YMHA Alumni Association (Boston, Mass.) Records

The Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) was founded in Boston's South End and incorporated on January 30, 1882 by a small group of residents, including Edward S. Goulston, Grace Cohen, Raphael Lasker, Mark Wolf, Abraham L. Fisbel, Louis Gans, Mark Stone, Abraham P. Spitz, Nathan Schloss, L.B. Schwabe, Samuel B. Sterne, Morris Clarke and Julius Rosenthal. As the Jewish population in the following years moved from the South End to the Roxbury and Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston, the YMHA moved as well, first relocating to the corner of Warren and Howland Streets in Roxbury, and then to Seaver Street, on the corner of Humboldt Avenue, also in Roxbury. In 1960, the YMHA merged with the Hecht House to create the Boston YMHA-Hecht House. The merged organization was located at 150 American Legion Highway in Dorchester and welcomed both children and adults from Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, Hyde Park and Milton.

Although an alumni association was initially founded in 1953, this iteration of the organization was begun after alumni held a reunion at the Blue Hill County Club on November 2, 1974, and it was officially founded on May 23, 1975. The Alumni Association hosts reunions and banquets, publishes newsletters providing updates on organizational activities and on the lives of alumni, and gives grants to various charitable causes.

1882

The YMHA of Boston is founded.

1889

The Hecht House is founded.

1960

The YMHA and Hecht House merge to form the Boston YMHA-Hecht House.

1975

The YMHA Alumni Association is founded.