Our History | YMCA Of The USA

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portrait of George Williams

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.

1920 USO during World War 2

The formative years of the YMCA were ones of inspired growth. We saw the organization's mission spread to cities across the U.S., lifting people up and strengthening communities.

Woman holding plastic drink cup in line

Once again, the Y played an instrumental role in times of crises during the 2000s, providing essential services and support when and where it was needed most. We also adapted to the evolving landscape of health and well-being with new programs and partnerships designed to support generational changes in young people and modern-day families.

  • The John Logo

    The YMCA’s official first emblem — commonly referred to as the “John logo” — was adopted by the YMCA World Alliance in 1881. It featured the five continents where YMCAs were located at the time in a circle with the monogram of Christ’s name (XP is Latin for Chi Ro, Christ’s name) in the middle. After the logo was modified by removing the continents and adding Luther Gulick’s triangle, YMCAs in the U.S. adopted this logo in 1895.

  • Triangle with Black Bar Logo

    The YMCA in the U.S. adopted the triangle with the black bar as a logo in 1917, during World War I, and used it for more than 50 years. Like the John logo, it incorporates the triangle and the color red. This logo is still used by YMCAs throughout the world because it was prevalent when many were founded.

  • Bent Black Bar Logo

    The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago created and began using the bent black bar logo in the 1960s and YMCA of the USA officially adopted the logo for national use in 1967. This logo represents the organic nature of the YMCA Movement in the U.S., where locals Ys create new programs and ideas which the national office then promotes as best practices for all Ys to adopt. The bent black bar logo was designed to create a uniform identity for the YMCA Movement, present the Y as strong and simplistic and modernize elements from previous logos. This logo was replaced in 2010 with the Y logo used today.

  • The Y has grown exponentially over the span of our rich history, but our mission of putting Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all has remained constant.

  • Our vision continues to evolve as we strive to increase our impact in youth development, healthy living and social responsibility in the U.S. and across the globe.

  • For more than 170+ years, the Y has been building spirit, mind and body for all. We know that strong people build strong communities – because we are all better together.

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