Saud Anwar

Senator Anwar Tours East Hartford YMCA Larson Center, Discusses Need for Renovations and Funding Opportunities

State Senator Saud Anwar joins, from left, Connecticut Alliance of YMCAs Executive Director John Cattelan, YMCA of Greater Hartford CEO Harold Sparrow and YMCA of Greater Hartford Executive Director Laura Floyd as well as several children in the YMCA’s daycare program.

EAST HARTFORD, CT – Today, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-East Hartford) toured the YMCA Lois Nolan Larson Community Center with YMCA of Greater Hartford CEO Harold Sparrow, YMCA of Greater Hartford Executive Director Laura Floyd and Connecticut Alliance of YMCAs Executive Director John Cattelan. In meeting with leadership, visiting children in the building’s daycare and touring the premises, Sen. Anwar gave support to funding the location and efforts to improve its status as a community support system.

“This center does so much for local families between support for daycare and renting its open space to community organizations, but with renovations and funding, it could do so much more,” said Sen. Anwar. “I am thankful to Harold, Laura and John for showing me what the Larson Community Center offers to the community, and I support efforts to further improve what it can bring to East Hartford. The Larson family name suits it well, as the Larson family has given so much to East Hartford. We can continue to honor their legacy with continued support.”

“Renovating the Larson Center means we would be able to reach more people and serve the Mayberry Village community,” said Floyd. “This is an underserved community and our hopes at the YMCA are to have more children enrolled in preschool care, to have a safe haven for teens and tweens to come to after school, and to address the rising population of seniors to provide programming so that they stay healthy.”

During a tour of the Larson Center, Sen. Anwar met children at the YMCA’s daycare program before seeing areas of the building that would receive major improvements in renovations. Leaders said an after-school center for teens and tweens would be effective for the location to give students a place to go in afternoons and evenings. Renovations would further bolster the location’s gym and senior center capabilities, providing new resources for members of the entire community. Sen. Anwar pledged to join with the YMCA and support efforts to make these renovations a reality, truly meeting needs of the entire community from young to old.