The Freedom Valley and Philadelphia and Vicinity YMCA’s have merged into one of the nation’s largest “Y” organizations.

Starting on January 1 the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA will have 15 branches with about 140,000 members.

Freedom Valley Chief Executive Officer Jay Schaeffer says the merger should enable them to save money on administrative, supply and insurance costs and attract larger donations and grants because of the larger population in the combined area, and no service cuts or fee hikes are planned.

Freedom Valley operates the Audubon Branch in Lower Providence Township, the Spring Valley Branch in Limerick Township, the Upper Perkiomen Valley Branch in Upper Hanover Township and the Pottstown Branch, and it plans to build a new one in Conshohocken.  Audubon and Upper Perkiomen Valley are also in line for upgrades.