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YMCA

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For the song, see YMCA (song).
Not to be confused with YWCA.
File:Ymca-logo.gif
YMCAs in the United States and Canada use this logo. The three sides of the red triangle symbolize the YMCA mission to "build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all".

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA, also called The "Y" for short) is a world-wide, Christian, ecumenical, voluntary movement for women and men with special emphasis on young people. YMCAs work to build the spirit, mind and body of individuals and communities. This three-pronged approach is symbolised by the inverse red triangle used by YMCAs around the world.

The first YMCA was started in London in 1844 by George Williams. Since then the YMCA has grown to become a world-wide movement of more than 45 million members from 124 national associations who affiliate to the World Alliance of YMCAs.

The YMCA is organized as a federation of local associations and national YMCA movements.[1] Within most countries, the local YMCAs are related primarily in terms of overall strategy and direction only. Volunteers and local employees operate the individual YMCA associations.

Founded as a network of Protestant parachurch organizations, the 19th-century YMCA inspired the creation of the Young Men's Hebrew Association and Young Men's Buddhist Association. Its original male focus similarly led to the establishment of a parallel Young Women's Christian Association. Today the YMCA is largely secular (or else inter-religious), and open to participation from both sexes as well as from older people.[2] To that extent its name represents something of an anachronism.

In North America, the YMCA is usually perceived to be primarily a community sports facility; however the North American YMCA utilizes a broad range of programs such as sports, personal fitness, child care, overnight camping, employment readiness programs, conference centers and educational activities as methods of promoting positive values. The 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.[3]

Mission

In 1998 the 14th World Council of YMCAs, Germany, adopted “Challenge 21” their modern day statement of mission for the twenty first century:

“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.

History

First YMCA in North America in Montreal, Quebec

George Williams was a 23 year old draper, typical of the many young men who were being drawn to big cities by the Industrial Revolution. His colleagues were similarly employed, and they were concerned by the lack of healthy activities for young men in cities such as London. The alternatives were often taverns, brothels, and other temptations to sin. On June 6, 1844, Williams founded the first YMCA in London for "the improving of the spiritual condition of young men engaged in the drapery and other trades".

By 1855 there were YMCAs in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and France. These YMCAs first came together in 1855, for the First World Conference of YMCAs, Paris marking the beginning of the World Alliance of YMCAs.

In 1855 YMCA delegates convened in Paris, France, where they adopted a common mission for all present and future national YMCAs. The First World Conference agreed the Mission of the world YMCA Movement known as the Paris Basis. 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 .

Throughout the 20th century it became evident in the member countries that YMCA would be an organization of both genders. The name, however, has naturally prevailed, being a strong brand name. In some of the member countries the YMCA was the first national organization to adopt a strict policy of equal gender representation in committees and national boards. An example is Norway in 1880.

The YMCA was a body of Christians meeting outside the official church structure and brought together Christians of different denominations and confessions, making it a pioneer of ecumenism.

In later years, the YMCA worked closely with the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Today the YMCA works with people of all faiths and of none.

In 1865 the Fourth World Conference of YMCAs, Germany, affirmed the importance of developing the whole individual in body, mind and spirit. The concept of physical work through sports was also recognised. This was a new concept for the time.

In 1878 the World Alliance offices were established in Geneva, Switzerland, where they have been ever since.

In 1900 North American YMCAs, in collaboration with the World Alliance began working in European ports with millions of migrants leaving for the USA.

In 1916 K.T. Paul became the first Indian National General Secretary of India. Paul had started rural development programmes in India through co-operatives and credit societies. These programmes for self-reliance of marginal farmers 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.

1923: Y.C. James Yen of the YMCA of China devised the “thousand character system”, based on pilot projects in education. The method became very popular and in 1923 it led to the founding of the Chinese National Association of the Mass Education Movement.

1939-1945 The YMCA became very involved in war work. The YMCA increased its international work with displaced persons and refugees and 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.

1947: The World Alliance of YMCAs gained special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

1955: The First African President of the World Alliance of YMCAs was elected, Mr. Charles Dunbar Sherman from Liberia. At 37 years, he was the youngest President in World Alliance history.

1973: The Sixth World Council in Kampala, Uganda, was the first World Council in Africa. It reaffirmed the Paris Basis and adopted a declaration of principles, known as the Kampala Principles, which include the principles of justice, creativity and honesty. It stated what had become obvious in most national YMCAs, that a global viewpoint was more necessary, and that in doing so, the YMCAs would have to take political stands, especially so in international challenges.

1985: The World Council of YMCAs passed a resolution against apartheid and campaigns against the system began under the leadership of Mr. Lee Soo-Min (Korea), the first Asian Secretary General of the World Alliance.

1998: The World Council in Germany adopted "Challenge 21," 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. All these topics are viewed as challenges against the will of God.

2002: The World Council in Oaxtepec, Mexico called for a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis.

The YMCA was an early influence upon Scouting, including the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and German Scouting. Edgar Robinson, a Chicago-area YMCA administrator, briefly left the YMCA to become BSA's first director.

The YMCAs, especially in Western Europe and North America has also used great resources to help build national YMCAs in Eastern Europe with great success. In 2003 a youth convention was arranged in Prague with attendance from almost all countries in Europe to celebrate the healing of the wounds from the "iron curtain".

Today, YMCAs are present in 124 countries. The current president of the World Alliance of YMCAs is Martin Meissner from Germany, and Bartholomew Shaha of Bangladesh is Secretary General.

Activities

The activities of the YMCA work to build healthy mind, body and spirit for all, though there are many activities that work to achieve these goals.

Healthy spirit

The first YMCA was very much 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.

Healthy mind

Many colleges and universities owe their creation to the YMCA. Springfield College was founded in 1885 as an international training school for YMCA Professionals, while Sir George Williams University—one of the two schools that eventually became Concordia University—started from night courses offered at the Montreal YMCA.

Northeastern University, Boston began out of a YMCA in Boston, and Franklin University began as the YMCA School of Commerce.

The 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." YMCA Youth and Government helps teens learn about and participate in civics in a real-world setting.

Healthy body

In 1891 James Naismith, a Canadian, invented basketball whilst studying at the YMCA International Training School in Massachusetts (later to be named Springfield College). Naismith had been asked to invent a new game in a desperate 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. It was a success from the very first game.

Naismith and his wife attended the Olympic Games in 1936 when basketball became one of the Olympic events.

In 1895, William G. Morgan from the YMCA of Massachusetts, USA, invented volleyball.

North America

History

The first YMCA in the United States opened on December 29, 1851 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sports and Fitness

It is very common for YMCAs to have swimming pools and weight rooms, along with facilities for playing various sports such as basketball, volleyball, and racquetball.

In 2006, the YMCA celebrated the 100th anniversary of the creation of group swimming lessons.

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.

Parent/Child programs: Building strong kids and strong families

The Weekley Family YMCA in the Braeswood Place neighborhood of Houston, Texas

In the US, the YMCA parent/child programs (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.

The roots of these still vibrant 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.

YMCA Indian Guides participants historically took pride in cultivating respect and honor for Native American culture. Responding to a number of variables, including making the program more culturally sensitive and attracting a broader audience, 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. Local YMCA's are currently still free to continue support of the Native American theme and several do so. In areas where the local YMCA has elected to convert to the "Adventure Guides", many YMCA Indian Guides groups have separated from the YMCA and operate independently.

In some programs, children earn patches for achieving various goals, such as completing a designated nature hike or participating in Y-sponsored events. A typical, suburban Indian Guide meeting was parodied in the Bob Hope/Lucille Ball comedy of 1960, The Facts of Life. More recently, the continued popularity of the YMCA Indian Guides is seen in the 1995 Chevy Chase/Farrah Fawcett comedy, Man of the House, wherein a campout takes place complete with the dads and kids addressing one another by their program names in patch-covered vests, wearing headdresses, singing songs, and roasting marshmallows around a campfire.

In 2006, YMCA Indian Guides celebrated 80 years as a YMCA program.

United Kingdom

The Archive of the British YMCA is housed at the University of Birmingham Special Collections.

Residences

Until the late 1950s,[4] 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. In 1940 there were about 100,000 rooms at YMCAs, more than any hotel chain. By 2006, YMCAs with residences became relatively rare in the US but many still existed.[5]

Many YMCAs throughout the world still maintain residences as an integral part of the programming.

YMCA Goes To War

Starting before the American Civil War,[4] YMCA provided nursing, shelter, and other support in wartime. During World War I, 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. During World War II the YMCA was involved in supporting millions of POWs and in supporting Japanese-Americans in internment 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 6 organizations that helped to found the USO during World War II.

In 1978, a rock band called The Village People recorded a wildly popular disco song titled "Y.M.C.A."

In the animated TV series The Flintstones episode The Swimming Pool, Barney lets the YCMA (Young Cave Men's Association) swim in the pool that he and Fred built.

In the TV series The Brady Bunch episode A Clubhouse is Not a Home, the boys are upset about having to share their clubhouse with the girls. One of them asks "Did you ever see a girl at the YMCA?". The kids' father answers that Mrs. Carson, an admin, "...runs the whole thing."

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

1901: Henry Dunant, who co-founded the Geneva YMCA in 1852, and was one of the founders of the World Alliance of YMCAs, won the first ever Nobel Peace Prize for founding the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863, and inspiring the Geneva Convention (Convention de Genève). He shared the prize with Frédéric Passy, founder and President of the first French Peace Society.

1946: John R. Mott, USA, President of the World Alliance, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his "long and fruitful labours in drawing together the peoples of many nations, many races and many communions in a common bond of spirituality". John R. Mott also played an important role in the founding of the World Student Christian Federation in 1895, and the World Council of Churches in 1948.

Trivia

In the mid-20th century, it was not unusual for participants in YMCA programs to swim in the nude. 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.[6] [7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "YMCA National Profiles". World Alliance of YMCAs. Retrieved 2006-04-02.
  2. ^ "Love, Compassion and Justice are our guiding principles". Christian News. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  3. ^ From Evangelism to General Service: The Transformation of the YMCA. Mayer N. Zald, Patricia Denton (September 1963). Administrative Science Quarterly, 8 (2), 214-234.
  4. ^ a b US YMCA's history page
  5. ^ Glendale, California YMCA, McGaw YMCA, Evanston Illinois, Berkeley, California YMCA
  6. ^ [Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Tex.: Jul 3, 1995. pg. 21.A]
  7. ^ Historylink.org essay

Multinational

National

Other

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