<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-audio"></figure>

YMCA Founders Day – October 4, 1935.

Celebrating (at the time) 114 years since George Williams founded the YMCA.

When George Williams (pictured above)founded the first YMCA in Industrial Revolution-era London, he sought to create a supportive community to help young men like himself address pressing social challenges. The idea found a home in the U.S. seven years later at the Old South Church in Boston. The last 170+ years have seen the Y’s mission grow exponentially, and today the Y engages more than 10,000 communities across the U.S. As the nation’s leading nonprofit, the Y is committed to empowering people to reach their full potential, to improving well-being, inspiring action, strengthening communities and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to become healthier, more confident, connected and secure.

No easy task, considering – but one which rang harmonious chords throughout the world.

The first YMCA was conceived in industrial London in 1844 when a farmer-turned-department store worker and his friends gathered to organize a refuge for young men seeking escape from the hazards of the streets. Today, the Y still harkens back to its roots in creating safe, enriching spaces for communities across the globe. The formative years of the YMCA were ones of inspired growth. They saw the organization’s mission spread to cities across the U.S., lifting people up and strengthening communities.

In 1903, the YMCA created an “industrial” department to work with railroad workers, miners and lumbermen, and to assist immigrants. Today, YMCAs respond to changing demographics by offering refugee services, New American Welcome Centers, adult education classes and more. In 1910, 25 African American YMCAs were built in 23 cities as a result of a challenge grant program announced by Sears Roebuck founder Julius Rosenwald. The Ys included clean, safe dorm rooms and eating facilities, which were a boon to Black travelers, especially servicemen, in a segregated and discriminatory era.

In 1926, the YMCA demonstrated its commitment to families when the St. Louis YMCA launched a new parent-child program called “Y-Indian Guides” (now known as “Y Adventure Guides”). Started by Harold J. Keltner and Joe Friday, a member of the Ojibwe tribe, the program was based on the Native American family model, and sought to foster the companionship of father and son. The program later expanded to include father-daughter, mother-son, mother-daughter and parent-preschooler components.

The YMCA Youth & Government Program, sponsored by the New York State YMCA, was started in Albany in 1936. This signature program, which continues today, helps high school students gain a deeper understanding of our country’s governmental processes and prepares them for how to become an active participant.

During World War II, the YMCA, along with five other national voluntary organizations, founded the United Service Organizations for National Defense, today known as the USO. Also during World War II, YMCA staff secretly worked inside U.S. internment camps that held 110,000 Japanese Americans to organize clubs and activities for the children.

So 90 years after this broadcast aired, the YMCA continues its mission. The 2000s have seen the YMCA rise to the challenges of several world crises as well as renewing its focus on healthy living and activating lifestyles across the country with new programs and partnerships designed to assist young people and families.

Diving back to 1935 – here is that broadcast from NBC celebrating Founders Day at YMCA on October 4, 1935 as it was celebrated in New York City. (Caveat: recording clips the opening two seconds of the broadcast otherwise, it’s complete.

The post YMCA Founders Day – 1935 – Past Daily Weekend Gallimaufry appeared first on Past Daily: A Sound Archive of News, History And Music.