Learn swing dancing and the cha-cha... all while raising money for the Gleason Family YMCA.

In an effort to help Wareham's Y finish off its latest expansion project - which will add new men's and women's locker rooms with saunas and a multipurpose room to the facility - Y member Robert Orpen is taking fundraising to the dance floor.

Orpen, a Wareham summer resident and retired ballroom dancing instructor who spent more than 40 years running dance studios, will teach a six-week ballroom dancing class on Tuesdays beginning September 27 at the Gleason Family YMCA.

All of the proceeds from the class will be donated to the Y and all class fees received before Friday, September 30 will be matched by the Penzance Foundation. The foundation has extended a $400,000 challenge grant to the Gleason Y - a commitment to match any monies raised before that date up to $400,000.

For YMCA members, the class costs $35 per person or $50 per couple. For the general public, the cost is $45 per person or $65 per couple.

Orpen decided to help out after repeatedly walking into the Y and seeing posters about the $400,000 challenge.

"I really like this place," Orpen said. And he noticed something lacking at the Gleason Y: "All the cities I've lived in, all the YMCAs have [ballroom] dancing."

Dancers of all abilities are welcome to attend the class.

"We're not teaching you how to become a 'Dancing with the Stars' performer," Orpen said. "We're teaching you social dancing."

And Orpen, who has taught private and group classes, stresses: You don't need a partner!

"[Dancing] is really an extremely healthy thing to do. It's very beneficial," Orpen said. "It's a mental and physical exercise. Everyone's happier dancing."

The locker room and multipurpose room additions are the last in a series of expansion projects - called "Fulfilling the Promise" - at the Gleason Family YMCA. In 2005, a year after the YMCA opened, the Wellness Center was expanded. In late 2009, the basketball courts were doubled in size and a suspended indoor track above the gym was completed. In August 2010, the YMCA opened its outdoor pool and Family Center, a gathering place.

"The Gleason Family YMCA is really lucky to have members like Bob who not only support the expansion themselves, but find ways to get others involved," said Jill Tompkins, YMCA Southcoast director of development.

Orpen says he's happy to help.

"The bigger the class, the more fun it is," he noted. "Have fun and exercise. ... Help raise the money!"

For more information about the Gleason Family YMCA, its programs, and its fundraising efforts, click here.