A Brief History
On November 25, 1851, the first YMCA located in North America was organized in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The organization, originally titled Young Men’s Christian Association, though better known by its initials, was founded in London, England, back in 1844.
Digging Deeper
The Montreal chapter was soon followed by the first American chapter, located in Boston, Massachusetts on December 29, 1851. The organization made famous by the disco era song with the eponymous name, “Y.M.C.A.,” brought a lot of attention to the organization, but with about 10,000 US branches of various types, we believe “The Y” has plenty of fame already.
The international organization is enormous, boasting nearly 90,000 employees and almost a million volunteer workers. Known for spreading Christianity, good works, espousing physical fitness and good sportsmanship, the YMCA also conducts many life skills classes and provides safe refuge for many people.
Have you ever stayed at a YMCA?
Question for students (and subscribers): Are you a member of a local YMCA? Have you ever visited one? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Gill, Andrew. The YMCA in the First World War: The forgotten story of the YMCA huts. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.
Lamia, Bill. It’s a Choice: Behind the Scenes at the YMCA. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Denis Jacquerye of a tablet at the YMCA in Montreal, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
