Company Profile
YMCA of Greater Hartford
Company Overview
The YMCA of Greater Hartford is an association open to all and committed to helping people develop their God-given potential in spirit, mind and body. Our commitment is based on the belief that the purpose of this three-fold development is to live out the values of our Judeo-Christian heritage, including caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. Our vision is to be the premier provider of high quality values-driven programs. We believe that by teaching core character value of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility, we can achieve our mission and vision for the people of Greater Hartford.
Company History
Today, the Y engages more than 10,000 neighborhoods across the U.S. As the nation’s leading nonprofit committed to helping people and communities to learn, grow and thrive, our contributions are both far-reaching and intimate—from influencing our nation’s culture during times of profound social change to the individual support we provide an adult learning to read.
By nurturing the potential of every child and teen, improving the nation’s health and well-being, and supporting and serving our neighbors, the Y ensures that everyone has the opportunity to become healthier, more confident, connected and secure.
The YMCA in Hartford worked with young men drawn to the city looking for employment opportunities. The YMCA struggled in its infancy, but thanks to support from Colonel Charles A. Jewell and General Charles T. Hillyer, it survived, incorporated in 1886, and built its first Hartford facility in 1892.
The Y offered its first structured camping program in 1886 and built the first indoor swimming pool in Hartford in 1892.
Girls and women were accepted as associate members by a vote of the Board of Directors in 1963. The first female members were Mrs. Robert E. Green and her daughter. Hillyer Institute, later Hillyer College, took shape in the early 1900s. Educational courses had been offered at the Hartford YMCA as early as 1879. Hillyer later became part of what today is the University of Hartford.
In 1918, The Hartford County YMCA began serving children in 12 cities of the then poor rural areas. It provided many needed programs through a network of “YMCAs without walls”. Elmer T. “Pop” Thienes served his entire 31 year career with the County YMCA as its general secretary. The county Y established YMCA Camp Woodstock in 1922.
The late Robert C. Knox, Jr. was a long-time YMCA volunteer, first with the County Y and later with the merged YMCA. To honor his commitment, the Board of Directors established the R.C. Knox, Jr. YMCA Distinguished Leadership Award in 1977. It continues today as the Y’s top volunteer honor.
Today the YMCA of Greater Hartford serves over 109,000 indviudals; including 66,000 children, in personal development and educational programs. The YMCA:
•is the largest provider of quality child care in Connecticut, serving over 1,800 children at 40 sites.
•is the largest provider of day and residential camping in the Capital Region with over 10,000 children participating each summer.
•teaches the holistic values of sport through year-round, non-competitive, character-building youth sports programs with over 5,000 participants anually.
•improves health of more than 25,000 people of all ages through health and wellness education.
•addresses the link between obesity and unhealthy lifestyles with cardiovascular disease, stroke, juvenile diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol now present more often in children.
•provides literacy education services to adults, and in Noth Hartford, children through the Read to Succeed literacy program.
•teaches more than 2,000 children to swim each year.