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History of the Prescott YMCA

buildingfrontsm.jpgThe YMCA has been part of the Prescott community since 1914.  The current facility, the Harold James YMCA Community Center, was opened in 1998.  The last major capital fundraising campaign for the construction of this facility began in 1995 and raised 5.5 million dollars. 

Since opening, membership has grown to over 10,000 members.  Our YMCA Community Center has exceeded all expectations outlined in the last campaign. 

A History of the Prescott YMCA

By Ron James ~  Ron James is a past board president of the Prescott YMCA.  He is a strong supporter of the Prescott YMCA.

The Prescott YMCA has seen many changes since it was founded in 1914 in the Prescott community.

Remember when the YMCA was a one room building on Whipple St?  Remember when we campaigned ten years ago for a building to anchor all of the YMCA’s programs?  Remember when you went down the slide in the new indoor pool for the first time? 

Yet, the YMCA is more than its buildings.  It has helped launch kayakers in the Verde River.  It has taught young women to balance serenely in gymnastics poses.  It has sent marathon runners up and over Thumb Butte and back again.

Remember when the YMCA received Olympic gymnastic athletes Nadia Comaneci, her husband Bart Conner and gold medalist swimmer Klete Keller?  Remember when the Harlem Globetrotters came to visit?  Children in the youth basketball league poured in to see the globetrotters spin wonders with a basketball.

At this point in the YMCA’s history, at the cusp of yet another positive change, the YMCA looks back at its relationship with this community, its supporters and the many families who have grown up with the Prescott YMCA. 

All of these milestones have led the way to yet another groundbreaking.  In the next several months, the YMCA will begin construction on an addition to the current facilities.  The $2 million campaign currently underway will go toward the construction of a new building.  The new space will enable the YMCA to welcome over 100 more children into afterschool programs.  It will add space for cutting-edge fitness equipment and classes.

This building that we are about to begin is important and necessary.  It stands for health and happiness, for safety and growth.  It depends upon the support of Prescott area residents.

As a non-profit institution, the YMCA has given thousands of dollars in scholarship assistance so that children may have a safe place to go after school, so that youth may develop skills in athleticism and teamwork, so that adults may feel healthy and strong.  These subtle benefits have long-lasting results.  People walk through the doors of the YMCA every day as they have for many years.  All of this is possible because of the generosity of this community. 

Many people have been a part of the YMCA’s evolution.  The YMCA relies on the volunteers from this community.  And it relies on its supporters who give to the YMCA some of their wealth, talent and time.  Please remember, each gift that you give to the YMCA today goes a long way into the future of the Prescott area.  It goes to toddlers, adolescents, adults and seniors.  It goes to creating space for discovery and growth, for the simple things like learning how to catch a ball.  It goes to the smile from a coach when your child makes their first basketball hoop. 

We are all participants in this history and in its changes.  Your support was needed ten years ago and it is needed again today.  A new history is about to begin.

On behalf of the YMCA Board of Directors and staff, we all thank you for your generosity over the years.  Please remember that the YMCA relies on your support and friendship.  Help us finish this important campaign.  Help us place a new cornerstone in this age of the YMCA’s history.  Please make a donation to the Prescott YMCA.

Ten years from now when we write “remember when…,” the Prescott YMCA will still be a landmark for Yavapai County’s families.

Timeline that Outlines Milestones in the National and Prescott YMCA History: 

  • The Prescott YMCA is a member of the National Council of YMCA’s.  It is an independently chartered facility not associated with the Phoenix or Tucson YMCAs.
  • The original Young Men’s Christian Association was founded by George Williams in London in 1844 in response to unhealthy social conditions in the industrial areas of London.
  • There are YMCAs in more than 120 countries.
  • James Naismith invented basketball at the YMCA in 1891.
  • Volleyball was invented at the YMCA in 1895 by William Morgan.
  • Collectively, YMCAs are the largest not-for-profit organizations in the nation and benefit from the leadership of more than 600,000 volunteers.
  • Collectively, YMCAs are the largest providers of childcare in the United States.
  • The Prescott YMCA was incorporated in 1974.
  • The Prescott YMCA’s Girls Gymnastics Program began in 1975.
  • The first YMCA Fitness Center opened in 1983 in the building that is currently the Gymnastics and Activity Center.
  • The Prescott YMCA Youth Basketball League started in 1986.
  • The Climbing Wall opened in 1994.
  • The skatepark opened in 1997.
  • The current YMCA facility opened in 1998.
  • The Prescott YMCA employs over 300 staff members.
 
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