Kansas City Young Matrons (KCYM) was organized in the Kansas City Athenaeum Club House on September 14, 1917, under the name Kansas City Athenaeum Young Matrons. Carolyn Farwell Fuller, President of the Athenaeum during the 1917-1918 fiscal year, conceived the idea of establishing a club for young married women for the purpose of developing their charitable, social, and educational interests. In 1920, a movement to withdraw from the parent organization was undertaken, and the club became Kansas City Young Matrons.
In September of 1936, the Kansas City Young Matrons’ 15-year dream of having a permanent home for the club was realized when the membership officially opened their colonial revival style club house at the southwest corner of 51st and Oak Streets. In 1998, the Club House was listed on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places.
With over a 100-year presence in Kansas City, KCYM has grown from an original membership of thirty-four to over three hundred women. Through the years, KCYM has collaborated with more than thirty civic and social organizations to provide innumerable volunteer service hours. In addition to the thousands of volunteer hours our members contribute each year, a philanthropic event, the Magic Ball, is held biennially. KCYM chooses a beneficiary for this formal gala event with the goal of generously raising funds.
Club members create enduring friendships and remain true to the same creed adopted by the Charter Members on September 14, 1917: “To Our Club–Loyalty; To The Community–Service”