 The Youngstown YMCA
has a long and illustrious history in the community.
Established in 1883, the YMCA is a safe and healthy environment
where Youngstown residents have come for recreation, sport and
education for the last 120 years. Starting as a retreat to
protect the values of young farmers moving to the city for work,
the YMCA is now a cornerstone of the community and the start of
many valuable community institutions. For instance, in
1884 a reading room was opened at the Y to enrich the lives of
its young men. In 1906, the reading room expanded to
include an educational director and eventually grew into the
Youngstown Law School -today's Youngstown State University.
Additionally, long time local radio station, WKBN, housed its
earliest broadcasting studios on the third floor of the YMCA.
Today, the Youngstown YMCA has
grown to include over 20,000 members, and includes three equally important branches that
assist in developing the YMCA mission of building strong kids,
strong families, strong communities through programming with a
Christian emphasis that encourage family values such as respect,
responsibility, caring and honesty. Our branches include:
The Central Branch in Downtown Youngstown
 The Central YMCA
is the flagship of the Youngstown YMCA and is where the building
blocks of what the YMCA is today were created. Established
in 1872 by Dr. R.D. Gibson, the Youngstown YMCA began as
periodic meetings at the house of Dr. Gibson’s parents.
The YMCA quickly grew and eventually moved to the second floor
of a new building on East Federal Street. In 1884 it
became an independent, locally controlled Ohio corporation –
just 32 years after the first YMCA in the United States was
founded. Housed at 17 N. Champion Street in the heart of
downtown Youngstown since 1915, the Central YMCA has a strong
membership of local residents who believe in the Y and its
mission. And because the YMCA is a long standing community
institution, most Youngstown residents have great memories of
visiting the Y as children and young adults, and continue to
share the “Y experience” with their children and grandchildren.
Camp Fitch on Lake Erie
 Camp Fitch
began as a boys' summer bible camp at Muddy Lake near Ravenna,
Ohio in the early 1900s. The first permanent camp was
opened in 1914 in West Point, Ohio. Within 10 years, the
resident camp became so popular it outgrew its West Point
location. Thanks to a generous donation from the Fitch
family, in 1924 Camp Fitch moved to 450 acre grounds in North
Springfield, Pennsylvania- its current location. Today,
Camp Fitch is open 360 days a year and services thousands of
boys and girls, as well as families. Spanning generations,
many families have three and four generations of Camp Fitch
campers who now share their experiences and memories with each
other.
D.D. & Velma Davis Family YMCA
 The newest member
of the Youngstown YMCA opened in September of 2003, and was
created out of a need for a place where families can come
together for health and fitness in the outlying areas of
Youngstown. The Davis Family YMCA was developed to
compliment the Central YMCA and provides a variety of fun and
educational activities including an outdoor aquatic center.
Though only open a short period of time, the Davis Family YMCA
has already begun to touch lives and will continue to do so for
years to come.
As a whole, the Youngstown YMCA is more than mere exercise
facilities, but an organization where critical lessons in
self-esteem, respect, sportsmanship, teamwork and community
service are learned. It is a positive atmosphere for
people of all ages. It is where children learn to swim,
where players of all ages meet on the basketball court and where
people in the community come to unwind. For over a
century, the Youngstown YMCA has been putting Christian
principles into practice through programs that build healthy
spirit, mind and body for all.
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