Newman YMCA

Established in 1945, the East Providence Association found quarters in rented rooms and several churches for more than three decades before building its current home on Taunton Avenue in Seekonk, Mass. A group of volunteers first set up shop in rooms on the second floor of the District Nurses Home in East Providence. Later, the organization moved to a church on Hazard Avenue and by 1976, the East Providence YMCA was housed in a small church on North Broadway.

In 1980 the building the current facility resides in opened, and within a year 600 families had signed on as members, twice the number anticipated. The original facility held a swimming pool, locker room and an all-purpose room. In 1988, after a capital campaign raised close to a million dollars, the organization added a gymnasium and a child-care center. In 1997 and again in 2002, the Fitness Center was expanded to meet an ever-increasing demand. Additional multi-purpose rooms were added in 2002 as well.