This year the Simi Valley Family YMCA will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Father’s Day. The holiday was first celebrated in June 1910 at the Spokane YMCA in Washington state and is now recognized all over the world.

Father’s Day was founded by Sonora Louis Smart Dodd, the daughter of a single father who served in the Civil War. On Mother’s Day in 1909 Smart Dodd heard a sermon honoring mothers and wondered why there was no similar tribute for fathers.

With the support of ministers in Spokane, Smart Dodd launched the first Father’s Day celebration at the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910.

President Richard Nixon signed Father’s Day into law in 1972.

The Simi Valley Family YMCA offers programs that foster understanding and companionship between children and their fathers and mothers, such as Indian Guides, group exercise classes for all ages and swimming.

For more information, call (805) 583-5338, visit www.sevymca.org or stop by the facility at 3200 Cochran St. in Simi Valley.