YMCA State College: A History of Community and Service
The YMCA of Centre County is a charitable, nonprofit organization committed to providing opportunities for all individuals and families in the community. It embodies high moral values and principles through its facilities, programs, services, and activities, fostering a healthy spirit, mind, and body.
The Roots of YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association was founded in London, England, on June 6, 1844, by George Williams. The formative years of the Y were ones of inspired growth. In an industrialized time in London, he felt that young men needed a refuge where they could escape from the turmoil, despair and hazardous conditions of their environment. The organization arose in response to unhealthy social conditions in the big cities at the end of the Industrial Revolution (roughly 1750 to 1850). The growth of railroads and the centralization of commerce and industry brought many rural young men into cities like London in search of jobs. They often worked 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week. Far from home and family, these young men often lived at the workplace, crowded into rooms over the company's shop. Outside the shop, conditions were dire, with open sewers, pickpockets, thugs, beggars, drunks, lovers for hire, and abandoned children running wild.
Williams, born on a farm in 1821, came to London as a sales assistant in a draper's shop. He and a group of fellow drapers organized the first YMCA to substitute Bible study and prayer for life on the streets.
By 1851, there were 24 Ys in Great Britain, with a combined membership of 2,700. That same year, the Y arrived in North America, established in Montreal on November 25 and in Boston on December 29. The idea proved popular everywhere. In 1853, the first YMCA for African Americans was founded in Washington, D.C., by Anthony Bowen, a freed slave. The next year, the first international convention was held in Paris. At the time, there were 397 separate Ys in seven nations, with 30,369 members total.
The YMCA idea was unusual because it crossed the rigid lines that separated all the different churches and social classes in England in those days. This openness was a trait that would eventually lead to including in YMCAs all men, women, and children, regardless of race, religion, or nationality. Also, its target of meeting social needs in the community was clear from the start.
Read also: Student Membership at the YMCA
YMCA Comes to Pennsylvania and Centre County
By 1851, the success of the organization had begun to inspire people in the United States, and branches of the YMCA were beginning to spring up across the country. Before long, YMCAs were being established nationwide, each one succeeding only through the passion and dedication of its volunteers. Boys and older men joined Ys starting in the 1900s, with girls and women joining after World War I. Families became a centerpiece of YMCAs in the 1960s and remain a core focus today.
A Civil War general and governor of Pennsylvania, James Addams Beaver, saw the positive impact YMCAs were having on their communities and actively played a role in founding the state and local chapters of the Bellefonte Family YMCA. In 1869, his efforts were acknowledged as the charter for a YMCA was granted in Centre County, making it the third oldest Y in Pennsylvania. James Addams Beaver became the first Chief Volunteer Officer of the Bellefonte YMCA. At first, the branch consisted of only 24 young men, but, as the organization’s facilities and programs expanded, so did their membership count. Today, more than 11,890 members are served across the four Centre County locations. The original charter of the Bellefonte YMCA, dated 1869, is still held by the organization, making it the third oldest Y in Pennsylvania.
Expansion and Mergers in Centre County
Over a hundred years after the YMCA of Bellefonte was established, the community welcomed the State College Area Family YMCA in 1975 and the Moshannon Valley YMCA in 1973. Local Y leaders realized that if they merged the branches they would create a unified voice in Centre County and offer additional opportunities and convenience for members. Subsequently, the Bellefonte and State College YMCAs merged in January 2009, and the Moshannon Valley YMCA joined them in 2012. On January 1, 2012, the Moshannon Valley YMCA became the third branch of the YMCA of Centre County.
February 1, 1973: The Moshannon Valley YMCA (MV YMCA) opened as a branch of the Clearfield YMCA. The first organized activities were held in the former Moose building at 16 West Presqueisle Street in Philipsburg. The building was donated by the County National Bank.
November 1, 1976: The MV YMCA was granted its independent charter at the Annual Assembly of YMCAs in Philadelphia.
Read also: Save on YMCA Membership
June 1, 1977: The County National Bank presented the deed to the MV YMCA building to the Board of Directors for the amount of $1.00.
October 1987: Facing overcrowded conditions and with a membership of 1,000, the MV YMCA Advisory Board voted to purchase the former Philipsburg Automotive Supply building from the Reliance Fire Company for $72,000. A capital fund drive led by a group of volunteers surpassed its goal of $250,000 and successfully raised $260,000 to renovate the building.
1989: In 1989 the new facility opened attracting a crowd of over 1,200 people. The newly renovated building was15,500 square feet with a modified gymnasium, three nursery school rooms, an exercise room, two weight training and fitness rooms and a large game room.
1994: Another fund drive was launched with a group of volunteers raising $260,000 to add to $200,000 received in state grant money. These funds were used to construct a new 7,000 square foot gymnasium which opened in January 1998. The gymnasium includes a maple floor purchased from Florida State University, six glass back boards and baskets, two electronic scoreboards, seating for 200 people and a concession area on the top floor.
1999: A new 3,200 square foot weight room is added to the front of the original building complete with carpeted floor. Through a donation by Charles Navasky Co., the MV YMCA received a building located three blocks away from the main YMCA location to house two batting cages.
Read also: Financial Assistance at the YMCA
2006: A capital fund drive is launched to fund the expansion of the MV YMCA through the addition of space that will join the main YMCA building and gymnasium into one building and house the growing Arts & Cultural program.
2007: A private donor contributes funds to construct a new facility to house the two batting cages.
July 2007: Dedication Ceremony is held to officially open the newly constructed John Manner Arts & Culture Center and the William “Keno” Beezer Batting Cage building.
In December 2015, the Penns Valley YMCA Program Center was opened in Spring Mills. In 2015, the Y renovated the old Gettig Pharmaceutical building in Spring Mills to re-purpose an underutilized site for the benefit of the Penns Valley community.
Programs and Services: A Commitment to Community
YMCA of Centre County is available for all members of the community. It particularly recognizes the need to be here for kids, adults and families in need by turning no one away due to inability to pay. Financial assistance provided through the Open Doors Program keeps the Y available for those who often need it the most. Annually, the Y gives out over $400,000 in Open Doors memberships, programs, food, and services back to the community.
In the past ten years, YMCA of Centre County has continually expanded its Anti-Hunger Program to combat food insecurity in our communities. The Y’s Anti-Hunger Program includes free summer lunches for kids, Backpack Weekend Food Program, monthly food distributions, the Travelin’ Table mobile feeding bus, and many more opportunities for people in our communities to access free, healthy food.
The State College YMCA strengthens the foundations of our community through well-being and fitness, camps, family time, swim, sports and play, and other activities for people of all ages, incomes and abilities. With a commitment to nurturing youth development, promoting healthy living, and fostering a sense of social responsibility, the Y ensures that every individual has access to the essentials needed to learn, grow and thrive.
A Story of Impact: Maynard Kohler
Kohler, a Ferguson Township resident, is the State College YMCA’s oldest active member, and has been driving himself to the West Whitehall Road location to swim every Monday through Friday for 22 years and counting. The surprise party marks the second time that Kohler has been honored by the YMCA - in 2024, a lane of the organization’s swimming pool was named after him as part of the celebration for his 98th birthday.
Before joining the YMCA, he swam for decades at Penn State’s McCoy Natatorium. When Kohler started the practice, he would swim eight laps in a day. That quickly rose to 20 laps, then 36 laps, which was equal to about one mile. As the years passed by though, Kohler has tapered that to four daily laps in the pool, which he still considers to be a healthy amount for his age.
Facility and Member Benefits
The State College YMCA offers numerous benefits and features, including:
- 8 Lane Lap Pool
- Therapy pool
- Family/Caregiver Locker Rooms - Handicap Accessible
- Men's/Women's Locker Rooms
- Two Gyms
- Spin Room
- 5 Outdoor Pickleball Courts
- State-of-the-art fitness center with over 40 cardiovascular pieces of equipment, Precor® and StarTrac strength equipment, free and functional weights, and benches.
- Community Room
- Child Watch service
- Boxing Bags
- Outdoor Inline Hockey Rink
Member Benefits:
- FREE unlimited land group exercise classes included in membership
- Use of Bellefonte, Moshannon Valley, Penns Valley, and State College YMCAs
- Free orientation on all fitness equipment.
- Two swimming pools (a therapeutic pool and recreation pool).
- Personal training available
- Adult recreational basketball
- FREE child watch service at designated times.
- Use of community rooms at each branch during designated hours.
- Discounted and many free programs for adults, kids and families.
- Certified and friendly staff to help you.
- FREE members-only and community events.
- Financial assistance available based on need/income.
- Membership to the largest human service organization in the world.
The Global YMCA Movement
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Vernier, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches worldwide. From its inception, YMCA grew rapidly, ultimately becoming a worldwide movement founded on the principles of muscular Christianity. YMCA is a non-governmental federation, with each independent local YMCA affiliated with its national organization. The national organizations, in turn, are part of both a geographically regional area alliance and the World Alliance of YMCA. The YMCA is a parachurch organization based on Protestant values. Similar organizations include the YWCA, and the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA).
The idea of creating a truly global movement with an international headquarters was led by Henry Dunant, Secretary of YMCA Geneva, who would later go on to found the International Committee of the Red Cross and win the first Nobel Peace Prize. Dunant successfully convinced YMCA Paris to organize the first YMCA World Conference. The Conference took place in August 1855, bringing together 99 young delegates from nine countries, held before the Exposition Universelle (1855). They discussed joining in a federation to enhance cooperation amongst individual YMCA societies. This marked the beginning of the World Alliance of YMCAs. Other ecumenical bodies, such as the World YWCA, the World Council of Churches, and the World Student Christian Federation have reflected elements of the Paris Basis in their founding mission statements.
In 1865, the fourth World Conference of YMCAs, held in Germany, affirmed the importance of developing the whole individual in spirit, mind, and body. In 1878, the World YMCA offices were established in Geneva, Switzerland by Dunant. Later, in 1900, North American YMCAs, in collaboration with the World YMCA, set up centres to work with emigrants in European ports, as millions of people were leaving for the US.
YMCA's Influence on Sports and Education
In December 1891, Dr. Luther Gulick, director of the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, gave physical education teacher James Naismith two weeks to come up with an indoor winter game to challenge a class of future Y directors. Naismith hung peach baskets to the bottom of a second-level running track and taught the men his new game: basketball. In the 1890s, YMCA instructor William Morgan considered basketball too strenuous for businessmen, so he blended elements of the game with tennis and handball and called his invention “mintonette.” In 1896, at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, the name “volley ball” was first used to describe the back-and-forth manner in which the ball flew over the net.
Early YMCAs created a number of programs to bring higher education to working-class Americans. In 1893, the Boston YMCA began offering larger-scale liberal arts and vocational courses. Northeastern University began out of a YMCA in Boston, and Franklin University began as YMCA School of Commerce.
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