The Meeting Waters YMCA is one of 2,686 locally created, locally led, independent YMCAs in America today. Among the YMCA movement, Meeting Waters YMCA is fairly unique. We are one of just 100 or so non-facility YMCAs.--a "Y Without Walls"--and we are one of the smallest in terms of budget. Yet, our impact is significant. We do a lot with a little. We pride ourselves in being a high-quality, mission-driven, community-responsive nonprofit, charitable organization.

Beautifully preserved, handwritten notes from 114 years ago tell a powerful story of volunteer initiative. The first entry reads, "The first meeting for the purpose of considering the question of a Young Men's Christian Association for Bellows Falls was held on April 10 (1895)." On September 2, 1895, our Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws were approved by nearly 100 volunteers. The Bellows Falls YMCA had been founded.

Between 1895 and 1915, this local YMCA provided diverse services, such as courses in penmanship, physical activity, such as basketball, Bible Study groups, and community service projects. In 1896, the Bellows Falls YMCA began lending space to the Ladies Auxiliary for gym classes. In the early 1900s, a service fraternity undertook projects at Kurn Hattin School, and the Brattleboro Boy Scout Troop began under its sponsorship.

Thirty years after the Great Depression had forced its demise, the Bellows Falls' Jaycees, under the leadership of Paul Brandon, rekindled the regional YMCA. By 1963, the volunteers offered their first Y-Indian Guides program for fathers and sons. A summer day camp (what is now Lewis Day Camp) soon followed.