ABOUT

The YMCA is the nation's leading nonprofit committed to youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.

OUR VALUES

• Caring: to show a sincere concern for others, for their needs, and well-being.
• Honesty: to be truthful in what you say and do.
• Respect: to follow the golden rule.
• Responsibility: to do what is right, be accountable for your promises and actions.

The four core values of YMCA of the USA unite us as a movement with a common cause. They are the shared beliefs and essential principles that guide our behaviors, interactions with each other and decision making.

 OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

The Y is for everyone. Our programs, services and initiatives: enable kids to realize their potential, prepare teens for college, offer ways for families to have fun together, empower people to be healthier in spirit, mind and body, prepare people for employment, welcome and embrace newcomers and help foster a nationwide service ethic. And that’s just the beginning.

MEMBERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

The Rochester Area Family YMCA is a membership based organization. Becoming a member of the Y is much more than being a part of a swim and gym; you are a part of a movement, you are improving the community in which you live. Learn more about becoming a member of our Y.  

The Rochester Area Family Y builds strong kids, strong families, and strong communities. The Rochester Area Family Y has been in it's current facility since 1964 and continues to serve youth and families in Olmsted County and the surrounding area.

THE MISSION OF THE ROCHESTER AREA FAMILY Y:

Providing for the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of the individual, family, and community.

HISTORY

George Williams

YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW…FOR GOOD

People have benefited from Ys for over 160 years. In 1844, twenty-two year old George Williams founded the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in London.

In 1851, sea captain Thomas Valentine Sullivan started the first U.S. YMCA in Boston.

A Young Men’s Christian Association was organized in Rochester, Minnesota in 1867.

Operating from an office shared with the Library Reading Room in 1870, the YMCA was so successful with their efforts they reached neighborhoods and communities outside of Rochester.

Population changes and insufficient funds led to hard times and the association closed in 1883.

1892: Wanting the YMCA back in the community, efforts were made to re-establish the Y with a meeting held in Eyota. There was talk of a building but nothing materialized.

 January 1906, Reverend Billy Sunday conducted a revival service that harvested the funds needed for a YMCA building.

 In 1909 the 1st YMCA facility opened in Rochester, MN on the southwest corner of 2nd street and 1st avenue.

On November 19th, 1932 the facility was closed due to the dark days following WWI. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Dr. Howard K. Gray kept the idea of a YMCA alive.

In 1955 a group of citizens under the leadership of David Bishop, a young Rochester attorney, talked again of establishing a YMCA, which came to be in 1959.

In the early 1960s it was recognized by leaders of both Rochester YMCA and Rochester Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) that their respective programs could be further enhanced through the construction of adequate facilities. However, it was determined that the community could not support two separate buildings. A decision was made to conduct a unified campaign to develop a facility that would be shared between the two organizations. The campaign was a success, generating nearly 1.2 million dollars in gifts from 3,500 individuals, families and businesses.

In 1964 our current facility was built. It furnished over 50,000 square feet of program space to the community; a swimming pool, gymnasium, two handball courts, a youth game room and meeting rooms.

In 1986 the Rochester YMCA and Rochester YWCA consolidated their programs and staff into the Rochester Area Family Y.

In July of 2007, over 4 million dollars of capital improvements were made to the facility, most notably the addition of a water park complete with a water slide – giving the Y a state of the art aquatics center.