Cheltenham YMCA is a Christian organisation. Central to our aims are Christian values and service. Our main objective is meeting the needs of young people and creating personal development opportunities for all.

A detailed social and pictorial history of Cheltenham YMCA can be found in the book Tales of the Red Triangle (written by former Chairman, Peter Worsley) and is available for purchase from the YMCA Reception at a cost of just £5.

• Cheltenham YMCA was founded on 23rd November 1855.
• In 1978 the British YMCA launched Training for Life - working with unemployed young people.
• Basketball was invented by the YMCA in America in 1891.
• The YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) was founded in 1844 in London by George Williams.
• 50 years after it was founded, there were 405 YMCAs in the British Isles.
• George Williams, founder of the YMCA, was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1894.
• Today the YMCA is present in more than 120 countries around the globe.
• In 1983/4 Terry Waite launched Y Care International, which most recently has been at the forefront of working with children and young people displaced by the major earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010.
• The red triangle was introduced as the new YMCA symbol during the 1914-18 Great War when the British YMCA provided services to soldiers on the front line.
• Volleyball was invented in 1895 by the YMCA in America.