Trend Strengthening the Organization, President of National Council Reports
The nation’s YMCAs are rapidly turning co-educational and are “stronger organizations” because of it.
J. Clinton Hawkins, of St. Louis, president of the National Council of the Young Men’s Christian Association, reported in the Statler Hilton today that 680,142 women are full-fledged YMCA members. They are joining at the rate of 1800 a week and currently comprise 25% of the membership.
He told the 34th annual meeting of the council that 75% of the nation’s 1830 YMCAs have feminine members and are responding to community requests for services for the entire family.
Mr. Hawkins said YMCAs with co-ed participation in swimming, bowling, card parties and cultural and educational activities for high school age persons, consistently have more successful programs.
Members 18 to 29 Fall
Over-all membership — now 2,644,954 — has increased 44% in the past ten years, he reported.
A 21% decline in members between 18 and 29 during this period was attributed to the increasing number of persons going to college and entering the military service and to the fewer persons in this age group because of the low birth rate during the 1930s.
Mr. Hawkins noted that YMCA professional staffs are shrinking in proportion to non-professional workers, with an increasing use of part-time staff members.
To maintain the quality of programs in the face of this adjustment, he emphasized that secretaries must be primarily concerned with enlisting, training and supervising volunteers and paid leaders, relinquishing their traditional role of direct leadership of activities.
30 New Buildings
The council president said the YMCA is planning to expand services to American military personnel stationed overseas. He announced the appointment of John C. Reiner of New York City as director of the Armed Services Department.
Mr. Hawkins reported that the organization served more than 3,745,000 adults and supervised the activities of nearly 4,800,000 young people in 200,000 clubs and groups during 1959.
He said local communities established 38 new units and erected 30 new buildings. Another 104 buildings are under construction or in the planning stage.
Dr. Edwin T. Dahlberg, of St. Louis, president of the National Council of Churches and formerly of Buffalo, led the opening worship service.
