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Article: YWCA and YMCA
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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YWCA and YMCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) both began in London, England in the mid-nineteenth century as prayer unions aimed at saving the souls of young men and women who had gone to the city in search of employment. Concerned with the immoral influences of urban life, both organizations expanded to provide new migrants with wholesome recreation, religious instruction, and, eventually, supervised housing. The movement came to the United States in 1852 when the first YMCAs were established in New York City and Boston. Six years later a group of women formed a prayer union in New York City that would lead to the ...