As The Village People sang in 1978, “No man does it all by himself. I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf. And just go there, to the YMCA. I’m sure they can help you today.”
To what other place could one go to receive both swim lessons and English lessons? Only the YMCA.
As the New Year rolls in, people young and old make their New Year’s resolutions. The local gyms are flooded with new members, all hoping to improve themselves. Over 50% of people in the United States make resolutions to exercise more, and the YMCA is one place that fills up the first few weeks of the year.
YMCAs are located all around the world in about 120 countries. In the United States alone, there are about 2,400 YMCAs. “One out of three Americans reports being a YMCA member at some point in life.” The organization’s former motto aimed “to put Christian principles into practice by developing a healthy ‘body, mind, and spirit.’”
The YMCA, originally called the Young Men’s Christian Association, was founded in response to the Industrial Revolution that swept the world. Created by George William in 1844 in London, the organization strove to create a community for young men and a safe place from the “hazards of life on the streets.” William noticed the severe lack of healthy activities for young men. The newly-founded YMCA broke social barriers between classes and welcomed all of its members.
Roughly seven years later, retired sea captain Thomas Valentine Sullivan noticed a similar need in his hometown of Boston. Men needed a safe “home-away-from-home” and Sullivan was motivated and inspired by the story of the YMCA in England. Thus the first YMCA in America was founded.
Interestingly, the YMCA did not offer exercise programs or equipment until the late 1800s, instead focusing on teaching the Bible and providing a safe place for men to be in community. Some of the founding members of the organization believed that, because of the theological base of the YMCA, they had no business getting involved in physical education. The first members prayed and read the Bible together.
Two very popular sports were invented by YMCA employees. Basketball was created by James Naismith, an instructor at Springfield, Massachusetts’ International Training College, to get his students moving during the harsh New England winter. Four years later, William G. Morgan, another YMCA teacher and a Director of Physical Education, invented volleyball as a “less-demanding alternative” to the popular game of basketball.
By the beginning of World War I, the flourishing YMCA had established more than 250 centers in about 70 years. Henry Dunant, the secretary of the YMCA Geneva, had the idea of creating a global movement that had a national headquarters. In August 1855, YMCA Paris held the first YMCA world conference. This signified the worldwide unification of the YMCA organization.
While it wasn’t until 1933 that women were allowed to become YMCA members, their involvement in the organization dates back to 1858. Now half of all YMCA members are female.
Today, some 65 million people benefit from the YMCA organization, providing a beacon of hope in communities worldwide.