click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Young Women's Christian Association of Cleveland
The Young Women's Christian Association of Cleveland was founded on November 11, 1869 as the Women's Christian Association of Cleveland. Its purpose was the promotion of the "temporal and spiritual" welfare of the ever-increasing number of urban women. Starting with a single building at Superior Street and Seneca Street (now West 3rd Street), the Association provided instruction in traditional women's trades, domestic work, and office work, and also provided recreational facilities. With gifts of land and funding from such prominent Cleveland, Ohio, residents as Leonard Case, Amasa Stone, Joseph Perkins, and Mrs. Eliza Jennings, the YWCA expanded its services during the latter half of the nineteenth century. By the turn of the twentieth century, the YWCA provided boarding houses and found employment for transient women, and maintained retreats and rest homes for the aged or incurably ill. As the twentieth century progressed, the YWCA was actively involved with the movement to outlaw war following World War I, efforts to improve race relations, finding solutions to immigrant problems, and addressing the problem of unemployment during the Great Depression. The YWCA continues to operate several branches in Cleveland and provides educational, recreational, and welfare services for women in the community.
From the guide to the Young Women's Christian Association of Cleveland Records, 1878-1960, (Western Reserve Historical Society)
