Emotions were strong in November 2019 when BJC’s Memorial Hospital told staff of the Belleville Health & Sports Center it would be closing the facility at the end of the year.
“There were a lot of tears that day,” said Marsha Hohe, then an instructor at the health club.
However, a decision from a group of community members to turn the club that had 900 members, most of whom are senior citizens, into a nonprofit proved to be the right move. A little more than five years later, the health club boasts 40% growth in its membership, which now sits at around 1,300.
“This was our heart and soul. I just love this place,” said Hohe, now the general manager. “When we found out that it went through, we were thrilled.”
Belleville law partners Pat Mathis and Kevin Richter first had the idea to take the club nonprofit when BJC announced its plans to shut the gym’s doors.
“The idea of the not-for-profit was a way to have an organization that could sponsor it,” said Mathis, now chairman of the nonprofit. “We're not in it to make money. We're in it to keep it going.”
BJC initially offered to sell the facility on South 74th Street, but there was a problem. “We don’t have any money,” Mathis recalled telling BJC.
Memorial Hospital later agreed to lease it to the budding nonprofit for $1 per month, and it covered utilities, property tax and the building’s insurance for the first couple of years to help it get started.
After surviving shutting the health club for nine months during the COVID pandemic, BJC leadership asked the nonprofit’s board what it planned to do. Eventually, the hospital decided to give the group the building, land and all of the exercise equipment.
“We're forever grateful to BJC Memorial for supporting us and for giving us the club because, frankly, we could never have done it without that,” Mathis said.
What used to be a racquetball facility in the 1980s now hosts 50 classes of all kinds, including Pilates, yoga, weight training, zumba, cycling and karate. There are pickleball courts and a weight room.
The health club also has boxing classes for people with Parkinson’s disease, another program for people exercising for the first time after an illness or injury and massage therapy.
“It makes such a difference in your life,” Deb Wafer, a member, said of the club. “Not only do you feel better physically, you feel better mentally because you know you're doing the right thing for yourself.”
Beyond programs designed to better member’s physical wellness, the nonprofit offers bus trips and a variety of holiday parties.
Members of the center say the social connection fostered there made it worthy of being saved five years ago.
“I didn't think it would work, and they did it,” said Marylou Tyrrell, who’s been coming to the gym for 30 years. “We are such a community here. We all love it, and it's the best.”
Even during a period of high inflation and Illinois increasing its minimum wage every year, Hohe and the board believe the health club is as strong as ever.
After holding them constant for five years, the club just raised dues for the first time on Jan. 1.
Part of the credit can be given to what’s become a “volunteer organization,” Mathis said. Members who’ve retired from careers in plumbing, electrical work and maintenance all help out with the building, Mathis and Hohe said.
Now, reflecting the past five years, the gym’s leaders say it’s safe to say it isn’t going anywhere.
“Marsha [Hohe] calls it the ‘Miracle on 74th Street’ because we managed to not just survive, but thrive,” Mathis said. “And I think a lot of people thought that we wouldn't make it, and I'm not sure there weren't days that we weren't sure we wouldn't make it. But we've done that, and I think people are really happy that we're here.”
