and combines academic instruction with the energy of a YMCA summer program.
“It’s basically YMCA summer school,” Ham said. “It’s a ton of fun, but summer school.”
The goal is to fight the “summer slide,” the learning loss that can occur when students are away from school for extended periods. Ham said children from marginalized communities are often most affected because they may have fewer summer enrichment opportunities.
According to YMCA program information, Power Scholars participants typically gain academic ground during the summer rather than lose it. Ham said the Chatham program serves a couple hundred children at two sites and that he wants to expand it.
“It is making an incredible difference right here in Chatham County,” Ham said.
The program is funded through grants and philanthropy, making it one of the clearest examples of how YMCA fundraising is connected to direct services. Ham thanked those who support the organization’s annual campaign and framed Power Scholars as part of the Y’s broader effort to address both academic and social needs.
More Than Fitness: Sports, Swim Lessons and Daily Life
The Chatham Park YMCA also offers the more familiar elements of Y life: youth sports, summer day camp, swim lessons, swim team, group fitness, yoga, Pilates, step aerobics and recreational activities.
Ham mentioned basketball, soccer, T-ball, baseball and other youth sports programs. The facility’s pools are a major draw, and swim lessons remain one of the Y’s most important safety programs.
The conversation also included a lighter exchange about adult basketball. When asked about three-on-three men’s basketball, Ham joked that the organization’s risk-management reports show a recurring source of injury: middle-aged men who do not know when to retire their basketball shoes.
“One of the biggest injuries is 35- to 55-year-old men who don’t know how to hang up basketball shoes,” Ham said.
The joke drew laughter, but it also pointed to a larger truth about the YMCA. The facility serves children learning to swim, teens looking for leadership opportunities, parents trying to exercise, older adults seeking community and adults who still want to compete, even if their joints disagree.
That multigenerational mix is part of the model. Unlike a private gym built around one customer segment, the YMCA attempts to serve a wide age range and income range. Its programs depend on memberships, philanthropy, volunteers, staff and partnerships.
Financial Assistance and the “For All” Mission
Ham emphasized that the YMCA is intended to serve both families who can afford full fees and those who need help. He said thousands of people across the regional YMCA receive some level of financial assistance, whether through free access, scholarships or reduced payments.
The YMCA of the Triangle states that its financial assistance is available to children, teens, adults and families who cannot afford the full cost of YMCA programs. Assistance is reviewed individually and based on household income, family size and special circumstances.
Ham said that commitment is central to the organization’s identity.
The result, when it works, is a community setting where people who might otherwise be separated by income, neighborhood or social circle share the same pool deck, gymnasium, child-care program or group exercise class.
That is why Ham returned repeatedly to belonging. The YMCA’s mission, as he described it, is not fulfilled when a building is full. It is fulfilled when people feel connected inside it.
Partnerships as a Growth Strategy
Ham also urged local organizations to look for partnership opportunities with the YMCA. He mentioned Boys & Girls Clubs, Scouts and other groups as examples of organizations that can work with the Y to reach more children and families.
“Any of y’all in here who might see a partnership opportunity with the YMCA, connect with some of our staff,” Ham said.
That invitation matters in a county where growth is creating both opportunity and strain. Chatham County has new development, new residents, new traffic patterns and new expectations for services. No single organization can address every need.
The YMCA’s partnership model allows it to extend its reach. Schools help identify students for summer learning. Donors help fund scholarships. Volunteers coach teams. Community groups bring programs and relationships. Developers provided the land-and-building partnership that made the Chatham Park facility possible.
In Ham’s telling, that network is not a side benefit. It is the way the work happens.
A County Still Being Built
The conversation ended with a broader civic challenge. Chatham County, especially Pittsboro, is in a rare period of community formation. Roads, schools, housing, parks, water systems and civic institutions are all part of the discussion. So are less visible questions: Who feels welcome? Where do teenagers go? Where do older adults connect? How do newcomers meet longtime residents? How does a place preserve local identity while absorbing growth?
Ham’s message was that institutions such as the YMCA can help answer those questions, but only if residents participate.
A building can provide space. Programs can create structure. Staff can organize activities. But community requires people to show up, volunteer, donate, coach, mentor and invite others in.
That message echoed throughout the 79 West Breakfast Club conversation. The YMCA is not presenting itself merely as a fitness provider in Chatham County. It is presenting itself as a civic partner at a time when Chatham County is deciding what kind of place it will become.
The Work After the Ribbon Cutting
The Chatham Park YMCA’s ribbon cutting was an important moment, but Ham’s remarks made clear that the larger test comes afterward. The question is not only whether the facility attracts members. It is whether it helps children read better, teenagers feel supported, adults become healthier, seniors stay connected and families facing hardship find a place that steadies them.
Ham’s own stories — of a difficult child who grew into a responsible father, of daughters who rebuilt life after loss, of campers who learned independence, and of members who find friendship in ordinary daily encounters — all pointed to the same conclusion.
Community is not built by accident.
It is built through repeated contact, shared spaces, trusted adults, youth programs, volunteers, philanthropy and a willingness to see recreation as part of public life.
For Chatham County residents, the next steps are practical: visit the Chatham Park YMCA, ask about programs, consider whether a child could benefit from camp or Power Scholars, volunteer as a coach or mentor, support financial assistance efforts, or explore ways for local civic groups, schools, churches and nonprofits to partner with the Y.
As Chatham County grows, the challenge is not simply to add buildings. It is to create places where people belong.
Ham’s message was clear: the YMCA wants to be one of those places.
Watch on YouTube – YMCA President & CEO Bruce Ham – 6.2.26
Bruce Ham discusses his long history with the YMCA, its evolution, and the impact of summer camps on youth development.
00:17 Bruce Ham shares his YMCA journey and the importance of summer camps.
- Bruce reflects on his positive experiences growing up at the YMCA, emphasizing the mentorship and community support.
- He highlights the rich history of YMCA in the area, discussing its growth and the vital role of summer camps in fostering independence in children.
03:13 Bruce Ham reflects on the YMCA’s growth and community impact.
- Ham discusses the YMCA’s expansion from one location to numerous centers serving over 230,000 participants annually.
- He highlights the significance of youth involvement in staffing, noting over 3,000 staff are under 22, contributing to vibrant community engagement.
05:59 YMCA’s historical role in community development and its focus on health and resilience.
- YMCA historically contributed to urban planning and community support, serving various needs from education to events.
- The organization’s strategic plan emphasizes health, resilience in youth, and combating loneliness through community engagement.
08:39 YMCA fosters community and belonging among diverse individuals.
- Bruce Ham highlights Chris’s transformation, crediting the YMCA for its role in his development and success.
- The YMCA serves a diverse population, providing financial assistance while promoting inclusivity and community engagement.
11:19 Bruce discusses resilience through his personal experiences and community support.
- He shares a personal journey of raising three daughters after his wife’s battle with cancer.
- Bruce emphasizes the importance of community and how it helps individuals overcome challenging times.
14:19 YMCA programs foster youth development and academic success.
- The Y Power Scholars program helps children from marginalized communities mitigate summer learning loss by providing fun, educational summer sessions.
- Youth sports and community programs at the YMCA promote physical activity, teamwork, and personal growth, engaging hundreds of children in various sports.
17:19 YMCA emphasizes diverse fitness programs and community engagement for health.
- Bruce Ham discusses the importance of group fitness programs like yoga and step aerobics at the YMCA.
- There is a focus on fostering a supportive environment for older adults through various wellness initiatives, including Thrive programs.
19:53 Addressing loneliness through community connections and engagement at the YMCA.
- The former surgeon general’s findings highlight loneliness’s severe health impacts, akin to smoking 15 cigarettes daily.
- The YMCA is focusing on creating opportunities for connection and volunteerism to combat loneliness and promote mental health.