How YMCA Guide / Princess Programs Began The first Y-Guide Program was developed to support parents' vital role as teachers, counselors, and friends to their children. Harold S. Keltner, St. Louis YMCA Director, initiated the program as an integral part of Association work. In 1926, he organized the first tribe in Richmond Heights, Missouri, with the help of his good friend, Joe Friday, an Ojibway Native American, and William H. Hefelfinger, chief of the first Y-Guide tribe. Inspired by his experiences with Joe Friday, who was his guide on fishing and hunting trips into Canada, Harold Keltner established a program of parent-child experiences that now involves over 200,000 children and adults annually in the YMCA. Objectives of YMCA Guide / Princess Programs The YMCA locally, nationally and internationally is dedicated to providing good opportunities for people to achieve their greatest and most satisfying potential as honest, caring, respectful and responsible human beings. Y Guides / Princesses Programs help fulfill this mission when they provide the following benefits to parents and children: • Foster companionship and understanding and set a foundation for positive, lifelong relationships between parent and child. • Build a sense of self-esteem and personal worth. • Expand awareness of body, mind and spirit. • Provide the framework to meet a spiritual need of spending enjoyable, constructive and quality time together. • Enhance the quality of family time. • Emphasize the vital role that parents play in the growth and development of their children. • Offer an important and unique opportunity to develop and enjoy volunteer leadership skills. Who We're Looking For Bookstuff