Munson backs YMCA West expansion with $225,000 pledge

Munson Healthcare pledged $225,000 to the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA’s Growing for Good campaign, backing an expansion of YMCA West at 3700 Silver Lake Road in Traverse City that would add a new gymnasium, an indoor walking track and more room for families and after-school programming. Munson said it recently joined YMCA staff at the site to mark the pledge, and Megan Brown, the health system’s chief marketing and communications officer, said Munson sees the campaign as a way to prevent disease and enrich lives for years to come.

The project is bigger than a single donation. The YMCA entered the public fundraising phase of the campaign in March 2026 with a plan that calls for about 20,000 additional square feet, more than 100 new parking spaces, classroom space, upgraded fitness and office areas, and two new gyms. YMCA leaders have tied the work to a broader effort to expand health, wellness and community programming across Grand Traverse County and the surrounding region.

For families, the most immediate change would be more space for child care and after-school programming. Grand Traverse Bay YMCA CEO Andrew Page has said those programs matter because some children have nowhere to go after school, and the added classroom and family-programming areas would give that work more room. The indoor walking track and expanded fitness areas would also add another place for residents to exercise inside a facility they already use year-round.

Munson’s pledge also reflects an existing relationship between the two organizations. Munson already has Mary Free Bed at Munson physical therapy staff on site at YMCA West, so the building is already being used for more than workouts and recreation. The expansion would deepen that overlap between exercise, rehabilitation and preventive health in one of Traverse City’s most familiar community buildings.

The health system describes itself as northern Michigan’s largest, serving people in 29 counties through eight hospitals. Munson Medical Center in Traverse City is the region’s largest hospital and referral center for all of northern Michigan. The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA also operates Central and South locations in Traverse City, but the West site is the one now set to grow into a larger hub for fitness, youth programming and neighborhood use.