[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 26, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H3595-H3597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING AND HONORING YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION ON ITS 150TH
ANNIVERSARY IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 172) recognizing and honoring
the Young Men's Christian Association on the occasion of its 150th
anniversary in the United States, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 172
Whereas 2001 is the 150th anniversary of the Young Men's
Christian Association (commonly referred to as the YMCA) in
the United States;
Whereas YMCAs have touched the lives of virtually all
people in the United States by pioneering various activities,
including camping, public libraries, night schools, group
swimming lessons and lifesaving, and teaching English as a
second language;
Whereas YMCAs are dedicated to building strong youth,
strong families, and strong communities;
Whereas YMCAs serve people of all ages, genders, incomes,
and abilities through a wide variety of services designed to
meet changing community and societal needs;
Whereas every day the more than 2,400 YMCAs in the United
States live their mission through programs that build healthy
spirit, mind, and body for all;
Whereas the YMCA invented the sport of volleyball;
Whereas YMCAs are collectively one of the largest providers
of social services to the Nation's families and communities,
and YMCA programs serve nearly 18,000,000 people, including
9,000,000 children, in the United States each year;
Whereas YMCAs are collectively the Nation's largest child
care provider, and YMCA programs serve 1 in 10 teenagers in
the United States and incorporate the values of caring,
honesty, respect, and responsibility;
Whereas each YMCA is volunteer-founded, volunteer-based,
and volunteer-led;
Whereas YMCAs have a long history of partnerships with
other community organizations, including schools, hospitals,
police departments, juvenile courts, and housing authorities;
Whereas YMCAs have provided war relief services since the
Civil War, aiding millions of soldiers at home and abroad;
Whereas YMCA programs inspire a spirit of adventure and
challenge individuals to learn new skills, try new
activities, and explore other cultures, while being good
citizens of their communities;
Whereas Father's Day in its present form was created at a
YMCA;
Whereas many organizations began at YMCAs, including the
Boy Scouts of America, the Camp Fire Girls, the Negro
National Baseball League, the Gideons, and the Toastmasters;
Whereas YMCAs helped found the United Service Organization;
and
Whereas the Peace Corps was patterned on a YMCA program:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress--
(1) honors the Young Men's Christian Association (commonly
referred to as the YMCA) for 150 years of building strong
youth, strong families, and strong communities in the United
States; and
(2) expresses support for the continued good work of the
YMCA during the next 150 years.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).
General Leave
Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on H. Con. Res. 172, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Nebraska?
There was no objection.
Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring House Concurrent Resolution 172 to
the floor. This concurrent resolution recognizes and honors the Young
Men's Christian Association, commonly known as the YMCA, on the 150th
anniversary of its founding in the United States.
YMCAs are very much a part of the American landscape and history. The
organization began in London, England, in 1844. And in 1851, the first
YMCA in America was established in Boston, Massachusetts. The YMCA's
presence in America has grown steadily to serve nearly 18 million
individuals, including 9 million children annually.
I imagine many of us have participated in or benefited from YMCA's
services. Over time, the YMCA has been associated with programs,
including youth camping and the creation of volleyball and racquetball.
Additionally, by the late 1990s, YMCAs were providing daycare for half
a million children annually. The YMCA has provided learn-to-swim
programs and has been connected to pools and aquatics for many years.
[[Page H3596]]
Throughout all of these programs, the YMCA promotes the values of
caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. Its commitment to these
values can be seen in its history of wartime service dating back to the
Civil War, its commitment to the physical and spiritual well-being of
the poor and unemployed during the Depression, and its current efforts
to teach and reinforce good character in youth through after-school
sports and activities.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to congratulate the YMCA on the anniversary
of their 150 years of existence in America. They have a long history of
exemplary service, and I believe we all benefit from the YMCA's
existence.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in celebration also of the 150th anniversary of
the YMCA's founding in America. The organization has a special place in
my heart, because I had the privilege to serve as the president of the
National Council of YMCAs of the USA from 1970 to 1973 and have been
involved with the organization most of my adult life, beginning with my
teaching career in the late 1950s. Newark's combined YMCA and YWCA has
become an integral part of all aspects of our community. In many ways,
the history of the local YMCA is a perfect example of the support and
stability that Ys around the globe have provided for 150 years to the
world.
It seems appropriate tonight to reflect back on many years of
successful involvement and rich history this organization has shared
with individuals through all parts of the world.
Mr. Speaker, at this point I would like to highlight the route this
institution has taken to reach this extraordinary anniversary. The YMCA
was founded in London, England, on June 6, 1844, in response to
unhealthy social conditions arising in big cities at the end of the
Industrial Revolution, roughly 1750 to 1850. The Industrial Revolution
took place in Europe.
Growth of the railroads and centralization of commerce and industry
brought many rural young men who needed jobs into cities like London.
By 1851, there were 24 Ys in Great Britain with a combined membership
of 2,700. That same year, the Y arrived in North America. It was
established in Montreal on November 25, and then in Boston on December
29 of that year.
The idea proved popular everywhere. In 1853, the first YMCA for
African Americans was founded right here in Washington, D.C., by
Anthony Bowen, a freed slave.
The next year, the First International Convention was held in Paris.
At that time there were 397 separate YMCAs in 7 Nations with 30,369
members in total.
Then by 1866, the influential New York YMCA adopted a fourfold
purpose: the improvement of the spiritual, mental, social and physical
conditions of young men.
In those early days, the YMCAs were run almost entirely by
volunteers. There were a handful of paid staff members before the Civil
War who kept the place clean, ran the libraries and served as
correspondent secretaries. But it was not until the 1880s, when the
YMCA began putting up buildings in large numbers, that most
associations thought they needed to have some full-time employees.
Today's YMCA movement is the largest not-for-profit provider of child
care, and it is larger than any for-profit chain in the country. In the
1990s, about half a million children received care at a YMCA each year.
In 1996, child care became the movement's second largest source of
revenue after membership dues.
Tonight we celebrate the many years of positive change the YMCA has
had on our neighborhoods, townships, States and countries. My local
YMCA, in Newark, New Jersey, opened its doors in 1881. Since its
inception in 1881, the Newark Y has been an integral part of the Newark
community.
The programs offered by the YMCA and YMWCA assist Newark residents in
their day-to-day lives. For example, the YMWCA has affordable and safe
housing options, in addition to state-of-the-art fitness facilities and
educational programs.
We must continue our commitment to the YMCA to make it continually
strong. As my colleagues know, the triangle of the YMCA, the symbol of
the Y stands for the mind, the body and the spirit. We talk about the
whole person that must be developed in order for that person to take
their rightful place in our society.
And so we would like to acknowledge that the YMCA of the USA in its
150 years of service has been a tremendous asset to this country, as
they celebrate this 150-year anniversary this weekend in New Orleans,
where people from all over the United States and the world will be
celebrating in this great achievement and activities.
We have been very fortunate in our local Y, where many local leaders
today in our city of Newark have come up through the YMCA's programs of
youth and government and Model United Nations and trips abroad and work
programs, and so it is with that spirit that I stand here proud to
commend the YMCA on 150 years.
We wish them continued success in their work.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr.
Osborne) for yielding the time to me.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.Con.Res. 172, which I
introduced with the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), my
colleague, to honor the YMCA.
For 150 years, YMCAs have touched the lives of communities across our
Nation by pioneering so many activities that we value; camping, public
libraries, night schools, swimming lessons, lifesaving courses and
teaching English as a second language. Over 2,400 volunteer-based YMCA
programs across this Nation dedicate themselves to building strong
youth, strong families and strong communities.
In fact, YMCAs partner with local schools, hospitals, police
departments, juvenile courts and housing authorities to incorporate the
needs of their own communities into the programs that they offer.
In my district, Montgomery County, Maryland, the YMCAs are invaluable
to parents through both after-school care and summer camp programs. My
constituents can avail themselves of programs at the Bethesda-Chevy
Chase YMCA, Silver Spring YMCA, the Upper Montgomery County YMCA, and
Camplets, is an exemplary summer camp.
Horizons is a good example offered at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase YMCA
of a program that really works. This coed program assists young people
to develop more self-esteem, self-control and improved relationships
with people their own age. Youth who take part in Horizons develop
self-reliance skills and experience what it means to excel.
Today over a quarter of the Nation's families are headed by single
parents.
{time} 1945
YMCA is often a helping hand, providing athletic activities,
substance abuse programs that also deal with prevention and volunteer
programs to increase the involvement of youth in community service. As
the country's largest provider of after-school programs, the kids see
the YMCA as a safe home away from home.
In addition to providing a supportive and compassionate environment
for children and adolescents, the YMCA cultivates innovation and new
ideas. Our most recent holiday, Father's Day, was first commemorated by
the YMCA. Quite frankly, the Boy Scouts of America, the Campfire Girls,
and the Association for the Study of Negro Lives and History, those
organizations began at the YMCA. Few organizations boast such
creativity and responsiveness to the needs of communities around the
Nation.
The YMCA not only charters new programs, but enters into the
partnerships with other organizations. Schools, hospitals, and housing
authorities work closely with YMCA programs to coordinate youth
activities, and millions of soldiers at home and abroad have been aided
by war relief services. Such innovations and partnerships make the YMCA
the largest nonprofit community service network in the United States.
[[Page H3597]]
The YMCA currently makes a difference in the lives of all over 17
million people. Our support for the continued good work of the Young
Men's Christian Association is vital as it has provided such a positive
impact throughout the last 150 years.
I urge this House to join in honoring the YMCA for its unfailingly
impressive service to the United States, and I wish the YMCA well in
their next 150 years of public service.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
172, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as
amended, was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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