Connecting you to a healthier life.
The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Throughout the Greater Philadelphia region, we serve more than 150,000 members and 240,000 individuals a year- regardless of age, income, or background.
Our mission is all about connecting people to healthier lives - in mind, body, and spirit. While our programs and facilities are always based on the unique needs and interests of our communities, every Greater Philadelphia Y location has one thing in common: our people. The volunteers, staff, members, and donors of the Y are all united by a deep commitment to building stronger communities and being a place where all are welcome.
The Y is a non-profit.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the Y provides crucial programs and services to more than 250,000 people every year. With the help of generous donors, we are able to provide more than $6 million in financial assistance enabling members of our community to get healthy and provide safe, trusted care for their children.
How the Y got its start.
The YMCA was founded in 1844 by 22-year-old George Williams to serve the young men who were flooding into industrial London looking for work. The idea found a home in the U.S. seven years later at the Old South Church in Boston.
Over the following decades, the Y spread around the world, becoming the birthplace of basketball and home to the world's first group swimming lessons. The Y sent volunteers to do relief work during and after both world wars. The Y proudly served as a safe meeting space for the organizers of the Civil Rights Movement. 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.
The values that define the Y.
Caring
Honesty
Respect
Responsibility
