YMCA AROUND THE WORLD
The YMCA is a worldwide movement of people that have come together with a shared commitment to strengthen, accompany and provide tools to youth so that, for them and with them, we can improve society.
Currently the YMCA is present in 119 countries and has helped 58 million people. YMCA Spain is a part of the World YMCA and YMCA Europe alliances. Each local YMCA, national or local, is founded by the initiative of local residents responding to the needs of their specific communities. This makes the YMCA enormously heterogenous, with variations in programs from country to country as well as its branding.
YMCA THROUGHOUT HISTORY
YMCA is an abbreviation for Young Men's Christian Association. The name has been maintained since its founding in London in 1844.
The organization was started by a group of young adults in order to, in the time of the industrial revolution, recover the importance of maintaining a balance between the three essential aspects of a human being: spirit, mind and body.
Some of the most notable facts from the 177 year history of the YMCA:
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SPORT:
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The invention of the sport of basketball at the YMCA in Springfield and the sport of volleyball at the YMCA in Holyoke (both in Massachusetts, United States) and the invention of futsal at the YMCA in Montevideo, Uruguay.
NOBEL PEACE PRIZES:
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Henry Dunant - General Secretary of the YMCA of Geneva, Switzerland and one of the promotores and key figures of the foundation of the YMCA World Alliance, was also a founder of the International Red Cross. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
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John R. Mott - President of the YMCA World Alliance received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946 for the humanitarian work of the YMCA with prisoners of war from the first and second World Wars.
The Triangle
The triangle is the international symbol of the YMCA movement and expresses the balance between spirit, mind and body that is essential to a person's development.
