I will never forget a phrase used by the President of Guildford YMCA some years back in addressing a group of local church ministers. It was the smallest of changes to our name but the simple adding of an apostrophe ‘s’ completely changed the way I viewed our work and, most importantly, the ownership of all that we do. He referred to us as Guildford’s YMCA.

All too often we get so caught up in the complexity of our business that we forget the real reason we are working so hard; we can loose touch with the very people we are aiming to benefit. We now have a Youth Council, a Café Council (from our youth café, Plantation) and hold regular Residents’ Forums. We have just conducted a Stakeholder Review and gained feedback from 60 people, many of whom represent key organisations. But the ownership goes much further than this.

A local historian discovered that Guildford’s YMCA goes back to at least 1870, probably earlier. It is clear that its longevity and sustainability is due to the commitment of a long chain of groups of people, the people of Guildford; citizens concerned about the welfare of young people in their town, who worked together to try and solve the town’s problems.

This is still true today. We have large band of volunteers. Our Board, who oversee all our work, are 12 good citizens of Guildford. They are supported by 5 sub-committees, all volunteers. We have a growing band of local supporters who give much time, and money, to the cause of young people in Guildford. We are, still, Guildford’s YMCA.