About Your YMCA
THE EAST LAKE STORY
The Eastern Branch was created in 1945 as the First Phase of The Metro Atlanta YMCA decentralization. Until this time, all programs were centered downtown. By 1952 there were 1,604 members in 31 youth clubs. Also in this year, the YMCA moved to a new location at 1292 Glenwood Avenue; this placed the branch in a position to provide more comprehensive services and programs to meet the needs of youth and family. In 1950 property in the DeKalb Memorial Park was acquired and later a five acre site off Memorial and Wilkerson Drive was given to the YMCA and became the site of one of the first community YMCA’s built in Atlanta.
In 1959 The Eastern Branch moved into its new multipurpose building located on Memorial Drive. The aquatics center expansion was completed in 1984 with funding from The City of Atlanta Community Development Funds and contributions from local foundations.
In 1993, Tom Cousin an Atlanta businessman, philanthropist and golf enthusiast, purchased the East Lake Country Club and donated it to the CF Foundation with two conditions. First, that the legendary course and clubhouse be renovated and restored to its original glory in honor of Bobby Jones, Charlie Yates and the other golf champions who called East Lake their home course. Second, that the profits from the operation of the Club go to the East Lake Community Foundation were to be used for the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood.
As a result, East Lake Golf Club reopened in 1995 and quickly claimed its place as one of the great golf courses of the world. In addition, the efforts of the East Lake Community Foundation have lead to the rebirth of a community. East Lake residents have witnessed and benefited from completion of The Village of East Lake, a new 542-unit townhouse and garden apartment complex, which includes an elementary school, pre-school, YMCA and a public golf course. Additionally, neighborhood programs are in place to ensure residents of the community receive the support and training crucial for continued success. Opportunities available to residents include a welfare-to-work program, after-school program, the Junior Golf Academy, and the East Lake Golf Club’s caddie program.
The success of this undertaking has been the direct result of the generous support of East Lake’s Founding Sponsor Members. The ambitious goal of community revitalization has been achieved, and true to its vision – East Lake has become… "golf with a purpose".
The Educational Village which includes the: (1) Drew Elementary School; (2) East Lake Family YMCA; (3) East Lake Sheltering Arms; and (4) Community meeting spaces. The Village is constructed as a single facility with complementary components. Thus, the school, YMCA, pre-school, and community rooms are all located on the same site, creating a collaboration that houses many programs critical to a community life.
The Village concept offers integrated programming between the pre-school and elementary school, thus creating a seamless educational center for children from 6 weeks old to 12 years old. Furthermore, the YMCA serves as the physical education and recreational arm of the school, offering Drew’s students the most comprehensive range of physical education programs in the city. The community rooms are the logical center for the Community Association, as well as sites for GED classes, job training, parenting classes, and other self-sufficiency related programs. In short, the village serves as a beacon for the entire community.
