Friends of the Neal Fitness Center
The group’s mission is to help keep our fitness center strong and vibrant into the future! The Friends group welcomes new members interested in helping out by volunteering. Read the story below of the group’s interesting journey and sign up to help today! THANK YOU for your interest and involvement!
What volunteer activities are members involved in?
Giving tours of NFC to potential members
Staffing a table at the Muskegon Farmer’s Market to promote NFC to the community
Helping staff events at NFC or fundraisers for ”The Clubhouse.“ including being parking lot attendants during community events
Participating in meetings to establish group policies and activities
How do I find out more or join?
Contact the Friends group via NFC’s member service desk. They will put you in touch with a representative of the Friends group. Visit the front desk in person, send an e-mail to info@nealfitnesscenter.com, call or text 231-375-7041
The Friends group also has a website and a Facebook page: “Friends of the Lakeshore Fitness Center”. Fitness center members are welcome to attend the group’s occasional meetings. Paying members gain the right to vote on the group’s actions.
This fillable ‘Volunteer Sign Up Form’ can be completed online. Please fill in your information, save it, and attach it to an email to info@nealfitnesscenter.com or bring it to the member service desk in the NFC lobby. Thank you for your interest!
Friends of the Neal Fitness Center evolved after concerned citizens formed a “Friends” group in late 2018 to preserve the property as one of few assets in Muskegon County that enhanced community health by offering recreation at a reasonable cost to people of all ages and backgrounds. The building had then been operating at a loss and was owned by Muskegon Community College. Developers had proposed acquiring the waterfront property on Muskegon Lake and replacing the fitness center with condominiums.
It was then that MCC attempted to save the community asset by selling it for $1.17 million to the Boys & Girls Club. By then, the Friends group had presented a plan through which the facility could become self-supporting by sharing its space with other compatible uses. Since then, the facility that was once known as the YMCA and then the Lakeshore Fitness Center was renovated and renamed “The Clubhouse”. It provides space for the Boys & Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore, the Neal Fitness Center, and i’move.
Throughout this long process, the Friends of the Neal Fitness Center has been a dedicated group of volunteers working to help our center thrive. The group’s mission is to help us keep our center strong and vibrant into the future! The Friends welcome new members interested in helping out.