John Switzer hopes family's gift inspires others to follow suit
- March 4, 2015
- / Shannon Nickinson
- / community-dashboard
For John Switzer, it came down to peer pressure.
The Switzer family has long supported the community through philanthropy efforts that tie to education and kids. That includes gifts to Pensacola State College, the University of West Florida and other similar entities.
“We are community activists,” said John Switzer. “Not in the politics, but on the side of putting money into good things that make the community a good place.”
For Switzer, that is where the effort to build a new downtown YMCA comes in.
“It was very important that the Switzer family be involved in this,” he said. “I really believe that a downtown YMCA will make our community more vibrant and alive. More people will want to live downtown, work downtown, play downtown and work out downtown.
“Honestly, it was the peer pressure applied by Quint (Studer),” John Switzer said.
Today the Switzer family gave $500,000 toward the effort to replace the aging, outdated and inaccessible downtown YMCA of Northwest Florida with a modern, $16 million facility on the corner of Tarragona and Intendencia streets.
It is the latest in a series of high-profile gifts announced toward the campaign to help the Y open debt free.
Quint and Rishy Studer were the foundational donors, giving $5 million to the Y and donating the land for the 52,000 square foot facility. The Bear family, the Levin family, and the James M. Cox Foundation (the philanthropic arm of Cox Communications), have all been recent donors.
John Switzer hopes his family’s gift to the Y inspires other Pensacola families to give to the cause. He said that was what happened in the early 1990s, when the Lamar-Switzer-Brent family were the lead donors to the expansion that added functionality to the Y’s current location.
Switzer says he is blessed to have two great-grandfathers — in the Lamar and Brent families — who were “pioneers in this town.”
“I’ve been blessed to carry on the legacy, and hopefully future generations of the Switzer-Lamar-Brent families will be able to carry on that legacy as well.”
The education focus that is the foundation of much of the YMCA’s programming — especially swimming lessons, water safety and health and wellness — is particularly appealing to Switzer.
“The opportunity we can provide to children learn to swim in a safe environment, to participate in have sports and learning activities for kids who wouldn’t be able to do it otherwise.”
Switzer says he encourages other “longtime Pensacola families like the Woodburys, the MacQueens, the Chadbournes, who could contribute to something that will be great for this community, not to say that they don’t already do that,” he says “But they could pitch in a little bit so that the Y could open debt-free.”
Quint and Rishy Studer were the foundational donors, giving $5 million to the Y and donating the land for the 52,000 square foot facility. The Bear family, the Levin family, and the James M. Cox Foundation (the philanthropic arm of Cox Communications), have all been recent donors.
John Switzer hopes his family’s gift to the Y inspires other Pensacola families to give to the cause. He said that was what happened in the early 1990s, when the Lamar-Switzer-Brent family were the lead donors to the expansion that added functionality to the Y’s current location.
Switzer says he is blessed to have two great-grandfathers — in the Lamar and Brent families — who were “pioneers in this town.”
“I’ve been blessed to carry on the legacy, and hopefully future generations of the Switzer-Lamar-Brent families will be able to carry on that legacy as well.”
The education focus that is the foundation of much of the YMCA’s programming — especially swimming lessons, water safety and health and wellness — is particularly appealing to Switzer.
“The opportunity we can provide to children learn to swim in a safe environment, to participate in have sports and learning activities for kids who wouldn’t be able to do it otherwise.”
Switzer says he encourages other “longtime Pensacola families like the Woodburys, the MacQueens, the Chadbournes, who could contribute to something that will be great for this community, not to say that they don’t already do that,” he says “But they could pitch in a little bit so that the Y could open debt-free.”
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