Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: How many YMCAs are there across the US?
In the United States, the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) is the national resource office for the YMCA's 2,700 local chapters. It is located in Chicago. Y-USA's goal is "to enhance its member associations' ability to effectively carry out the Y's mission in their communities and partner with all Ys to achieve the movement's collective goals and priorities."[28]
In 1881, 26 years after its foundation, the official emblem of the World Alliance of YMCAs was adopted, at the 9th International YMCA World Conference. The circular emblem is made up of five segments, one for each continent. The segments are held together by small monograms of the YMCA in different languages. As early as 1881, YMCA leaders believed the Movement could be truly international and united across borders. In the centre is a larger monogram of X and P, Chi and Rho, Christ’s name, as used by early Christians. An open Bible sits on top of the monogram, showing John XVII, Verse 21, "that they all may be one". This was to remind YMCAs that Christ is at the centre of the Movement, a source of strength, hope and unity, binding them all together.[18]
The YWCA is independent of the YMCA, but many local YMCA and YWCA associations have merged into YM/YWCAs or YMCA-YWCAs, and belong to both organizations while providing the programs of each.
The Old Poughkeepsie YMCA is on the west side of Market Street near the corner of Church Street (US 44/NY 55) in Poughkeepsie in New York, United States, across from the former New York State Armory. One of many historic early 20th-century institutional buildings on Market Street, the city's main downtown thoroughfare, it has a glazed terra-cotta front facade, the only building in Poughkeepsie using that material.
Comstock became linked with the YMCA shortly after writing a financial request for funding of his efforts. When YMCA President Morris Jesup became aware of the request he visited Comstock and granted the requested funds. in addition to providing the money to support his work, Jesup paid Comstock a bonus. Comstock was invited to speak before the YMCA's Committee on Obscene Literature (later renamed the Committee for Suppression of Vice) to present how he used the funds the organization had provided. Comstock was eventually hired by the association to help fight for the suppression of vice.
The history of the Ponce YMCA dates back to 1917 when the YMCA was organized in San Juan. In 1919 efforts and surveys were made to start YMCA work in Ponce. In 1934, Manuel Bueno became General Secretary of the Puerto Rico YMCA, the first native Puerto Rican to hold the post. Hurricanes in September 1928 and again in 1931, prevented the Ponce work to move forward once more, as money that had been obtained for the International YMCA Committee had to be used by the San Juan YMCA to help towards repairs to the San Juan YMCA building after these storms. In 1934, however, the YMCA of Puerto Rico became self-supporting.
The Harlem YMCA is located at 180 West 135th Street between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1931-32, the red-brown brick building with neo-Georgian details was designed by the Architectural Bureau of the National Council of the YMCA, with James C. Mackenzie, Jr. as the architect in charge. It replaced the building from 1919 across the street. Inside the building is a mural by Aaron Douglas titled "Evolution of Negro Dance." The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and was designated a New York City Landmark in 1998.
The Harlem YMCA is a significant landmark of black culture in New York City. Intended primarily for the use of African-American men at a time when most YMCAs were for whites only, it was one of the best equipped YMCAs in the United States. Its upper floors were designed for use as residences, whose occupants include a number of prominent personalities.
This is a list of notable YMCA buildings. Buildings for YMCA use are prominent in many cities and towns.(by state/territory, then city):
The Archives of the YMCA of the United States are located at the Kautz Family YMCA Archives, a unit of the University of Minnesota Libraries Department of Archives and Special Collections. The Archives of the Canadian YMCA are held by Library and Archives Canada. Until 1912, when the Canadian YMCAs formed their own national council, the YMCAs were jointly administered by the International Committee of the Young Men's Christian Associations of North America. The YMCA in the US is one of the many organizations that espouses Muscular Christianity.[30][31][32][33][34]
The YMCA of Hong Kong was established in 1901, being separated into two separate organizations in 1908, split across linguistic lines: "YMCA of Hong Kong" and "Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong". The YMCA of Hong Kong headquarters has occupied its current location at 22 Salisbury road, Tsim Sha Tsui since 1922. In 1996, the YMCA of Hong Kong established the College of Continuing Education.[65]
The Akron Area YMCA was founded in 1870. In the 1920s, the Akron YMCA Building was constructed, and the YMCA moved into the building. It was intended to be used as most YMCA branches were used in that era: a Christian organization that was meant to give people a place to eat, stay for short or long terms, and worship. The exercise facilities in place today were used for a variety of different reasons then, but it was originally constructed with an indoor pool which is still in use. The main part of the building was used as living space for many of its members (of both sexes), and was the only place some could turn when they had not much else.
The American YMCA came to Poland with General Haller's Army during the First World War. The main aim of the YMCA was to serve soldiers and prisoners of war. After the war YMCA carried also about students, children and poor people. Polish people use the YMCA's activities. And, with the help of the American YMCA, Poles started to build their own YMCA, which was founded formally in 1923.
In 1971, the modern bandana code came into use among leather people. Many leather people went to the Embarcadero YMCA (at this YMCA, doing weight training while wearing nothing but gym shoes and a jockstrap as well as nude swimming were both allowed until 1975, when women could become members of the YMCA). Leather people who worked out at the Embarcadero YMCA took advantage of the opportunity to get together with sailors when they came into town and rented rooms at the adjacent Embarcadero YMCA Hotel.
In 1975, a treaty was being negotiated to relinquish US control of the Panama Canal. At this time the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) felt the need to change its orientation, objectives, structures, and programmes. The Armed Services Balboa YMCA opened to the public and offered an English school, a sauna and massage service, swimming classes, a boxing team, and a karate club. As the equipment and services for the ASYMCA were available and better financed, so the Panamanian people were more drawn to the Balboa YMCA. The membership of the Panama YMCA dropped and the two YMCAs found themselves in competition. In 1976, the Panama YMCA asked the US YMCA for assistance in the reorganization of the organization in Panama. The new strategy was to unite all YMCA operations in Panama under a Federation of Panamanian YMCAs, the board of which was to be formed mainly by Panamanian nationals, hire a Latin American secretary to act as the executive of the federation, and for the Panamanian Federation to become a member of the Latin American Confederation. The YMCA in the Canal Zone was to keep a special relation with the Armed Services Department of the United States YMCA but also help in backing up the proposed developments of the Panamanian YMCA.
Nightingale Properties acquired Gaviidae Common I in 2013 for US$26.25 million. In October 2014, the company subdivided the building into six parts for resale. In December 2014, the company sold its 450-stall parking garage to Gaviidae Commons LLC, a partnership associated with InterPark from Chicago. Saks Off Fifth closed on January 17, 2015, and relocated across the street to Minneapolis City Center. Shortly after its closure, Walgreens began developing parts of the first and second floors where Saks Off Fifth Avenue once stood. In June 2016, the YMCA purchased three floors of Gaviidae Common I for US$9.9 million, and resold a section on the third and fourth floors to United Properties, part of the space previously occupied by Saks. YMCA spent over US$30 million in developing space at Gaviidae Common, before opening its doors to the public on March 6, 2018. The fitness center held a grand opening event which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Minneapolis' mayor Jacob Frey. In addition to serving as the new home for the Douglass Dayton YMCA, it includes office space for 400 employees and the local YMCA headquarters.
Multiple colleges and universities have historically had connections to the YMCA. Springfield College, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was founded in 1885 as an international training school for YMCA Professionals, while one of the two schools that eventually became Concordia University—Sir George Williams College—started from night courses offered at the Montreal YMCA. Northeastern University began out of a YMCA in Boston, and Franklin University began as the YMCA School of Commerce. San Francisco's Golden Gate University traces its roots to the founding of the YMCA Night School on 1 November 1881. Detroit College of Law, now the Michigan State University College of Law, was founded with a strong connection to the Detroit, Michigan YMCA. It had a 99-year lease on the site, and it was only when it expired that the college moved to East Lansing, Michigan. Youngstown State University traces its roots to the establishment of a law school by the local YMCA in 1908. The Nashville School of Law was the YMCA Night Law School until November 1986, having offered law classes since 1911 and the degree of Juris Doctor since January 1927. YMCA pioneered the concept of night school, providing educational opportunities for people with full-time employment. Many YMCAs offer ESL programmes, alternative high school, day care, and summer camp programs. In India, YMCA University of Science and Technology Faridabad was founded in 1969. It offers various programme-related to science and engineering.
In the US, the YMCA began building single room occupancy (SRO) facilities in the 1880s to house people from rural areas who moved into cities to look for work. The typical YMCA SRO housing provides "low-income, temporary housing for a rent of $110 per week" for stays that are typically three to six months long. By 1950, 670 of the 1,688 YMCAs in the US provided SRO spaces, which made 66,959 beds available. By the 1970s, the typical YMCA tenant was more likely to be homeless people and youth facing life issues, rather than people migrating from rural areas. The song YMCA describes the YMCA's mix of "gay culture and working-class workouts coexisting in a single communal space", creating "a mix of white-collar and blue-collar residents, along with retired seniors and veterans", with about half of residents being gay. While the song gives the impression that YMCA SROs in the 1970s had a party atmosphere, Paul Groth states that YMCA SRO units actually had "more supervision of your social life — a kind of management as to how you behaved...[than] in a commercial rooming house, which mostly wanted to make sure the rooms were rented", without monitoring who you brought to your room. 
Many YMCAs throughout the world still maintain residences as an integral part of the programming. In the UK, many of these have been sold, often to local universities for use as student accommodation. YMCAs in the UK are still known predominantly as organizations that provide accommodation for vulnerable and homeless young people. Across the UK the YMCA provides over 8,000 bed spaces, and is thus one of the largest providers of safe supported accommodation for young people. The vast majority of this accommodation is supported by a range of personal, social and educational services. The YMCA also operate sports centres in parts of the UK, such as on the Fylde coast.
Limbert was then selected to serve the highest post in all of the YMCA movement. In 1952, he was named Secretary General of the World Alliance of YMCAs in Geneva, Switzerland. During his tenure, the YMCA celebrated its centennial in 1955, and Limbert visited many YMCAs in over 60 nations, including Britain, France, and in Africa.
In late 1937 White decided to move to Seattle. He purchased a 35mm Argus camera and took a bus trip across country toward his destination. He stopped in Portland, Oregon, on his way and decided to stay there. For the next 2-1/2 years he lived at the YMCA in Portland while he explored photography in depth for the first time. It was at the YMCA that he taught his first class in photography, to a small group of young adults. He also joined the Oregon Camera Club in order to learn about how photographers talk about their own images and what photography means to them.
YMCA Training, Inc.'s success is largely due to strong partnerships with local Boston area businesses. Businesses host job seekers as interns for 8 weeks, and hire graduates as paid full-time employees. Many employers are attracted to the program because they are able to evaluate the trainee in an eight-week internship before considering him or her as a candidate for a full-time employment. The business community trusts YMCA Training, Inc.'s program because the program stresses high standards and high performance. YMCA Training, Inc. also demands a high level of English proficiency, so many trainees choose to go through YMCA's International Learning Center before enrollment at YMCA Training, Inc.
YMCA Canada was established over 160 years ago as a charity dedicated to the health of both individuals and communities.[35] YMCA Canada values inclusiveness and accessibility and serves people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities through all stages of life.[35] YMCA Canada is a federation of YMCAs and YMCA-YWCAs who work together to achieve common goals for improving the health of Canadians. Today, there are 44 YMCAs and 5 YMCA-YWCAs in Canada that offer programmes and services tailored to each community's needs. Together, they serve 2 million people in more than 1,000 communities across Canada—and they keep growing.[35]
The pop song and gay anthem "YMCA" by the Village People describes the YMCA's mix of "gay culture and working-class workouts coexisting in a single communal space", creating "a mix of white-collar and blue-collar residents, along with retired seniors and veterans", with about half of residents being gay. While the song gives the impression that YMCA SROs in the 1970s had a party atmosphere, Paul Groth states that YMCA SRO units actually had "more supervision of your social life—a kind of management as to how you behaved ... [than] in a commercial rooming house, which mostly wanted to make sure the rooms were rented", without monitoring who you brought to your room. While some YMCAs hired professionals to help homeless people and troubled youths (e.g., addictions counselors, social workers, etc.), overall, by the 2000s (decade), most YMCAs decided to move away from providing SROs. By 2004, only 81 of the 2,594 YMCAs still had SRO units.
He had a long and distinguished career as a YMCA Secretary (CEO) and established many YMCA's across the country to deliver community services. In 1962 he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for is services to migrants.
In 1968, the Illinois and Indiana YMCAs merged to become the new Region I of the YMCA of the USA. With this change many involved in the operations of Camp Tecumseh felt that they no longer wanted to have to rely on YMCA hierarchy for the support of camp they needed. Much of the facility was out of shape and at various points during the 1960s board members feared that Tecumseh would be shut down by the YMCA of Indiana due to financial difficulties. The next logical step for the Camp Tecumseh was to become an independent YMCA. On October 16, 1970, Camp Tecumseh requested Independent YMCA status, which was granted by the YMCA of the USA the next day.