# 2160 - 1985 22c International Youth Year: YMCA Youth Camping

U.S. #2160
1985 22¢ YMCA Youth Camping
International Youth Year

• Issued to coincide with the UN’s International Youth Year
• Stamp marks 100^th anniversary of first YMCA summer camp.

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  International Youth Year
Value:  22¢, first-class rate
First Day of Issue:  October 7, 1985
First Day City:  Chicago, Illinois
Quantity Issued:  32,500,000
Printed by:  American Bank Note Company
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Panes of 50 in sheets of 200
Perforations:  11

Why the stamp was issued:  To coincide with International Youth Year and to mark the 100^th anniversary of the first YMCA summer camp.

About the stamp design:  All four International Youth Year stamps were designed by Dennis Luzak.  The stamps each picture young people in the outdoors with a similar color palette. The YMCA stamp pictures a group of young people hiking across a field.

First Day City:  The First Day ceremony for this set was held at the Chicago International Youth Services Conference in Illinois.

About the International Youth Year Set:  Initially, the USPS planned to issue two separate stamps honoring the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and the 75^th anniversary of the Boy Scouts.  They eventually decided to add stamps honoring the Camp Fire Girls and YMCA Youth Camping to tie the stamps into the United Nations’ proclamation of 1985 as International Youth Year.  1985 also marked the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the first residential summer camp at Lake Orange near Newburgh, New York by the YMCA.

History the stamp represents:  In 1979, the General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1985 as the International Youth Year in order to “Draw attention to the situation, needs, and aspirations of youth.”  The theme was “Participation, Development, and Peace.”  The goals were to stimulate public awareness of the needs of young people and to encourage youth to participate in economic and social development.

At the time of the 1985 International Youth Year, about one fifth of the population was in this age group.  The special year emphasized the importance of preparing the youth to be the leaders of tomorrow and the stewards of our planet.  In 2010, the U.N. celebrated the 25th anniversary of the International Year of Youth.  At the time, the Secretary-General said, “Youth should be given a chance to take an active part in the decision-making of local, national, and global levels.”  

First YMCA Opens in America

On December 29, 1851, Thomas V. Sullivan established America’s first YMCA.

In the 1840s, young adults flocked to industrialized London in search of jobs.  However, after arriving, many found a place of dangerous influences and substandard housing.

George Williams had been one of these young men drawn to the city.  Formerly a farmer, he had found success working at a department store by the time he was 22.  However, he grew worried for the young people that came to the city. He believed they needed healthy activities to prevent them from the temptations at the local taverns.

Williams and 11 of his fellow workers joined together on June 6, 1844, and created the world’s first YMCA to improve “the spiritual condition of young men engaged in the drapery, embroidery, and other trades.” The YMCA offered Bible study and refuge from the streets for any young men in need.

The idea quickly caught on, and YMCA chapters began forming around the world.   Former sea captain Thomas V. Sullivan was responsible for establishing America’s first YMCA.  A Boston native, Sullivan had spent much of his life at sea but eventually found it unfulfilling.  It was then that he turned to religion and missionary work.  In 1848, Sullivan founded Boston’s Marine Mission at Large, which preached and distributed reading materials on ships.  He also wanted to help provide these sailors with an education, and founded a lending library at the Marine Mission.

In 1851, Sullivan read an article by George Van Derlip, an American student that had visited the London YMCA.  He was ecstatic at the idea and shared it with everyone who would listen.  On December 15, Sullivan and 31 others met in Boston to draft a set of guidelines for an American YMCA.  He worked late nights all week writing and rewriting policies.  After another meeting, the group met again on December 29 and adopted the constitution, establishing America’s first YMCA.  The rules remained in place for 37 years and served as the basis for other American chapters.

In 1855, delegates from 99 YMCA chapters met in Paris to form the World Alliance of YMCAs.  Their motto came from the Bible: “That they all may be one.”

In 1885, YMCA official Sumner Francis Dudley created the first residential summer camp in the US at Lake Orange near Newburgh, New York.