HISTORY
Yates was
organized
and became a
branch of
the YWCA,
Kansas City
Kansas in
1913.
The
Branch
served over
69 years.
Yates
Branch
offered
educational
and
recreational
programs for
children,
youth,
adults, and
senior
citizens. The
programs
emphasized
civic
and social
responsibility,
religion,
the arts,
health, and
family
leisure
activities.
In June
1982, The
YWCA Board
of Directors
made a
decision to
close the
branches in
Kansas City
Kansas.
There
was strong
community
concern that
this grand
old social
service
agency would
die.
Prior to
this event,
Friends of
Yates, a
non-profit
organization,
had
incorporated
in 1979.
This
body was
formed
primarily to
provide
financial
strength to
the Yates
Branch.
Upon the
1982 closing
of the Yates
Branch YWCA,
Friends of
Yates, Inc.
assumed the
role of
sovereignty
and became
the
governing
and legal
Board of
Directors.
