EMBEDDED IN THE COMMUNITY FOR 150 YEARS
For 150 years, the YMCA of Metro Denver has been committed to helping our community be a better place for all by meeting some of our greatest needs. Take a look at some of the highlights throughout our history:
1875: The Denver YMCA forms on December 30 when 13 men and three women gather at Occidental Hall in Denver, the meeting site for the Colorado Constitutional Convention. Their goal: Improve the spiritual and mental condition of young working-class men. Henry Tuggy was elected the first Board Chair.
1882: The YMCA's Women's Auxiliary forms
1884: The Y begins providing support to Denver's homeless population.
1891: The West Denver YMCA is established to provide lodging and programs for social, physical, mental and spiritual wellness for employees of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company.
1896: James Naismith, who invented the game of basketball in 1891 in Springfield, Mass., joins the Denver Y staff and personally introduces the game to Denver.
1900: The Y's Literacy Society engages in discussions of civil rights issues.
1901 – 1925: Colorado Governor William E. Sweet serves as Denver YMCA president, residing and working at the Y.
1906: On May 30, United States Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks lays the cornerstone for the permanent home of the Denver YMCA at the corner of 16th Avenue and Lincoln Street.
1907: The Denver YMCA creates Camp Chief Ouray, an overnight youth camp near Granby, now a part of the YMCA of the Rockies.
1914 – 1917: Over 101,500 World War I servicemen receive free accommodations, recreation and religious programs at the Y as they travel across the country.
1920s: The Denver Y founds an employment bureau and social club, and a local college operates out of the YMCA.
1923: The Y hosts courses in business psychology, memory training and public speaking offered by Denver Institute of Technology.
1924: The Glenarm YMCA is constructed to serve Denver's African American community, and John W. Mosley leads the creation of a club called the Swoops, which encourages young people of color to pursue careers in aviation.
1926: Softball is codified into a formalized sport when two members of the Denver Y sports staff create rules and a declaration of principles emphasizing inclusiveness and sportsmanship, and the sport spreads nationwide.
1929: The fours YMCA youth Leaders Club is formed.
1930: The Denver YMCA becomes the only Y in the world with its own trapeze, as it hosts shows of the Imperial Flyers circus act, providing joy and hope during the Great Depression and bringing families and communities together for entertainment and connection in the following 65 years.
1933: The Denver YMCA represents Colorado in the first national softball tournament held by the newly formed Amateur Softball Association of America.
1938: The 20th Street YMCA opens.
1941: The Westside YMCA opens.
1941 – 1945: The Denver Y serves over 2 million World War II G.I.s with support including lodging.
1946: The South YMCA opens near the site of the current University Hills-Schlessman YMCA.
1946 – 1949: The Denver Y provides support to the Kunming YMCA in China.
1949: The University Hills-Schlessman YMCA opens, named for philanthropist Gerald L. Schlessman.
1950: The Denver Y provides support to the Laoag YMCA in the Philippines.
1954: YMCA Youth In Government begins, providing a teen leadership program using the legislative process as a model. High school students from across the state participate at the State Capitol.
1955: The Littleton YMCA opens in a farmhouse.
1956: The present-day Littleton YMCA facility opens.
1961: The Jefferson County YMCA opens.
1962: The Aurora YMCA opens.
1963: The Denver Y opens a Women's Health Club and begins welcoming girls to participate in sports, clubs, camps and youth activities.
1964: Association operates seven branches in Denver, Littleton and Aurora, with operating expenses of $911,132.
1969: The Youth Coalition Branch YMCA opens as part of a federal program to serve youth in need.
Early 1970s: Denver YMCAs pioneer child care programs, which remain a pillar of the Y’s work today.
1971: The Adams County YMCA opens.
1976: The Glenarm and Sportland Branches merge to become the East Denver Branch.
1977: The Chatfield YMCA opens.
1980: The Northwest Extension of the Jefferson County YMCA opens.
1981: The Downtown Denver YMCA hosts an all-day-long Imperial Flyers show on May 7 to celebrate the completion and opening of the nearby 16th Street Mall.
1984: The Denver YMCA hosts the Los Angeles Olympic Torch Relay.
1985: The Denver Y establishes partnerships with the Chihuahua, Mexico YMCA and hte Sioux YMCA in South Dakota.
1988: All Denver Y branches install computers.
1991: Earth Service Corp, an environmental teen leadership program, begins at the Denver Y.
1992: The Highline Family YMCA opens in Littleton.
1994: A center for child care and older adult programming opens near the University Hills-Schlessman YMCA in the current site of YSO and Y Academy.
1995: The Mountain Community YMCA opens near Conifer.
1999: The Arvada-Duncan YMCA opens on June 7, named for philanthropist Susan M. Duncan.
2007: A new strategic plan, “Imagine 2012,” is adopted by the Board of Trustees. The YMCA of Metropolitan Denver joins Y-USA’s Activate America program, beginning a path of new health and wellness programs.
2008: A new emphasis on community development leads to partnerships with municipalities and school districts, many of which remain today.
2011: The YMCA Community Programs Branch opens in Manual High School, providing programming in fitness, nutrition, sports, mentoring, basic needs and gang intervention.
2012: Employment at the Denver YMCA reaches 1,150, the largest number of employed personnel in YMCA of Metropolitan Denver history. Over $897,000 in financial assistance is awarded to members and program participants.
2014: The Y’s Diabetes Prevention Program gains national recognition, and the focus on increasing student achievement in underserved communities continues through the new learning initiative Power Scholars Academy™.
2015: The Make Waves program launches to provide swim lessons, lifeguard training and water safety instruction in communities with few aquatics resources. New programs help community members fight disease through arthritis classes, CancerFit and Parkinson’s Disease classes.
2016: The YMCA of Metro Denver becomes the number one child services provider in the city, engaging 22,664 youth in sports, child care and swim lessons. More than 1,406 teens take part in Y programs for leadership, achievement and volunteering, including Y Achievers, Kids in Transition Empowerment, Youth in Government and mentoring.
2017: Y-USA recognizes the YMCA of Metro Denver as a Diversity, Inclusion and Global Innovation YMCA — one of 64 YMCAs nationwide to have the designation. The YMCA of Metro Denver expands outreach to children and families, providing quality child care at 83 sites across the metro area.
2018: The YMCA of Metro Denver partners with the International Rescue Committee in Denver to connect refugee families with scholarship and youth programs at the YMCA. President & CEO Jim Hiner retires after a 40-year career with the YMCA. The Denver Y names Sue Glass as the Association's first female President & CEO.
2020: The Denver Y responds to the needs of our community during the COVID-19 crisis — providing emergency child care for essential workers ultimately caring for 170 kids; launching the Beyond Hunger food pantry distributing 222,136 pounds of food to 23,114 people by the end of the year; making 5,300+ calls to members, including older adults, to prevent isolation; and hosting blood donations that saved 2,286. As wellness centers reopen and programs come back online, the YMCA continues to offer support to members, program participants and our community.
2021: The YMCA of Metro Denver opens the Aurora YMCA at Wheatlands to members on Monday, May 17 in partnership with the Wheatlands Park and Recreation Authority and Wheatlands Metropolitan District. This is the first new YMCA location in the Denver area in 20 years. Read more about the opening of the Aurora Y.
2024: The YMCA of Metro Denver names Breezy Bolden as President & CEO. Read more about Breezy Bolden.