Burke Jenkins
Member
Rheanne Suszek
Executive Director
We always have a safe place downtown for friends, family and fun.
Why is the YMCA important to the Detroit community?
Burke: The YMCA is a wonderful place downtown for people of all ages and interests. Aside from having great exercise and workout facilities, the Y provides opportunities for community members of all ages.
Rheanne: The Y gives people a place beyond home and work to connect, belong, and grow. It’s a rare space that evolves with you – supporting every stage of life and helping people stay healthy, engaged, and fulfilled.
How has the YMCA impacted your life personally?
Burke: I met my wife there when she worked the front desk, I have worked out in the building since it opened, and sent my son there for his first years of childcare. There is no place I have spent more time or been more invested in personally than the Boll Family YMCA.
Rheanne: I discovered a hobby that became a passion, turned a temporary job into a career I love, and met my closest friends – and my husband. When my son started childcare at the Y after my maternity leave, it made the transition to parenthood feel seamless in a way no other place has.
What’s your favorite memory from your time at the YMCA?
Burke: My favorite memory from the YMCA is always going to be the smiling face of the woman at the front desk when I first joined – who is now my wife.
Rheanne: Early on, I thought one of the members was cute, and with a little help from my coworkers, I learned his name was Burke. Fifteen years later, we’re married and now raising our son at the Y.
In one sentence, what does the YMCA mean to you?
Burke: We always have a safe place downtown for friends, family and fun.
Rheanne: My life would be entirely different without the YMCA.
If you had to describe the YMCA community in three words, what would they be?
Family. Community. Fitness.