& Friendship
Worship
One YMCA has been serving the local community in Hertfordshire for 135 years. Latterly, our reach has extended to Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and last year we were able to support over 115,000 vulnerable individuals.
Our portfolio of services includes accommodation, housing and practical/emotional support including for young asylum seekers, community HUBs, childcare provision, support for victims of domestic and sexual abuse and their children and a comprehensive youth service for 11–19-year-olds.
We work closely with neighbouring YMCAs across East and Central England and collaborate with the wider YMCA network on a national scale.
In 2020, we launched our Mission 25 business plan, that focused on doubling our impact by 2025. Central to Mission 25 was the introduction of a new "Christian Mission" service that is helping us explore effective ways to put "faith into action" in an inclusive way. This has served to enhance the already long-established Chaplaincy work.
We aspire to be an organisation with Christian Values that puts "faith into action". We recognise that this means different things for different people, given our diverse workforce and our activities with those of all faiths and none. There is absolutely no expectation that staff, volunteers or service users will or should hold a Christian faith.
However, the story of our founder, Sir George Williams and his compassion for those around him has flowed through to our Articles of Association, which make it clear that we are a charity established with a mission that includes promoting a Christian Environment inspired and motivated by the life, example and teaching of Jesus Christ.
We work with people of all faiths and none for the transformation of communities, enabling people of all ages and in particular young people, to flourish through experiencing and responding to the love of God demonstrated by the life, example and teaching of Jesus Christ.