Everyone knows the Y as a place to camp, swim, or exercise, but we’re so much more. We provide a place to play, to learn, to be healthy, and to give back. We give parents childcare, young adults job training, seniors a way to connect and children a safe place to go. We believe that everyone – no matter who they are or where they’re from – deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential. Everything the Y does is in service of making sure people and communities thrive.

YMCA Movement

For more than 175 years, the Y has been the leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their potential, purpose and each other. The Y works to ensure access to resources, relationships and opportunities for all to learn, grow and thrive across 10,000 communities nationwide. Read more about the history of the YMCA.

McGaw YMCA Evanston

Since 1885, the YMCA in Evanston has provided programs, services and activities across our community and at our overnight camp in Michigan, offering health, hope, and opportunity:

• Parents find a safe, nurturing environment for their children to stay active, be engaged, and learn positive values.
• Children and teens play and develop self-confidence while feeling accepted and supported.
• Men who reside at the Y and receive supportive housing options and resources to live and work.
• Adults connect with friends, pursue interests, and learn how to live healthier.
• Families facing crisis receive food, social-emotional support, and other critical resources as Y program participants.
• People from all backgrounds and walks of life come together to volunteer and help strengthen their community.

Areas of Impact

• For Youth Development: Empowering young people to reach their full potential.
• For Healthy Living: Improving individual and community well-being.
• For Social Responsibility: Providing support and inspiring action in our communities.

Everyone is Welcome

The McGaw YMCA is a cause-driven membership organization open to all people. We welcome people of all ages, races, ethnicities, gender identities, religions, abilities, sexual orientations and financial circumstances. Our programs embrace diversity and promote growth in spirit, mind and body, reflecting the people and needs of our communities.

Our Commitment to Social Good

As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the Y provides crucial programs and services families and individuals in and around Evanston every year. With the help of generous donors, we are able to provide more than 150 men with safe, stable housing, more than 70,000 healthy meals to school-age youth and their families, and financial assistance to ensure everyone has a chance to succeed and belong at the Y. It is the goal of the McGaw YMCA to provide programs and services regardless of an individual’s or family’s financial circumstances.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

We embrace and celebrate all dimensions of diversity at McGaw YMCA by ensuring equity within our organization. We are accountable to historically excluded communities for creating equitable, sustainable and anti-racist environments where social justice is woven into every facet of our programs. We do this by caring for our communities in a culturally versatile and respectful manner and by intentionally leading and boldly modeling diverse and inclusive cultures that impact and strengthen the foundations of our community.