Founded in the Early 1930’s
The Santa Maria Valley YMCA was founded in the early 1930’s and established through the Santa Maria Y’s Men’s Club. Thirteen acres of land were donated to start a resident camp which was operated until 1960.
- In 1962, a building was erected on South McClelland (now the Knights of Columbus Hall).
- In 1977, 14 acres were made available by the County of Santa Barbara to the YMCA for a full family facility on Skyway Drive. The current facility building was dedicated in 1984, with an expansion added in 1994. Work on the skate park began in 1998, and the soccer arena was built in 2002. A family park was dedicated in 2005.
The Santa Maria Valley YMCA Current Day
Currently, the Santa Maria Valley YMCA serves 6,000 members, provides childcare, tutoring, and education for over 500 children, has hundreds more children served in our seasonal camps and teaches over 2,400 children and adults to swim every year.
We collaborate with our local Boys and Girls Club, the City of Santa Maria, Marian Hospital, Good Samaritan Shelter, CASA, Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, AmeriCorps and our local foster care to provide integrative and extended services to those who need us the most.