Dan Bulger has been a volunteer with the YMCA in Cobourg since he was a young energetic teenager. While it wasn’t something he was looking for at the time, it’s something that he’s grown to love.
A long time member, volunteer, and supporter of the YMCA, Dan inspires others to get involved to make a difference in the health of their communities.
In 1978, he was taking swimming lessons at the Centennial’s outdoor pool which was operated by the ‘Y’. His mother told him that he needed to “burn more energy” which might have come as a bit of a surprise as Dan already played several sports including hockey, ball hockey, baseball and lacrosse – but apparently he needed to do more.
As it happened, his mother was also taking swimming lessons at the YMCA and she spoke to Peter Beatty, the CEO at that time, who told her that they had just started an indoor men’s soccer league and this would be great exposure for him as it seemed he was destined for a career in the recreation field.
At 15, Dan’s first volunteer job was to setup and coordinate the indoor soccer league at Cobourg East High School (now CCI). Dan told us that he thinks his mom regretted getting him that first job as he didn’t have a license and she was enlisted to drive him to setups, as well picking up nets and equipment.
Bulger suggested that it was a bit daunting at first, as he had to “…keep grown men from killing each other…”, but as it happened they were all good friends who, like good sportsmen, left their quarrels on the field.
At around the same time as Dan’s first volunteer experience, the Cobourg Community Centre was being planned. Dan’s mother saw an opportunity and told him that timing was everything. So he began to take courses through the Y to became a fitness instructor.
The day the CCC opened it’s doors, Bulger was a qualified volunteer fitness instructor. Not long after, Dan was heading a 6-week pilot project called ‘Swimnastics’ an early precursor to the ‘Aquafit’ program.
Originally, they wanted to get men into the pool for exercise, but the optics of ‘Swimnastics’ didn’t really attract a lot of attention. Dan worked with a team to “re-brand” the class as ‘Men’s Water Power Fitness’.
Participants liked it so much, Dan was signed on for a second 6-week program but they dropped the ‘Men’s’ and opened up the class to everyone. The high-intensity, high-impact class in the water was something new and it ran for several years with 10-12 participants per class.
At that time, Dan was attending college and feels that the 6:30 a.m. morning classes, 3 times per week, were something that added to his formal education in recreation. It was also the beginnings of some life-long relationships. “We have people in my class that have been coming for over 25 years.”
He is more than just an instructor and has a tremendous amount of fun working with participants. Forty years later you can still find Dan in the pool. He tells us it’s the people, and the friendships that he’s developed, that continue to bring him out. In Dan’s words, “I’m providing a service but what they bring back to me is a real satisfaction of belonging and that group in pool is my second family”.
Dan told us about what he gets out of the hours and hours he’s spend volunteering over more than 40 years. “There’s absolute joy when you see youth, kids and adults getting something out of an organization that helps them”.
Bulger is motivated by seeing people’s improvements – physical, mental and social development and he’s happy to be a cog in the programs that make it possible.
Dan is most proud of helping in the growth of the YMCA in Cobourg and playing a part in building childcare, youth care and seniors programs. “The programs we introduced weren’t just pulled from the sky, they were out of need. It’s what the Y does.”
Volunteer Appreciation Day, powered by Coldwell Banker RMR Real Estate.
To hear more about Dan Bulger, one of Northumberland’s outstanding volunteers, click on the audio link below to hear our full interview.