North Central College Young Men's Christian Association/Young Women's Christian Association Records

Alphabetical, then chronological, with joint YMCA/YWCA materials last

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was created in 1873 after Robert Weidensall, Secretary of the International Committee of the YMCA, came to North Central College (then called North-Western College) and organized a student chapter on campus. The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), originally called the Young Ladies' Christian Association, was organized by a professor, Mrs. Nancy Cunningham Knickerbocker, in 1875. The purpose of the YMCA and YWCA was to promote the growth of religious life in everyday life through daily prayer, support for missions, and Bible classes.

This series contains a number of oversized materials which are located in boxes 7, 8, and 9 (container list available upon request). Minutes from 1873 to 1901 are bound. Minutes after 1901 are loose sheets of paper and handwritten up until 1922, when they are typed.

This series contains minutes, committee reports, membership records, treasury books, and other documents of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). Both YMCA and YWCA minutes contain policy changes, constitution modifications, monthly reports, committee reports, expense reports, correspondence, and activities calendars. Joint YMCA/YWCA records from occasional joint events, including missionary projects and retreats, are included as well. Also, included in this series are a number of YMCA and YWCA treasury books which include receipts and expenditures, separated by type of event the money was used for: religious, social, and miscellaneous.