The YMCA of Greater Boston was founded in 1851 by a retired sea captain and a group of Boston evangelicals to offer a safe gathering space for socializing and prayer meetings.
Over the next 160 years, strong leadership, innovation, and a commitment to meeting the ever-changing needs of its community, led to the development of programs that are mainstays in today’s society – like self-improvement lectures, the national fitness movement, and childcare centers.
While the communities served have grown and become more inclusive over the last 160 years, the YMCA remains committed to investing in the future potential of the youth and adults of its community and to building a strong and bright future for Greater Boston. Now more than ever, the Y is committed to lifting up the most vulnerable through food and nutrition programs, nurturing healthy minds and bodies through gym memberships and early education and out-of-school programs, and providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive space for all generations to feel safe, strong, and healthy.
Originally founded in Boston, the Greater Boston YMCA now serves the communities of Charlestown, Hyde Park, Dorchester, West Roxbury, Chinatown, Roxbury, Brighton, Needham, Waltham, Woburn, Reading, Chelsea, and East Boston.
Partnering with the Lynch Foundation
The Lynch Foundation has partnered with the YMCA since 1999, providing annual support for over two decades. Like many of the Foundation’s key long-time collaborators, the financial support has only been one piece of the puzzle. In addition to annual support and several major grants, the Lynch Foundation is currently supporting a multi-year pilot program the brings together the Y and Metco to provide camp scholarships to Metco students. The pilot provides life-changing summer camp opportunities to Metco students while diversifying the Y’s summer camp, helping them reach their goal of serving all children from the city of Boston.
In late 2019 and early 2020, the Lynch Foundation acted as a connector between the four visionary leaders – Robert Lewis of The BASE, Vanessa Calderon-Rosado of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Amanda Fernandez of Latinos for Education, and James Morton of the Y – who launched the Community Learning Collaborative providing a safe space for students to learn and grow during the Pandemic. The Foundation continues to support the initiative as the project evolves to make systemic, lasting change in the Boston education landscape.