Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) is one of the world’s oldest and largest multiracial women’s organizations. The YWCA is open to women and girls of all faiths and backgrounds. The organization tries to meet its members’ needs with a program that combines services and social action. It works to eliminate racism and to increase the power of women, minority groups, and young people. The YWCA provides services and training that help women become equal partners with men in the continual development of their nations.
The YWCA has millions of members and participants in more than 120 countries, including the United States and Canada. Men and boys may serve as YWCA associates, members, or directors. The organization has thousands of national and local staff members and volunteer workers. The YWCA cooperates with, but is not related to, the Y (formerly the Young Men’s Christian Association, or YMCA).
Programs.
The YWCA conducts programs in thousands of locations throughout the United States—in cities, towns, and rural communities; and on college campuses. Local YWCA’s offer a wide range of activities and services. They feature child-care centers, classes on various subjects, discussion programs, food services, and health education. They also provide counseling, job placement services, leadership training programs, recreational activities, and residential facilities.
The YWCA of the United States sponsors programs to fight crime and delinquency. Many local YWCA’s have a Y-Teen program for teenage members.
In Canada, YWCA’s provide services in nine provinces and in the Northwest Territories. Canadian YWCA’s offer programs and services that are similar to those offered by YWCA’s in the United States.
History.
In 1855, a group of London women led by Emma Robarts organized a young women’s association. Their purpose was to find housing for nurses who had returned from the Crimean War (1853-1856). At about the same time, another women’s group in London organized prayer circles. The two groups united in 1877 as the Young Women’s Christian Association.
In the United States, The Ladies’ Christian Association, an organization similar to the London groups, was founded in New York City in 1858. The first Young Women’s Christian Association was organized in Boston in 1866. The movement grew rapidly, especially in industrial cities, where the YWCA provided housing for single working women. Later, the YWCA became active on college campuses. The first student YWCA in the United States was founded in 1873 at Illinois State Normal University (now Illinois State University) in Normal, Ill. Separate organizations arose in the Midwest and in the East. In 1906, these groups united as the Young Women’s Christian Associations of the United States of America. The YWCA of the United States has headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The first YWCA in Canada was established in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1870. The organization’s purpose was to help meet the needs of young working women. In 1893, local YWCA’s established the national organization, YWCA Canada. The main office of YWCA Canada is in Toronto.
The YWCA’s of both Canada and the United States are members of the World YWCA. The association has headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
See also Height, Dorothy.
