Soon after I joined YWCA O'ahu in 2012, one of our “mermaids” – a group of senior members who participate in our aqua exercise classes – approached me in the lobby.

“I was a Y-Teen, you know.”

The lady, well in her 70’s nodded her head with a smile as if reminiscing about her teen years.

“We had a lot of activities. It was a fun time.”

For more than a century, YWCA’s youth programs have provided a safe space for girls to grow, learn and build friendships among their peers. Youth activities evolved from many informal gatherings of girls under the YWCA program and from “the Patriotic League of the YWCA.”

The Girl Reserves Program started in 1918 across the nation in part to help girls from ages 12 to 18 “navigate through their lives during the chaos of the war” by helping them “develop a well-balanced personality, grow physically and take on social responsibility.” This was our first program specifically designed for teens.

The program’s spirit was reflected in the breakdown above using each letter of Girl Reserves. A lot of emphasis was put on character building to teach young women to become responsible and caring members of society.

A manual helped to maintain the authenticity and integrity of the program. It touched on how to work with young women of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. One section titled “The Needs of Girls” contained chapters including “The Needs of the Foreign-Born Girls” and “The Needs of the Colored Girls.” Through this club system YWCA accommodated the needs of young women and girls of color. In addition to school clubs, local clubs formed across the country among different ethnic groups including African Americans, Japanese and Chinese who sought to find a place for learning, guidance and encouragement.

Work of “Colored Women” in New York in 1919 The New York Public Library Digital Collections

Local chapters or “clubs” were created at grade schools and junior high and high schools. Each chapter elected officers, who planned events and activities. The clubs also gave these young women the opportunity to think on their own about ways to make a difference in the communities where they lived. By the time Laniākea opened in 1927, there were nearly 30 active clubs across the island with more than 650 club members in Honolulu alone. The grade school students were assembled in “Triangles” with high school students joining “Clubs.” Each group was guided by one or more adult advisers.

Mid-Pacific Institute Student Club in 1930

Officers planned activities for club members, many of which took place at Camp Halekipa

Father & Daughter Banquet at Punahou Girls Reserves in 1925

YWCA used a new and creative approach to communicate to these young program participants about the mission and the principles of the program. Many visual and graphic aids were created to help deliver the message and to grab the attention of young women.

Posters and other visual aids show a “graphic, visual active way” to get the messages out

The Reserves movement kept growing across the nation even after the war with many girls wishing to join the program in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1946, YWCA adopted “Y-Teens” as a more descriptive name for its youth program at the national convention to respond to the changing needs of young women and girls. Through the governing of Y-Teen groups, young women developed leadership skills.

O’ahu delegation of Y-Teens off to the western regional Y-Teen conference in Asilomar, CA in 1952

Y-Teens activities were often reported in the local papers (The Honolulu Advertiser: June 1, 1952)

More than a century later, our youth initiative is very much alive – a human lab for young women and girls to experiment with new ideas and subjects and to explore their own possibilities to thrive.

2019 Girls’ Summit Youth Program Field Trip

Girls Summit 2020. The participants and the graduates of the Patsy T. Mink Leadership Alliance (PTMLA) mentored high school students

-Noriko Namiki, YWCA O‘ahu CEO