The Young Men's Christian Association (commonly known as YMCA or simply the Y) is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs. It was founded on June 6, 1844 in London, England, and it aims to put Christian principles into practice, achieved by developing "a healthy spirit, mind, and body." The YMCA is a federated organization made up of local and national organizations in voluntary association. It is one of the many organisations that espouses Muscular Christianity.[1][2][3][4][5] Today, YMCAs are open to all, regardless of faith, social class, age, or gender. The World Alliance of YMCAs is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.[6]
The oldest organization that was similar to the YMCA is the Swiss Basel Association, founded in 1787 as the Lediger Verein. In 1834, the Bremen Jünglingsverein was founded in northern Germany. The Nazis would close all German Jünglingsvereine in the 1930s, but they would be re-established after the war as CVJMs. The oldest association in the United Kingdom similar to the YMCA was founded in Scotland in 1824 as Glasgow Young Men's Society for Religious Improvement. The French Société Philadelphique was founded in Nîmes in 1843.
In regards to the history and purpose of the founding one must take into account that this "organization and its female counterpart (YWCA) were established to provide low-cost housing in a safe Christian environment for rural young men and women journeying to the cities."[7] The YMCA "combined preaching in the streets and the distribution of religious tracts with a social ministry. Philanthropists saw them as places for wholesome recreation that would preserve youth from the temptations of alcohol, gambling, and prostitution and that would promote good citizenship."[7]
The roots of the YMCA can be drawn back to the life of a 23-year-old draper who was typical of the young men drawn to the cities by the Industrial Revolution. He and his colleagues were concerned about the lack of healthy activities for young men in major cities. The options available were usually taverns and brothels. On 6 June 1844, he founded the first YMCA in London with the purpose of "the improving of the spiritual condition of young men engaged in the drapery, embroidery, and other trades." By 1851, there were YMCAs in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
In 1855, ninety-nine YMCA delegates from Europe and North America met in Paris at the First World Conference of YMCAs for the first time before the 1855 Paris World Exposition. They discussed the possibility of joining together in a federation to enhance co-operation amongst individual YMCA societies. This marked the beginning of the World Alliance of YMCAs. The conference adopted the Paris Basis,[8] a common mission for all present and future national YMCAs. Its motto was taken from the Bible, "That they all may be one" (John 17:21). Other ecumenical bodies such as the World YWCA, the World Council of Churches and the World Student Christian Federation, reflected elements of the Paris Basis in their founding mission statements. In 1865, The Fourth World Conference of YMCAs, in Germany, affirmed the importance of developing the whole individual in body, mind and spirit. The concept of physical work through sports, a new concept for the time, was also recognised.
Two themes resonated during the council: the need to respect the local autonomy of YMCA societies, and the purpose of the YMCA: to unite all young, male Christians for the extension and expansion of the Kingdom of God. The former idea is expressed in the preamble:
The delegates of various Young Men’s Christian Associations of Europe and America, assembled in Conference at Paris, the 22nd August, 1855, feeling that they are one in principle and in operation, recommend to their respective Societies to recognize with them the unity existing among their Associations, and while preserving a complete independence as to their particular organization and modes of action, to form a Confederation of secession on the following fundamental principle, such principle to be regarded as the basis of admission of other Societies in future.
The YMCA's most influential period since its conception could be between the 1870s and 1930s. It is during this time that they most successfully promoted "evangelical Christianity in weekday and Sunday services, while promoting good sportsmanship in athletic contests in gyms (where basketball and volleyball were invented) and swimming pools."[7] Later in this period, and continuing on through the 20th century, the YMCA had "become interdenominational and more concerned with promoting morality and good citizenship than a distinctive interpretation of Christianity.[7]
In 1878, World Alliance of YMCAs offices were established in Geneva, Switzerland. Later, in 1900, North American YMCAs, in collaboration with the World Alliance, would begin working in European ports, with millions of migrants leaving for the USA. In 1880, the YMCA became the first national organization to adopt a strict policy of equal gender representation in committees and national boards, with Norway being the country that first adopted it. In 1885, Camp Baldhead (later known as Camp Dudley), the first residential camp in North America, was established by A. Sanford and Sumner F. Dudley, both of whom worked for the YMCA. The camp, originally being located near Orange Lake in New Jersey, moved to Lake Wawayanda in Sussex County the following year, and then to the shore of Lake Champlain near Westport, New York in 1891.[9][10] By 1910, the YMCA was an early influence upon Scouting, including the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and German Scouting. Edgar M. Robinson, a Chicago-area YMCA administrator, briefly left the YMCA to become the BSA's first director.
In 1916, K.T. Paul became the first Indian National General Secretary of India. Paul had started rural development programmes for self-reliance of marginal farmers, through co-operatives and credit societies. These programmes became very popular. He also coined the term "rural reconstruction", and many of the principles he developed were later incorporated into the Government's nation-wide community development programmes. In 1923, Y.C. James Yen, of the YMCA of China, devised the "thousand character system", based on pilot projects in education. The method also became very popular, and in 1923, it led to the founding of the Chinese National Association of the Mass Education Movement. In 1928, a historic YMCAinJerusalem was established during the British Mandate. During World War II, the YMCA was involved in war work with displaced persons and refugees. They set up War Prisoners Aid to support prisoners of war by providing sports equipment, musical instruments, art materials, radios, gramophones, eating utensils and other items.
In 1947, the World Alliance of YMCAs gained special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In 1955, the first African-American President of the World Alliance of YMCAs, Mr. Charles Dunbar Sherman from Liberia, was elected. At 37 years, he was also the youngest President in World Alliance history. In 1959, The YMCA developed the first nationally organized scuba diving course and certified their first Skin and scuba diving instructors.[11][12]
In 1973, the Sixth World Council in Kampala, Uganda, became the first World Council in Africa. It reaffirmed the Paris Basis and adopted a declaration of principles, known as the Kampala Principles,[13] which include the principles of justice, creativity and honesty. It stated what had become obvious in most national YMCAs; a global viewpoint was more necessary, and that in doing so, the YMCAs would have to take political stands, especially so in international challenges. In 1985, the World Council of YMCAs passed a resolution against apartheid, and anti-apartheid campaigns were formed under the leadership of Mr. Lee Soo-Min (Korea), the first Asian Secretary General of the World Alliance.
In 1997, at the 14th World Council of YMCAs, the World Council in Germany adopted "Challenge 21",[14] giving even more focus to the global challenges, like gender equality, sustainable development, war and peace, fair distribution and the challenges of globalization, racism, and HIV/AIDS:
Affirming the Paris Basis adopted in 1855, as the ongoing foundation statement of the mission of the YMCA, at the threshold of the third millennium, we declare that the YMCA is a world-wide Christian, ecumenical, voluntary movement for women and men with special emphasis on and the genuine involvement of young people and that it seeks to share the Christian ideal of building a human community of justice with love, peace and reconciliation for the fullness of life for all creation.
Each member YMCA is therefore called to focus on certain challenges which will be prioritized according to its own context. These challenges which are an evolution of the Kampala Principles
- Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and striving for spiritual, intellectual and physical well-being of individuals and wholeness of communities.
- Empowering all, especially young people and women to take increased responsibilities and assume leadership at all levels and working towards an equitable society.
- Advocating for and promoting the rights of women and upholding the rights of children.
- Fostering dialogue and partnership between people of different faiths and ideologies and recognizing the cultural identities of people and promoting cultural renewal.
- Committing to work in solidarity with the poor, dispossessed, uprooted people and oppressed racial, religious and ethnic minorities.
- Seeking to be mediators and reconcilers in situations of conflict and working for meaningful participation and advancement of people for their own self-determination.
- Defending God’s creation against all that would destroy it and preserving and protecting the earth’s resources for coming generations. To face these challenges, the YMCA will develop patterns of co-operation at all levels that enable self-sustenance and self-determination.
In 2002, the World Council in Oaxtepec, Morelos, Mexico, called for a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis. In October 2008, and again in 2009, YMCA of Greater Toronto in Canada was named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc.[15] On 11 July 2010, the YMCA of the USA re-branded its name to the popular nickname, "The Y", and revised the iconic red and black logo to create five coloured versions.[16]
The first YMCA was concerned with Bible study, although the organization has generally moved on to a more holistic approach to youth work. Around six years after its birth, an international YMCA conference in Paris decided that the objective of the organization should become "Christian discipleship developed through a program of religious, educational, social and physical activities" (Binfield 1973:265). More recent objectives as found on the YMCA UK website include no reference to discipleship.
Restore Ministries of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee provides an example of how the Christian influence in the YMCA still exists today.[17] Founded in 2000 by Scott Reall, Restore provides support groups and individual counseling with an aim of "lifting the 'C'" (of the YMCA).[18]
Various colleges and universities have historically had connections to the YMCA. Springfield College was founded in 1885 as an international training school for YMCA Professionals, while one of the two schools that eventually became Concordia University—started from night courses offered at the Montreal YMCA. Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts) began out of a YMCA in Boston, and Franklin University began as the YMCA School of Commerce. San Francisco's Golden Gate University traces its roots to the founding of the YMCA Night School on November 1, 1881. Detroit College of Law, now the Michigan State University College of Law, was founded with a strong connection to the Detroit, Michigan YMCA. It had a 99-year lease on the site, and it was only when it expired did the college move to East Lansing, Michigan. The Nashville School of Law was the YMCA Night Law School until November 1986, having offered law classes since 1911 and the degree of Juris Doctor since January of 1927. YMCA pioneered the concept of night school, providing educational opportunities for people with full-time employment. Many YMCAs offer ESL programs, alternative high school, day care, and summer camp programs.
American high school students have a chance to participate in YMCA Youth and Government, wherein clubs of kids representing each YMCA community convene annually in their respective state legislatures to "take over the State Capitol for a day."
In 1891, James Naismith, a Canadian-American, invented basketball while studying at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts (later to be named Springfield College). Naismith had been asked to invent a new game in an attempt to interest pupils in physical exercise. The game had to be interesting, easy to learn, and easy to play indoors in winter. Such an activity was needed both by the Training School and by YMCAs across the country. Naismith and his wife attended the 1936 Summer Olympics when basketball became one of the Olympic events. In 1895, William G. Morgan from the YMCA of Holyoke, Massachusetts, invented the sport of volleyball as a slower paced alternative sport, in which the older Y members could participate. In 1930, Juan Carlos Ceriani from the YMCA of Montevideo, Uruguay, invented the sport of futsal as a synthesis of three indoor sports, handball, basketball, and water polo, maintaining the motivation of the sport foot-ball (soccer) on playgrounds reduced.
All YMCA programs have a strong importance on the values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. These core values were adopted formally by the YMCA of the United States in the early 1990s. They were developed to help teach children right from wrong.
Each of the core values has a color that is connected to it in order to help people remember them. Caring is associated with red, honesty with blue, responsibility with green and respect with yellow.[19]
A federated model of governance has created a diversity of YMCA programs and services, with YMCAs in different countries and communities offering vastly different programming in response to local community needs.[20] In North America, the YMCA is sometimes perceived to be primarily a community sports facility; in Great Britain, the YMCA is sometimes perceived to be primarily a place for homeless young people; however, it offers a broad range of programs such as sports, personal fitness, child care, overnight camping, employment readiness programs, training programmes, advice services, immigrant services, conference centers and educational activities as methods of promoting its values.
The Archives of the YMCA of the USA are located at the Kautz Family YMCA Archives, a unit of the University of Minnesota Libraries Department of Archives and Special Collections. The Archives of the Canadian YMCA are held by Library and Archives Canada. Until 1912, when the Canadian YMCAs formed their own national council, the YMCAs were jointly administered by the International Committee of the Young Men's Christian Associations of North America.
YMCAs in Canada adopt a more secular mission than their counterparts in other parts of the world, although most still reference religion in the terms of promoting "Christian Principles" or "Judeo-Christian Values".
The national YMCA federation in Canada expresses its statement of purpose:
The YMCA in Canada is dedicated to the growth of all persons in spirit, mind and body and a sense of responsibility to each other and the global community.
The national YMCA federation in the United States expresses its mission:
To put Christian principles in to practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all
This variation is in keeping with the concept of local autonomy expressed in the preamble to the Paris Basis, and both YMCA Canada and YMCA of the USA are active participants in the World Alliance of YMCAs.
The YMCA had a history of problems with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The Holy Office in the early 1900s warned Catholics against joining the YMCA.[21] The situation is ambiguous today.
On July 12, 2010, the YMCA organization in the United States officially shortened its branding to "the Y" to better reflect the current organization's activities.[22]
Starting before the American Civil War,[23] YMCA provided nursing, shelter, and other support in wartime.
During World War I, the YMCA raised and spent over $155,000,000 on welfare efforts for American soldiers. They deployed over 25,000 staff in military units and bases from Siberia to Egypt to France. They took over the military's morale and comfort operations worldwide. Irving Berlin wrote Yip Yip Yaphank, a revue that included a song entitled "I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine in the Y.M.C.A." Frances Gulick was a Y.M.C.A. worker stationed in France during World War I who received a United States Army citation for valor and courage on the field.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).
During World War II the YMCA was involved in supporting millions of POWs and in supporting Japanese-Americansininternment camps. This help included helping young men leave the camps to attend Springfield College and providing youth activities in the camps. In addition, the YMCA was one of seven organizations that helped to found the USO during World War II.
It is very common for YMCAs to have swimming pools and weightrooms, along with facilities for playing various sports such as basketball, volleyball, racquetball, and futsal. The YMCA also sponsors youth sports teams for swimming, cheerleading, basketball, futsal, and soccer.
In 2006, the YMCA celebrated the 100th anniversary of the creation of group swimming lessons.
Until the 1970s when women first started coming to YMCA facilities, wearing clothing of any type in YMCA pools was strictly forbidden. One reason cited was that the cotton or even older wool swimsuits would clog up the filtration system. Another reason was dirt and soap would be released into the pool from the fibers of swim wear. Filtration systems used in swimming pools were not as advanced as they are today, and far less chlorine was used making it easier, in those days, to degrade the cleanliness of the water thereby promoting the growth of bacteria. Females were never allowed to be present in such a setting.[24][25]
Concerned with the rising rates of obesity among adults and children in America, YMCAs around the country are joining with the non-profit America on the Move to help Americans increase their physical fitness by walking more frequently.
In the United States, the YMCA parent/child programs under the umbrella program called Y-Guides, (originally called YMCA Indian Guides, Princess, Braves and Maidens) have provided structured opportunities for fellowship, camping, and community-building activities (including craft-making and community service) for several generations of parents and kids in kindergarten through third grade.[26]
The roots of these programs stem from similar activities dating back to 1926. Notable founders of YMCA Indian Guides include Harold Keltner, a St. Louis YMCA director, and indirectly, Joe Friday, an Ojibwa hunting guide. The two men met in the early 1920s, when Joe Friday was a speaker at a local YMCA banquet for Fathers and Sons that Harold Keltner had arranged. Today, Joe Friday and Harold Keltner are commemorated with patch awards honoring their legacy which are given out to distinguished YMCA volunteers in the program.[26] In 2003 the program evolved into what is now known nationally as "YMCA Adventure Guides". "Trailblazers" is the YMCA's parent/child program for older kids. In 2006, YMCA Indian Guides celebrated 80 years as a YMCA program. Several local YMCAs continue to employ the Native American theme, and some YMCA Indian Guides groups have separated from the YMCA and operate independently as the "Native Sons and Daughters Programs" from the National Longhouse[27]
In some programs, children earn patches for achieving various goals, such as completing a designated nature hike or participating in Y-sponsored events. Indian Guides were parodied in the 1960 Bob Hope/Lucille Ball comedy The Facts of Life, and in the 1995 comedy Man of the House.
The Archive of the British YMCA is housed at the University of Birmingham Special Collections. The Movement in the United Kingdom consists of four separate National Councils – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Until the late 1950s,[23] YMCAs in the United States were built with hotel-like rooms called residences or dormitories. These rooms became a significant part of American culture, known as an inexpensive and safe place for a visitor to stay in an unfamiliar city (as, for example, in the 1978 Village People song "YMCA"). In 1940 there were about 100,000 rooms at YMCAs, more than any hotel chain. By 2006, YMCAs with residences had become relatively rare in the US, but many still existed.[28]
Many YMCAs throughout the world still maintain residences as an integral part of the programming. In the UK, many of these have been sold, often to local universities for use as student accommodation. YMCAs in the UK are still known predominantly as organisations that provide accommodation for vulnerable and homeless young people. Across the UK the YMCA provides over 8,000 bedspaces, and is thus one of the largest providers of safe supported accommodation for young people. The vast majority of this accommodation is supported, which is to say it is a platform through which residents access a range of other personal, social and educational services.
Through use of these facilities, as well as camping trips and baseball leagues, the YMCA used sport and teamwork to expose young men to Muscular Christianity and "lead men to Christ."
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Through use of these facilities, as well as camping trips and baseball leagues, the YMCA used sport and teamwork to expose young men to Muscular Christianity and lead men to Christ.
Clifford Putney pays special attention to the YMCA and the way its underlying philosophy changed to embrace the bodily emphasis of muscular Christianity.
Out of this concern came church-related brotherhoods and character-building programs within the YMCA, which personified the ideals of Muscular Christianity and manliness.
The YMCA helped legitimate sport among the Christian public by serving as the symbolic and material site of 'muscular Christianity.'
