Ellen has been a member of the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA since she was 6 years old and the main facility was still on Grand Street. Her father, Joe Duff, was a member of the Y’s Board of Directors and Board of Trustees, and was at the groundbreaking for our Y’s current building on Martine Avenue.

The Y has been there for Ellen in different ways throughout her life, thanks largely to her father who believed in the Y’s mission and what it offers to the community. As a child, Ellen attended St. Bartholomew Academy with her siblings, and they would ride their bikes to the Y after school for programs like skills classes, gymnastics, twirling, and more.

Her first job was as a preschool camp counselor at the Grand Street location. As an adult, she swam at our Y, has taken a variety of classes, was part of the Tri Women’s Club, and more. Once she began her own family, she brought her children here to learn how to swim and participate in programs, such as gymnastics classes and open gym for basketball. Her daughter was even a lifeguard here.

The Y also has been a part of her life through the tough times. In 2014, after Ellen’s husband passed away, she thought she may have to leave our Y. “I could no longer afford the Y. I told the staff that I had to quit for financial reasons and they told me ‘no.’ They said I needed the Y now more than ever and gave me a scholarship until I was able to afford the membership on my own,” Ellen explains.

At this point, Ellen dove into volunteering at the Y as her way of giving back. Then, for several years prior to our Y’s closure due to COVID-19, Ellen taught adult swim lessons here. “I always felt good after these classes,” she says. “I loved the sense of accomplishment the adults had when they were learning to swim.”

Today, Ellen can be seen exercising at our Y almost every day, whether it’s swimming in the pool, exercising in the Wellness Center, or taking a Cycle class in our new studio. She also is enjoying watching the 4th generation of her family participate in Y programs as her grandson is now in the Child Care program and takes swim lessons here.

“The days when I don’t come, I feel like my day hasn’t gone right. I can’t imagine our community without this Y,” Ellen says, adding “It’s important that the Y continues to grow so that more people have the opportunity to explore all it has to offer and experience its sense of community.”