About Us

We build strong kids, strong families and strong communities.  

Our Strategic Vision

The Berkeley-Albany YMCA serves our community through our five key areas of emphasis:

• Strengthening the family
• Empowering teens
• Fostering healthy development of the child
• Improving health and wellness for all ages, abilities and fitness levels
• Engaging, retaining and increasing membership  

Our Mission

To bring people together in pursuit of spiritual, mental and physical growth.
To build community.
To serve.

2007 Annual Report

• Click here to view our 2007 Annual Report

Our History

On June 16, 1903, a group of young Berkeley men gathered in the basement of the First Baptist Church on Allston Way and Oxford Street to create the Berkeley YMCA.

By 1910, the need for a building was eminent and, through generous gifts from Mrs. Rosa Shattuck and Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Woolsey, the building on the corner of Milvia and Allston Way was erected. Camp Gualala in Sonoma County was purchased for $9,000 in 1929 and the Albany YMCA opened in 1931, through a $5,000 capital campaign.

During the depression, the Berkeley-Albany YMCA extended free and reduced fee programs to those out of work and fed and clothed thousands of men in those years. 1938 brought the development of the West Berkeley YMCA branch.

During WWII, women became an integral part of the YMCA in our partnership with the USO organization serving soldiers and their families.

The YMCA purchased what is now the South Berkeley YMCA in 1949. The Downtown Berkeley YMCA experienced a major renovation in the 1960s, preparing for the 1967 shift to a co-ed facility.

 In 1972, the YMCA became the grantee of the Berkeley-Albany Head Start program, which we still operate in seven locations in Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville. And, in 1973, the South Berkeley YMCA building construction was completed.

1988 saw more property purchased for expansion of the Downtown Berkeley YMCA and the Albany expansion and remodeling was completed in 1989.

Thanksgiving Day, 1994, we celebrated the completion of the new Downtown Berkeley YMCA building. This YMCA is now home to more than 12,000 members and thousands more program participants.

In 1998, the South Berkeley Learning Center was born. This branch now serves children grades K-6 with cutting-edge academic preparation and hands-on experiential learning activities.

Also in 1998, the Albany YMCA Fitness Center began signing up members. Today, there are more than 1500 members at the Albany YMCA. This YMCA still runs Kids' Club, a 23 year old effort providing before and after school child care, recreation and educational programming.