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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the YMCA of Springfield | ||||||
4 | (Springfield Y) on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, On March 25, 1874, the Springfield Y was formed | ||||||
6 | in the basement of First Presbyterian Church by a group of | ||||||
7 | individuals who saw a need to provide young men with reading | ||||||
8 | rooms and meeting spaces as an alternative to saloons; by | ||||||
9 | 1885, the organization had constructed its first building, | ||||||
10 | which housed meeting spaces, education, exercise spaces, and a | ||||||
11 | dormitory for young men needing shelter; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Before redirecting its focus on sports and | ||||||
13 | fitness, the Springfield Y stood at the forefront of | ||||||
14 | addressing the City of Springfield's joblessness through | ||||||
15 | creating and offering job training and work competency | ||||||
16 | programs for young men; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, In the late 1800s, the Springfield Y expanded | ||||||
18 | into young men's sports by organizing baseball teams in the | ||||||
19 | area; the organization proceeded to offer basketball in 1891, | ||||||
20 | bringing basketball leagues to the area by 1908; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y constructed a new building at |
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1 | 7th and Capital in 1908, and this property housed some of the | ||||||
2 | first structured fitness programs in Springfield, its | ||||||
3 | competitive sports programs, including basketball and | ||||||
4 | baseball, and one of the area's first indoor swimming pools, | ||||||
5 | which allowed the organization to begin offering swim lessons; | ||||||
6 | and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, In the 1930s and 1940s, the Springfield Y created | ||||||
8 | a teen night club, which it hosted in the basement as a fun, | ||||||
9 | safe space for youth to gather and dance; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, Due to the Great Depression and World War II, the | ||||||
11 | Springfield Y postponed constructing a new YMCA facility until | ||||||
12 | 1962, when it opened a new building at 4th and Cook; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y helped bring youth soccer to | ||||||
14 | Springfield in 1967; the organization's soccer program became | ||||||
15 | nationally known by 1974, was one of the first coed youth | ||||||
16 | sports programs in the area, and is regarded as the genesis of | ||||||
17 | every youth, high school, and college soccer program in | ||||||
18 | central Illinois today; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, In the early 1970s, the Springfield Y established | ||||||
20 | before and after school care for low-income families; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y permitted women to become full |
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1 | members in 1974, two years before the YMCA of the USA adopted | ||||||
2 | its policy and four years before it banned gender | ||||||
3 | discrimination nationwide; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y created a Women's Health Center | ||||||
5 | at its 4th and Cook location in 1980; that same year, the | ||||||
6 | organization also adopted a single parent discounted family | ||||||
7 | rate; and | ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y opened a new day camp lodge, | ||||||
9 | YMCA Camp Wa-Kon-Tah, on Lake Springfield in 1988 to serve | ||||||
10 | more children attending its summer camp programs; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y celebrated its 125th | ||||||
12 | anniversary in 1999; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y opened its new $18 million | ||||||
14 | Kerasotes facility, which offered state-of-the-art fitness | ||||||
15 | facilities, pools, and child care facilities, to better serve | ||||||
16 | the community in 2011; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, To replace its aging downtown structure, the | ||||||
18 | Springfield Y opened a new $33 million downtown facility at | ||||||
19 | 4th and Carpenter in 2020; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, After 56 years, the Springfield Y opened its own |
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1 | soccer fields to provide more opportunities for local youth at | ||||||
2 | its Kerasotes facility in 2023; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, That same year, the Springfield Y distributed | ||||||
4 | 4,000 food boxes and helped provide relief to local victims of | ||||||
5 | the historic storms that struck from June 29 to June 30; the | ||||||
6 | organization also provided over 1,400 at-risk and underserved | ||||||
7 | kids with several programs and activities, including summer | ||||||
8 | camps, sports, and after school spaces through its Strong Kids | ||||||
9 | Fund; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y will celebrate its 150th | ||||||
11 | anniversary with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a celebration | ||||||
12 | at the location of the organization's first meeting, First | ||||||
13 | Presbyterian Church, on March 25, 2024; therefore, be it | ||||||
14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
15 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
16 | we congratulate the YMCA of Springfield (Springfield Y) on its | ||||||
17 | 150th anniversary, thank the organization for its dedication | ||||||
18 | to serving the City of Springfield, and wish its staff and | ||||||
19 | volunteers continued success in the years to come; and be it | ||||||
20 | further | ||||||
21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
22 | presented to the Springfield Y as an expression of our esteem |
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1 | and respect. |