Winter 2004 - the YMCA of Greater Cleveland

Continued from front cover
Celebrating the
YMCA
Rich History
of Greater
Cleveland’s
conditions, family relationships and serving soldiers
returning from war. After World War II, with the
explosion of Cleveland’s outlying suburbs, the YMCA
launched an unprecedented building campaign and
erected 12 new branches in a span of four years. It
collaborated with the YWCA for decades, finally
welcoming women into its membership in 1975.
Appealing to the Boys
By the late 1890s, the YMCA began to focus much of its
attention on the plight of young boys. Programs geared
towards boys such as educational classes, bible classes,
boys’ meetings and anti-cigarette campaigns, began to
appear in every branch. In 1913, the YMCA declared that
“any new branch created in any part of the city would be
designed primarily for boys up to the age of 21 years.”
These efforts helped to establish programs like Hi-Y, which
encouraged clean speech, clean athletics, clean living and
service to the community, and Indian Guides, which
brought hundreds of fathers and sons together through
role-playing and community activities.
Cleveland Indians great Larry Doby,
the first black player in the American
League, gives two boys from the
Cedar YMCA an autograph in 1949.
This historic structure, on the site
of the current West Side YMCA,
was the first YMCA in the country
dedicated solely to work with
boys ages 12-18. It began in
operation in November 1901.
The YMCA’s first stand-alone building was
located on the north side of Public Square
where Key Bank now stands.
Early Locations
The YMCA of Greater Cleveland rented space in a
number of different locations from 1854 until 1870,
when it moved into its own space on the north side
of Public Square, a site now occupied by Key Bank. In
an age of growing industrial development,YMCA
branches served as moral oases in the midst of what
many individuals increasingly saw as a corrupting
urban environment. Parents who saw their sons leave
farms and villages to seek their fortunes in the city
hoped they would seek out a YMCA and avail
themselves of its wholesome environment.
The Cedar YMCA’s Board
of Directors in 1939 at a
joint reception for the
outgoing and incoming
executive secretaries.
During the times of the Great Depression, the YMCA developed
programs to provide support for needy boys by creating the “Forward
Movement” to encourage better-off citizens to “Back a Boy” or
“Back a Young Man.” Through this program, memberships were
provided to many who could not afford it.
Camping Comes Along
Camping at the YMCA began informally in 1899 with the
establishment of the Forest Lodge nestled in a glen beyond
East Cleveland. It grew to include many sites around the
area, the most famous and still existing is Centerville Mills
camp in Bainbridge. Countless friends and lifelong
memories were made at YMCA camps over the years.When
attendance declined in the mid-1960s, the YMCA sold most
of its camping facilities and developed innovations like Y
Sports Fitness Camps and Day Camps.
YMCA of Greater Cleveland Mission
To promote the balanced development of spirit, mind and body and to put Christian principles
into practice to strengthen families, neighborhoods and the Greater Cleveland community.
YMCA of Greater Cleveland services are for people of all faiths, races, ages and incomes.
Financial assistance is available for YMCA programs and membership.