Ten west suburban communities are served by the West Cook YMCA with scores of programs focused on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
Members of all ages and backgrounds are working hard to preserve and protect their spirit mind and body at the West Cook YMCA, a 112-year-old not-for-profit organization that is far more than a building.
Although the Y is credited with inventing the games of basketball and volleyball and can boast of having inspired scores of Olympians and professional athletes, like several of today’s NBA players and coaches who spent their youth shooting hoops in our second floor gym, today’s Y is defined by a trifecta of its commitment to youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
The West Cook YMCA is a community of people who share some common principles, a common vision and who take action to reach all in the ten west suburban communities that we serve–Oak Park, Forest Park, River Forest, Maywood, Melrose Park, Bellwood, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, River Grove and Stone Park.
Today’s programs and projects at the West Cook YMCA are rooted in many of the same principles that compelled George Williams, a 22-year old farmer turned department store worker, to found the original Young Men’s Christian Association in 1844 in industrialized London.
Today, the West Cook YMCA operates more than 100 different programs and classes weekly and touches the lives of more than 10,000 people annually. This special Wednesday Journal report details some of this YMCA’s newer approaches to helping our members enjoy healthy living at any age.
Phillip Jiménez, President/ CEO West Cook YMCA
255 South Marion Street,
Oak Park, Illinois 60302
Phone:(708) 383-5200
www.westcookymca.org
