History & Mission

The Foothills Area Family YMCA was founded 115 years ago in a collaborative
agreement with then Clemson College . The original purpose of the Y was to program for the student population of the college, but much has changed in the past 115 years.

Our outreach expands well beyond the student base. The Y now programs for children three years of age up through teenagers, to parents and even grandparents in our community.  We interact with many service groups throughout the community as well as with Clemson University.

The Y is chartered to serve the region of Oconee County along with the towns of Clemson & Central, in Pickens County.  When our location moved from the main campus of Clemson University in the 70’s, our program base expanded to meet the needs of the citizens in the area we serve.

The current program offering includes:

• fall and spring soccer (eight weeks each)
• summer day camp for ages 4-12(ten one week sessions)
• Counselor In Training Camp for ages 13-16 (ten one week sessions)
• flag football
• gymnastics
• dog obedience
• basketball for ages 3 – 8
• adult sports league
• gingerbread house decorating event
• fall family festival
• swim lessons for all over 3 years of age
• golf for ages 

The mission of our YMCA is to ‘put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind & body for all’.  And the four core characteristics that all YMCAs hold near and dear are:

• Honesty
• Caring
• Respect
• Responsibility

For example, soccer players not only learn dribbling, shooting and passing skills, they also learn how to better communicate with their teammates and how to be held responsible for their actions.  Our summer campers are not only having fun swimming and singing goofy songs, but they are learning how to support their group with positive attitudes and spirit as well as maintaining a clean environment on a daily basis. 

 We firmly believe the programs we offer are providing essential lifelong lessons that will outlast many of the specific ‘skills’ that are taught.

Our staff and volunteers are fully aware of the life lessons that are tightly woven into each program at the Foothills YMCA.  The impact of our mission spreads well beyond just the participants – as we realize many of the children involved today will become the volunteers of tomorrow.