GIVING BACK: The Armed Services YMCA
BlogDecember 04, 2025
Each issue, the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different organization that benefits the military, veterans, and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day.
The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) – a national member association of the YMCA of the USA – has as its mission to provide needed programs and services for single or married junior enlisted personnel and their family members by aiding them with access to resources, relationships, and opportunities.
The association operates more than 200 program centers worldwide in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and installation commands, working to identify gaps in support and services currently available, and tailor programming to meet those needs. The oldest military support organization in the U.S. – it has been serving troops and families since 1861 – runs national and locally tailored programs and services, offered at no or low cost and requiring no dues or membership fees.
Programming includes essential services such as childcare, hospital assistance, spousal and deployment support services, emergency essentials assistance, educational and mentoring programs for military children, counseling, support for wounded personnel, health and wellness services, family and youth recreational program and activities, and holiday programs. All programming is tailored to the specific needs of the military community on the local level.
One of the major programs run by the ASYMCA is food assistance, which is targeted at helping junior enlisted families worry less about food and focus on mission readiness. According to the organization’s website, it is estimated that more than 25% of active-duty military families need assistance with food. The ASYMCA provides food assistance programs for military families at each of our local branches. The organization asserts that in 2024, it helped 136,000 families facing food insecurity, with 3.4 million pounds of food distributed, which was a 39% increase over the food aid distributed in 2023.
For more information, visit https://asymca.org/.
