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Young Women's Christian Association of Rochester and Monroe County collection

 Collection
Identifier: D.456

Biographical / Historical note

On June 21, 1883, the Women's Christian Association of Rochester, forerunner of the Young Women's Christian Association of Rochester, was founded to provide respectable boarding homes for employed women. As there were 7000 self-supporting women in Rochester at the time, the wholesome surroundings of a Christian home for these women was the Association's first consideration. A secondary concern was the formation of Bible-classes, classes in cooking, sewing, writing, arithmetic, and English. It was in 1903 that the chapter groups of the Young Women's Christian Association formed into a national association, and in 1906, the Women's Christian Association became affiliated with the Young Women's Christian Association.

Inauguration of a comprehensive program by the new YWCA was made possible by a large contribution by Mrs. Henry Alvah Strong. This donation of $75,000 provided the YWCA with a new administration building including offices, a gymnasium, club rooms, lecture rooms, and a swimming pool. An addition of two residential floors was made to the administration building in 1917 through a gift of $49,000 by Henry A. Strong. Their current building at 175 Clinton Avenue, built through funds secured in a building campaign drive between 1947 and 1949 and dedicated in 1951, replaced the original administration building and other structures acquired by the YWCA.

In 1961, the name of the Association was changed once again from the YWCA of Rochester, New York, to the YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County. This change was the result of the decentralization of YWCA programs and efforts to include many of the towns in the county outside Rochester. Among the programs carried on by the YWCA were Day Camps for young adults, wartime emergency programs (all-night food service for girls in industry), the "Homemaker's Holiday" (a morning program for women, particularly mothers and their pre-school children), World Fellowship Observance, area programs for teenage girls and homewomen, post-war programs in the form of clubs and English classes for the incoming wives of service men that had been overseas, and many physical fitness programs (figure trimming, Danish gymnastics, various forms of dance, swimming instruction, tennis, badminton, roller skating, volleyball, and bicycling). By the 1980s and 1990s, the focus of the YWCA's programs had shifted to providing underserved populations in Rochester with the resources to find jobs, summer programs for their children, and preventative health care, as well as programs to combat domestic violence and raise awareness about safety.

Scope and Contents

The Young Women's Christian Association of Rochester and Monroe County Collection is comprised of six series:

Series I. Governance

Series II. Fundraising Materials

Series III. Chapter Materials

Series IV. Initiatives and Programs Subject Files

Series V. Printed Materials

Series IV. Photographs

Governance includes meeting minutes and materials from the local YWCA Board of Directors, from 1883-1998, Board of Trustees, from 1897-1990, financial materials, and annual meeting materials.

Chapter Materials includes individual chapter histories and materials from over forty-five different chapters located in the city of Rochester and Monroe County.

Initiatives and Program Subject Files includes residence statistics from 1959-1962, housing and teen pregnancy program materials, awards as well as materials related to the YWCA's summer camp, Camp Oneida, and program bulletins from ca. 1950-1986.

Fundraising Materials contains files related to the 1940s new building campaign, as well as membership and donor drives throughout the twentieth century.

Printed Materials includes fliers and newsletters, as well as other published materials produced by staff of the YWCA or newspaper clippings mentioning the YWCA. These clippings range in date from 1883-2005. Also included in this series are publications produced by the national office of the YWCA related to World War II era programs and initiatives.

Finally, Photographs documents the many community programs the YWCA staff has carried out over its illustrious history. Most recently those programs include golf tournaments to raise money for programming, awards banquets to recognize community leaders, child and day care services, and new building construction.

Creator

Dates

  • Creation: 1883-2005

Language of Materials

English

Extent

64 box(es) (64 boxes, 81 volumes)

Access

The Young Women's Christian Association of Rochester and Monroe County Collection is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Young Women's Christian Association of Rochester and Monroe County Collection was first gifted by the Board of Directors of the YWCA on March 22, 1978, followed by additions given on November 7, 1986, and January 30, 2012.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, item date], Young Women's Christian Association of Rochester and Monroe County Collection, D.456, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Related Archival Materials

Bound volumes of The Arrow, a newsletter of the Rochester YWCA, an incomplete set dating from 1904 to 1923.

Title
Young Women's Christian Association of Rochester and Monroe County collection
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid prepared by Rare Books and Special Collections staff
Date
undated
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Library Details

Part of the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Library

Contact:
Rochester NY 14627-0055 USA