 For
150 years, the YMCA has been a pioneering force in the United States,
and has become such a part of our history that it has become a
part of our national culture. As we begin the 21st century, the
YMCA is arguably the most successful social institution this country
has ever known, both nationally and locally in Kalamazoo County.
The original Young Men's Christian Association started modestly enough
- in London in 1844 - as a small group of men concerned with serving
fellow young men who, like themselves, were new to the city. Twenty-two-year-old
George Williams and 11 friends were compelled to help young men find
what they felt: God's grace. The first members were evangelical Protestants
who prayed and studied the Bible together.
Years later, Boston sea captain and missionary Thomas Valentine Sullivan
also worried about the temptations facing young men in cities. Inspired
by the work of the first YMCA, he led the formation of the first U.S.
YMCA, in Boston, on December 29, 1851.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
One out of three Americans reports being a YMCA member at some point
in life, but what's even more remarkable is that the YMCA has touched
virtually all Americans in some way. YMCAs invented basketball and
volleyball. YMCAs pioneered camping, public libraries, night schools
and teaching English as a second language. YMCAs introduced the world's
first indoor pool and group swim lessons. YMCAs offered after-school
child care long before "latchkey kids" had been given a name.
And YMCAs have provided war relief since the Civil War, aiding millions
of soldiers at home and abroad.
In 150 years, the YMCA brought about many great organizational programs
too - programs it started, nurtured and shared, such as staff training
and certification, which launched the field of professional development.
It also established the first retirement fund for any major welfare
organization, founded upon a donation from industrialist John D. Rockefeller.
In addition, YMCAs have provided the right environment for ideas and
organizations that might never have started without them. The Boy Scouts
of America, Camp Fire Girls, the Negro National Baseball League, the
Gideons, Toastmasters, the Association for the Study of Negro Life
and History, and Father's Day all got their start at YMCAs. The YMCA
helped found the United Service Organizations (USO), and the Peace
Corps was patterned after a YMCA program. The list of accomplishments
goes on and on and on.
So what is the YMCA's secret? Put simply, it's a powerful combination
of autonomy, creativity, practicality, and a solid commitment to improving
communities. YMCAs have always been flexible enough to change, to try
new things, to be pioneers.
Above all, the YMCA movement is about people - all ages, races, religions
and incomes. Forever mission-driven, Ys exist to mold the kind of people
who care about each other, who are firm in their own sense of worth
and that of others, who try to foster understanding and respect, who
take responsibility for their own lives and help improve the lives
of others. Today, the nation's 2,400 YMCAs still provide vital services
and serve as a force for hope.
The Kalamazoo County Family YMCA has had a long and colorful history.
The first YMCA in Kalamazoo was started in 1866, just 15 years after
Thomas Valentine Sullivan's first American YMCA came into being.
Unfortunately, the Kalamazoo endeavor proved to be more difficult
to sustain, and the YMCA disbanded in Kalamazoo in 1871.
The YMCA returned to Kalamazoo almost 15 years later with F.M. Hodge
serving as the first Board President in 1885. The Y's 270 members moved
into the organization's first building in 1892, where it stayed until
a fire destroyed the building in 1911.
 Undaunted, the YMCA staff and members set about constructing a newer,
better building, and they succeeded in spectacular fashion. Over 50,000
people were on hand as President William Howard Taft laid the cornerstone
of the new building at the corner of West Michigan and Park Street.
Since then, the Kalamazoo County Family YMCA has continued to expand
and grow. Women were accepted as members starting in 1962, and a new
facility - the current Maple Street YMCA - was built in 1970 to accommodate
the 2,250 members the organization had attracted. School-age child care
was offered at three sites starting in 1985, and by 1987, the YMCA had
served over 20,000 people in Kalamazoo County.
In 1990, the Kalamazoo County Family YMCA announced a major program expansion.
The planned expansion became reality in 1991, when the Portage Program
Center opened. (The Portage Location would be expanded two years later
to include a pool addition.) In 1992, the Lincoln Family Program Center
opened to serve the north side of Kalamazoo.
By the end of 1992, the YMCA had celebrated over 100 years of continuous
service in Kalamazoo, and its membership had grown accordingly. By the
end of the year, the YMCA had over 11,000 members - forty times its original
membership in 1892!
Today, the Kalamazoo County Family YMCA continues to grow, while promoting
sound principles. With the adoption of the Character Development Initiative
(formalized in 1997) and the Search Institute model of youth development
(2000), the Kalamazoo County Family YMCA now serves 300 children each
day at 10 locations. Together, the Kalamazoo County Family YMCA's members
and the community are working to help the YMCA be a positive force in
Kalamazoo County for another 115 years.
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