Grant To Springdale's Jones Center Increases Scholarship Money For NWA Residents

SPRINGDALE -- More people, families and organizations will be able to use the facilities at The Jones Center after an announcement a donation will be used for scholarships.

An official from the Walmart Foundation announced Thursday a $250,000 grant to the center to help needy families and nonprofit groups. Karen Parker, senior manager for the foundation, said the grant fits its mission to improve the quality of life for Northwest Arkansas residents. The grant is the third from the foundation.

"We want to make sure everyone has access to the center," Parker said. "Income can be a challenge or a barrier for families."

The grant will also allow nonprofit organizations to hold events at the center at little or no cost, said Ed Clifford, chief executive officer of the center.

The center is already a good value, said John Buchan, a Springdale firefighter who was using the fitness center with wife Regina on Thursday. He and his family, which includes three children, moved to Springdale from Pine Bluff about six months ago, joining the center about a month ago, he said.

"We looked around at other fitness centers and decided this was the best value," John Buchan said. "We get to use the fitness equipment, and we also have everything else the center offers for our kids."

The center, which added fees in 2008, began selling memberships in September 2012. A family membership for all facilities is $300 per year. The center has about 3,000 members with almost 1,000 on scholarships at $300 per year, Clifford said. The scholarship total includes participants in some activity programs, such as those operated by Camp War Eagle, Clifford said.

The center continues to add programs, said Kelly Kemp-McLintock, chief advancement officer at the center.

New programs include fitness classes, such as yoga and Zumba, and a personal fitness trainer, Kemp-McLintock said. The center has started a recreational hockey league, indoor soccer leagues and added swimming lessons taught by the Red Cross.

The center recently acquired children's gymnastic equipment through two donations, Kemp-McLintock said. The equipment allowed the center to offer gymnastic lessons, she said. Classes are beginner ages 5 to 7, beginner 8 and older, and intermediate, according to the center website.

"We tried to get our daughter in a gymnastics class, but it filled up," Buchan said.

Budgeted expenses of the center are about $3.5 million for 2014, Kemp-McLintock said. Over half of operational costs is utilities. The Jones Center is a 220,000-square-foot family facility that has conference rooms, a swimming pool, an ice skating rink, a gymnasium, a computer center and classrooms.

"People don't realize what The Jones Center has," John Buchan said. "There is nothing like this anywhere I've lived."

"We've already got our money's worth after one month," Regina Buchan said.