About Us

Woking YMCA exists to serve the needs of the local community and to help young people build a future. We have a caring and professional team of staff and volunteers who are committed to providing opportunities for young people to develop and reach their full potential.

Youth Work

  • We provide after school and evening youth drop in and programmed activities which give young people somewhere safe to go, and fun things to do.
  • We have our own recording studio and run gig nights.
  • We offer free counselling sessions through our Why Talk Counselling Service.
  • We provide 1:1 pastoral work in local secondary schools.
  • We have 2 Connexions Personal Advisors available to support young people not in education, employment or training.
  • We run alternative learning courses for young people aged 14-16.
  • We run courses for young people aged 16-19 who are not in education, employment or training.
  • We run a youth council so young people can get their ideas heard.
  • We offer opportunities for young people to volunteer with us.

Housing and Homelessness

At Grove Court, we run a 12 bed housing project for young people with low support needs.

Sport and Dance

We host weekly dance classes run by Boppin and Street Vibes.

Children

We host Woking South Children’s Centre, who run a variety of activities for parents and Children aged 0-5 years, including Play and Learn, Baby Café (breastfeeding drop in session) and holiday activities.

History of the YMCA

The YMCA is a Christian movement, founded in 1844 by George Williams. He started running prayer and Bible studies in his lodgings in London. This swiftly grew as George Williams and his friends recognised they should not just serve young Christians and offer them support, but they should work with all people and met the needs of all those with whom they worked day by day.

The YMCA remains a Christian and voluntary organisation working with women and men and today has grown into an international organisation in over 100 countries worldwide with some 30 million members and programme participants. In England there are over 150 YMCAs.

At its centre are Christians who, regarding Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, desire to share their faith with others and make Him known, believed, trusted, loved, served and exemplified in all human relationships.

The YMCA welcomes people of all faiths and none.

Woking YMCA is an independent charity, and part of the wider YMCA movement.