The YMCA Difference		Building Healthy Spirit, Mind & Body Long before fitness became fashionable, YMCAs were providing health and fitness programs to millions of American youth and adults. “To appreciate that health of mind and body is a sacred gift” has been a part of the YMCA’s goal from its very beginnings. Today, YMCAs remain pioneers in the fitness field. They are in the forefront of what has been termed America’s “second public health revolution”—a fundamental reorientation of the American health care system to emphasize preventive health care and the development of healthy lifestyles. Obesity among adults continues to increase, while the number of adults who combine sound dietary practices with regular physical activity to attain an appropriate body weight continues to decline. Besides the human toll from illness, injury, and premature death, physical inactivity imposes a substantial financial burden on the economy. Based on these facts, the former Surgeon General concluded, “Clearly one of the most important public health challenges is moving our society from a sedentary one to a more physically active one.” Our nation’s tax laws have long recognized that the promotion of health is properly tax-exempt because of the direct benefit to the individual and the intangible benefits to the community as a whole. Healthy people make for a healthy society. No other organization even remotely approached the YMCAs as a provider of such community fitness programs or as a training ground for the nation’s physical fitness professionals. The American College of Sports Medicine squarely acknowledged the fact that YMCAs are unquestionably the leading provider of medically sound physical fitness programs in the United States. By offering programs that educate, rehabilitate, and encourage positive health habits for all, not just for those who can afford to pay, the YMCAs help people reduce the risk of long-term disability and disease. YMCAs run by the community for the community which should know that: The YMCA provides health and fitness for children and adults as part of the YMCA’s charitable mission. YMCAs are about much more than helping people improve their health; the YMCA helps people develop as whole and complete human beings. YMCAs put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. YMCAs use the values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility in everything they do—how they operate, how programs are developed, and how they are delivered. YMCA programs and activities are dedicated to building a strong spirit and mind—as well as body. YMCAs are tax-exempt because what they do benefits the entire community, as the IRS requires.
The YMCA movement has always had a broader mission of developing healthy spirit, mind, and body—for everyone. Today, YMCAs across the world serve all kinds of people, including families, youth, older adults, individuals with special needs, local businesses and other non-profit organizations. This mixture of people and cultures makes the YMCA and the communities they serve, stronger. The YMCA mission has not changed and how that mission is carried out never stops changing. YMCA History The YMCA was founded in 1851 in England to offer programs and services that met the needs of young men who were flocking to the big industrial cities seeking employment and fortune. YMCAs became an alternative to the “wicked life on the streets.” They were a place to find hometown newspapers, books, prayer meetings, Bible classes, evangelistic meetings, lectures, help in finding jobs, and decent boarding houses. By the late 1850s, exercise and gymnastics began to appear for young businessmen who needed “relaxation, diversion, and animated recreations.” Swimming pools were added by 1885. By 1900, YMCAs were rapidly building residences to keep up with the need for a wholesome, inexpensive place to stay. During these early times, the YMCA gave the world new sports such as basketball and volleyball. It spawned such organizations as the Boy Scouts, Camp Fire, and the USO. It served as the model for adult education, resident camping, college student services, the beginnings of the junior college movement, and later, the Peace Corps. While the founding purpose and goals remain the same, today they are manifested in programs and services that are designed to span the spectrum of ages, sexes, races, creeds, abilities, and incomes. YMCAs continue to develop programs that reflect their historic mission and values. YMCAs Across the Country Through more than 2,300 associations, YMCAs serve more than 18 million people annually—half children, half adults. Women and girls make up nearly 49 percent of the membership. In 1998, Americans contributed more than $600 million to support YMCA efforts. This represents 19 percent of YMCAs’ total income. More than 600,000 individuals serve as volunteers on policy-making boards and in programs.