It is also the subject of 1978 song " Y.M.C.A." by Village People. Imitator organizations include the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA), and the Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA). The YMCA was also considered a parachurch organization based on Protestant values.
Consequently, all YMCAs are unique, while following certain shared aims, such as the Paris Basis. The national organizations, in turn, are part of both an Area Alliance (Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada) and the World Alliance of YMCAs (World YMCA). YMCA is a non-governmental federation, with each independent local YMCA affiliated with its national organization. Local YMCAs deliver projects and services focused on youth development through a wide variety of youth activities, including providing athletic facilities, holding classes for a wide variety of skills, promoting Christianity, and humanitarian work. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally as the Young Men's Christian Association, and aims to put Christian values into practice by developing a healthy "body, mind, and spirit".įrom its inception, it grew rapidly and ultimately became a worldwide movement founded on the principles of muscular Christianity.
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. Self-defence classes at YMCA in Boise, Idaho, 1936