This story is part of a series on 1st Source Foundation’s grant program. Learn more about the program and the impact it has on communities across Northern Indiana here.
As the need for the Duneland Family YMCA’s services continued to grow in Chesterton and surrounding communities, Duneland Y leadership recognized that its campus on Roosevelt Street simply wasn’t big enough. The new Duneland Y Healthy Living Campus is set to offer a solution.
“We grew out of our current facility; we weren’t able to meet the most pressing needs of our community. Our board realized we had to do something,” Duneland Y CEO Dave Kasarda said.
Located in the former Chesterton Middle School, the Healthy Living Campus promises to do more than expand the YMCA’s campus. The additional space provided by the new campus gives the Duneland Y an opportunity to expand its former offerings. This includes investments into VEX robotics equipment, eSports equipment, music, the arts, and other STEM ventures as well as an aquatics center, indoor tracks, and multiple gymnasiums. The new campus will also be one of the only Y locations in the country to own and operate a theater. This approach means that everyone, regardless of age, will have access to growth opportunities while visiting the Healthy Living Campus.
“We’re at our best when we realize that not everyone wants to play basketball,” Kasarda said. “When this location opens, for the first time in our history, Mom will be able to come for group exercise, put her children in swimming lessons, and take a robotics class all in one location. We’ll be able to do everything in one fell swoop.”
Even with these multimillion-dollar investments, Kasarda and his team knew that the new campus could provide even more value to the Region by partnering with local organizations dedicated to the well-being of their communities.
“We want to provide high-quality, affordable programs and services to families and people of all ages,” Kasarda said. “When we started planning this a few years ago, I reached out to several key leaders that I knew and said, ‘We have this vision. Are you interested?’ They were interested and came along for this ride with us.”
The Duneland Y already has several partnering organizations ready to move into the Healthy Living Campus in the near future, including Jacob’s Ladder, the Chesterton Youth Collective, and Porter-Starke Services, among others. By bringing so many services under one roof, Kasarda and his team hope to turn the Healthy Living Campus into a one-stop shop for residents throughout the Region.
“We take this responsibility very seriously – our partners’ success will be our success and vice versa. We’re doing this together like we’re one unit,” Kasarda said. “This is a very regional approach. Because of the services we’re going to be able to offer through our partners, we’re going to be pulling in people from several different counties. It’s an all-in effort, and I think we’ve only started scratching the surface of what can happen here.”
Such an encompassing endeavor would not have been possible without the support of generous donors like 1st Source Foundation, which awarded a $100,000 grant to the project. In recognition of the generosity of this grant, 1st Source Foundation will be given naming opportunities for the campus’s group exercise studios.
“1st Source Foundation is pleased to support Duneland Family YMCA in the construction of their new campus,” said Matt Vessely, West Region President at 1st Source Bank. “This new campus will provide invaluable and much-needed services to the greater Chesterton area. We appreciate the YMCA’s commitment to offering programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for everyone in the community.”
“I’ve been with the Duneland Y for 10 years, and 1st Source Foundation have been great friends of ours in that time. They’ve equipped preschool classrooms, they’ve equipped childcare rooms, they even purchased the TVs in our cardio center,” Kasarda said. “This grant was a very generous gift, and I know that they can see the impact of what we’re trying to do. It is a transformational gift that I could not be more honored to accept.”
The Healthy Living Campus is expected to complete all construction and renovation in spring of 2026, becoming a fully functioning Y location by winter of the same year. Those interested in visiting the Healthy Living Campus now, however, can attend classes and programs ranging from summer camps and senior programs to weekly robotics classes, guitar lessons, and art workshops from Make Make.
While donors like 1st Source Foundation have helped set the Healthy Living Campus vision in motion, every dollar makes a difference. Donations can be made online, and every dollar donated will be matched (up to $250,000). Learn more about the Healthy Living Campus on the Duneland YMCA’s website.
“We’ve had an extremely successful campaign thanks to a large response from donors,” Kasarda said. “The Healthy Living Campus is only possible because of our volunteers and generous organizations like 1st Source Foundation.”
1st Source Foundation helps fund local projects making a significant impact on their community. Those interested in applying for a grant should visit 1st Source Foundation’s page to learn about eligibility, application requirements, and more.
