Editing YMCA (section)

== History ==
=== 19th century ===
{{Further|George Williams (philanthropist)|Muscular Christianity}}

[[File:Sir George Williams by John Collier.jpg|thumb|[[George Williams (philanthropist)|George Williams]], who founded YMCA in 1844]]
[[File:Geneve archives YMCA 2011-08-23 11 24 53 PICT4048.JPG|thumb|The World Alliance of YMCAs logo displayed in [[Geneva]]]]
[[File:Montreal - YMCA, Rue des Récollets et Rue Sainte-Hélène - Note - 20050324.jpg|thumb|A historical marker at the YMCA in [[Montreal]], noting its 1851 establishment]]
[[File:Gymnasium-wood-engraving-Young-Mens-Christian-Association-June-16-1888.jpg|thumb|A YMCA gym in [[London]] in 1888]]
[[File:Georgia_Directory_Company's_directory_of_the_city_of_Macon._April_24,_1896._Volume_I_-_DPLA_-_6a4bf0d4b323becf10f72d159e04d6d0.pdf|page=3|thumb|An advertisement for the YMCA in [[Macon, Georgia]], {{Circa|1896}}|link=File:Georgia_Directory_Company's_directory_of_the_city_of_Macon._April_24,_1896._Volume_I_-_DPLA_-_6a4bf0d4b323becf10f72d159e04d6d0.pdf%3Fpage=3]]

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded on 6 June 1844, by [[George Williams (philanthropist)|George Williams]] and eleven friends.<ref>{{cite web |title=YMCA Founder's Day: Celebrating 170 Years — Greater Joliet Area YMCA |url=https://www.jolietymca.org/blog/founders-day/ |access-date=2019-06-06 |website=www.jolietymca.org}}</ref> Williams was a London [[draper]] who was typical of the young men drawn to the cities by the [[Industrial Revolution]]. They were concerned about the lack of healthy activities for young men in major cities; the options available were usually [[tavern]]s and [[brothel]]s. Williams' idea grew out of meetings he held for prayer and Bible-reading among his fellow workers in a business in the [[city of London]],<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Young Men's Christian Association |volume=28 |pages=940–941}}</ref> and on 6 June 1844, he held the first meeting that led to the founding of YMCA with the purpose of "the improving of the spiritual condition of young men engaged in the drapery, [[embroidery]], and other trades."<ref name="report">[[#IC95|Report of the Thirteenth International Conference]]: xix</ref> The first YMCA premises opened on Great Russell Street, London, in 1844.<ref name=first>{{Cite news|newspaper=[[Camden New Journal]]|title=Shock as world's first YMCA closes down|last=Maskell|first=Caitlin|page=3|date=5 December 2024}}<!--no URL yet, might be on paper's web site soon. pol098,5De24--></ref> [[Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury]] served as YMCA's first president from 1851 until his death in 1885.<ref name=":3">{{cite book |last=Cannon |first=John |title=A Dictionary of British History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780191044809}}</ref>

By 1845, YMCA started a popular series of lectures that from 1848 were held at [[Exeter Hall]], London, and started being published the following year, with the series running until 1865.<ref>{{cite book |last=Finnegan |first=Diarmid A. |title=Journal of Victorian Culture |year=2011 |pages=46–64}}</ref>

YMCA was associated with [[industrialisation]] and the movement of young people to cities to work. YMCA "combined preaching in the streets and the distribution of religious tracts with a social ministry. Philanthropists saw them as places for wholesome recreation that would preserve youth from the temptations of alcohol, gambling, and prostitution and that would promote good citizenship."<ref name="frost">J. William Frost, "Part V: Christianity and Culture in America", ''Christianity: A Social and Cultural History'', 2nd Edition, (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998), 476.</ref>

The YMCA spread outside the United Kingdom in part thanks to the [[Great Exhibition]] of 1851, the first in a series of World's Fairs which was held in [[Hyde Park, London]].<ref name=":3" /> Later that year there were YMCAs in [[Australia]], [[Belgium]], [[Canada]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Hong Kong]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Switzerland]], and the [[United States]].

The idea of creating a truly global movement with an international headquarters was led by [[Henry Dunant]], Secretary of YMCA Geneva, who would later go on to found the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] and win the first [[Nobel Peace Prize]]. Dunant successfully convinced YMCA Paris to organise the first YMCA World Conference. The Conference took place in August 1855, bringing together 99 young delegates from nine countries, held before the [[Exposition Universelle (1855)]]. They discussed joining in a federation to enhance cooperation amongst individual YMCA societies. This marked the beginning of the World Alliance of YMCAs. The conference adopted the [[Paris Basis]], a common mission for all present and future national YMCAs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paris Basis |url=http://www.ymca.int/index.php?id=115 |access-date=2012-07-01 |publisher=Ymca.int}}</ref> Its motto was taken from the Bible, "[[That they all may be one]]" ([[John 17]]:21).

Other ecumenical bodies, such as the World [[YWCA]], the [[World Council of Churches]], and the [[World Student Christian Federation]] have reflected elements of the Paris Basis in their founding mission statements. In 1865, the fourth World Conference of YMCAs, held in Germany, affirmed the importance of developing the whole individual in spirit, mind, and body. The concept of physical work through sports, a new concept for the time, was also recognized as part of this "[[muscular Christianity]]".

[[The Boy Scouts of America]] grew out of YMCA work, with YMCA organizers taking over and merging their organization into the Boy Scouts of America soon after it was incorporated by [[William D. Boyce]] when it existed only on paper. [[Edgar M. Robinson]], a Chicago-area YMCA organizer became the BSA's first director. YMCA has cooperated with camping organizations, including [[Boy Scouts of America]], [[Girl Scouts of the USA]] and [[Camp Fire (organization)|Camp Fire]].

Two themes resonated during the first World Conference: the need to respect the local autonomy of YMCA societies, and the purpose of YMCA: to unite all young, male Christians for the extension and expansion of the Kingdom of God. The former idea is expressed in the preamble:

{{Blockquote|The delegates of various Young Men's Christian Associations of Europe and America, assembled in Conference at Paris, the 22 August 1855 feeling that they are one in principle and in operation, recommend to their respective Societies to recognize with them the unity existing among their Associations, and while preserving a complete independence as to their particular organization and modes of action, to form a Confederation of secession on the following fundamental principle, such principle to be regarded as the basis of admission of other Societies in future.}}

YMCA was influential during the 1870s and the 1930s, during which times it most successfully promoted "evangelical Christianity in weekday and Sunday services, while promoting good sportsmanship in athletic contests in gyms (where [[basketball]] and [[volleyball]] were invented) and swimming pools."<ref name="frost" /> Later in this period, and continuing on through the 20th century, YMCA had "become interdenominational and more concerned with promoting morality and good citizenship than a distinctive interpretation of Christianity."<ref name="frost" /> Prior to the beginning of the [[American Civil War]],<ref name="YMCAhistory">{{cite web |title=US YMCA's history page |url=http://www.ymca.net/about_the_ymca/history_of_the_ymca.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310220044/http://www.ymca.net/about_the_ymca/history_of_the_ymca.html |archive-date=10 March 2010 |access-date=2012-07-01 |publisher=Ymca.net}}</ref> YMCA provided nursing, shelter, and other support during wartime in the United States.

In 1878, the World YMCA offices were established in [[Geneva]], Switzerland by Dunant. Later, in 1900, North American YMCAs, in collaboration with the World YMCA, set up centres to work with emigrants in European ports, as millions of people were leaving for the US. In 1880, in Norway, YMCA became the first national organization to adopt a strict policy of equal gender representation in committees and national boards.

In 1885, Camp Baldhead (later known as [[Camp Dudley]]), the first residential camp in the United States and North America, was established by George A. Sanford and Sumner F. Dudley, both of whom worked for YMCA. The camp, originally located near Orange Lake in [[New Jersey]], moved to [[Wawayanda State Park|Lake Wawayanda]] in [[Sussex County, New Jersey]], the following year, and then to the shore of [[Lake Champlain]] near [[Westport, New York]], in 1891.<ref name="100YrsCamping">{{cite web |last=Turner | first=Eugene A. Jr. |year=1985 |title=100 Years of YMCA Camping |url=https://primo.lib.umn.edu/permalink/f/1q7ssba/UMN_ALMA21490363380001701 |access-date=2020-08-04 |publisher=YMCA of the USA |via=umn.edu}}</ref><ref name="YMCAbuildingNY">{{cite web |date=4 July 2009 |title=YMCA Building Photo |url=http://www.vintpix.com/photo.php?id=137 |access-date=2012-07-01 |publisher=Vintpix.com}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===
[[File:NH 123036 Place Sadi Carnot- YMCA Restaurant - Brest, France.tif|thumb|A YMCA in [[Brest, France]] in 1902]]
[[File:Christian Street YMCA Historical Marker 1724 Christian St Philadelphia PA (DSC 4165).jpg|thumb|A historical marker for the Christian Street YMCA at 1724 Christian Street in [[Philadelphia]], noting its 1914 establishment]]
[[File:Hotel Arthur Helsinki.JPG|thumb|Hotel Arthur in [[Helsinki]], founded by YMCA in 1907<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hotelarthur.fi/en/hotel/history/|title=History|website=Hotel Arthur}}</ref>]]
[[File:Beaver Hut Canada YMCA.jpg|thumb|A Canadian YMCA poster in 1914]]
[[File:National Youth Administration WPA boxing lessons YMCA Boise ID 1936.gif|thumb|A self-defence class at the YMCA in [[Boise, Idaho]] in 1936]]
[[File:Fireplace YMCA Jerusalem wwwm8558.jpg|thumb|A fireplace at the YMCA in [[Jerusalem]] in December 1932]]
[[File:Roof Garden, YMCA Hotel, Chicago - Front.png|thumb|A postcard photograph of the YMCA in [[Chicago]] in 1955]]
[[File:1964 - New Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Building Allentown PA.jpg|thumb|A YMCA in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]] in 1964]]

==== YMCA Scouts ====
YMCA was one of the earliest organisers of [[Scout Movement|Boy Scouts]] in the [[United Kingdom]] from 1907, before there were central Scout organizations. Some of the first recorded Boy Scout troops were YMCA Boy Scouts who met in the Nottingham and Birkenhead YMCA buildings.<ref>{{cite news |title=YMCA Through the Years |url=https://www.ymca.org.uk/about/history-heritage/timeline |access-date=15 November 2021 |website=YMCA.org.uk}}</ref> YMCA Scouts in Britain remained separate troops under the YMCA but registered with local and central scout associations. Later, when [[Robert Baden-Powell]] formed his own [[The Scout Association|Boy Scouts organization]], a YMCA worker who had organized many YMCA Boy Scout troops became one of his first two travelling organizers. In Devonport, Tasmania, Australia, YMCA Boy Scouts met at the YMCA hall and later affiliated as 1st Devonport Boy Scouts with the Tasmanian branch of [[The Boy Scouts Association]]. The YMCA would also influence the [[Boy Scouts of America]] (BSA) and [[Verband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder|German Scouting]]. [[Edgar M. Robinson]], a Chicago-area YMCA administrator, worked at YMCA while also becoming the BSA's first director. In Europe, national YMCA Scout organizations were formed.

In 1916, [[K. T. Paul]] became the first Indian national general secretary of India. Paul had started rural development programs for self-reliance of marginal farmers, through co-operatives and credit societies. These programmes became very popular. He also coined the term "rural reconstruction", and many of the principles he developed were later incorporated into the Indian's government nationwide community development programs. In 1923, [[Y. C. James Yen]], of YMCA China, devised the "thousand character system", based on pilot projects in education. The method also became very popular, and in 1923, it led to the founding of the Chinese National Association of the Mass Education Movement. In 1878, YMCA was organized near the [[Jaffa Gate]] of the Old City of [[Jerusalem]] and the current landmark building was dedicated by General Lord Allenby in 1933 during the British Mandate of Palestine.

Within ten days of the declaration of [[World War I]], YMCA had established 250 recreation centres, also known as huts, in the United Kingdom, and went to build temporary huts across Europe to support both soldiers and civilians alike, run by thousands of volunteers. Some of them, known as field secretaries, also went into war zones to support prisoners-of-war in Europe and Russia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=Wendy |title=Grit and Grace in a World Gone Mad: Humanitarianism in Talas, Turkey 1908-1923 |publisher=Gomidas Institute |year=2018 |isbn=9781909382442 |location=London |pages=141–43}}</ref> Notable supporters and volunteers included [[Clementine Churchill]]<ref>{{London Gazette| issue = 30460| date = 7 January 1918| page = 368| supp = y}}</ref> (for which she was appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in 1918), [[Oswald Chambers]] and [[Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell|Robert]] and [[Olave Baden-Powell]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2007-04-18 |title=Window on My Heart. Chapter X. The War Years. |url=http://pinetreeweb.com/bp-olave-10.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418053447/http://pinetreeweb.com/bp-olave-10.htm |archive-date=18 April 2007 |access-date=2019-12-22}}</ref> Within the first month the YMCA Women's Auxiliary was formed, and [[Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein]] would go on to become a notable member and chairman of its organising committee.<ref>{{cite web |title=Christmas Day in the London Bridge YMCA Canteen: HRH Princess Helena Victoria, Chairman of the Ladies' Auxiliary Committee of the YMCA is standing by Mrs Norrie, CBE, Superintendent of the canteen. Miss Ellen Terry is sitting by the table |url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1056 |access-date=2019-12-22 |website=Imperial War Museums |language=en}}</ref>

During World War I, YMCA raised and spent over $155&nbsp;million on welfare efforts for American soldiers. It deployed over 25,000 staff in military units and bases from Siberia to Egypt to France. They took over the military's morale and comfort operations worldwide. [[Irving Berlin]] wrote ''[[Yip Yip Yaphank]]'', a revue that included a song entitled "I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine in the YMCA". [[Frances Gulick]] was a YMCA worker stationed in France during World War I who received a [[United States Army]] citation for valour and courage on the field.<ref name="That Damn Y">{{cite book |last=Mayo |first=Katherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFx0Lc4IQOYC&q=Frances+Gulick+YMCA&pg=PA118 |title='That Damn Y' a Record of Overseas Service |date=May 2009 |publisher=Bibliographical Center for Research |isbn=9781110810208 |access-date=9 October 2009}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], YMCA was involved in supporting millions of [[prisoner of war|POWs]] and in supporting [[Japanese American]]s in [[Internment of Japanese Americans|internment camps]]. This help included helping young men leave the camps to attend [[Springfield College]] and providing youth activities in the camps. In addition, YMCA was one of seven organizations that helped to found the [[USO]].

In [[Europe]], YMCA helped refugees, particularly displaced Jews. Sometimes YMCA participated in escape operations.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://journals.openedition.org/dhfles/2108|title=Accueil des enfants juifs étrangers en France et leur sort sous l'Occupation|first=Sabine|last=Zeitoun|date=1 January 2011|journal=Documents pour l'histoire du français langue étrangère ou seconde|issue=46|pages=123–144|via=journals.openedition.org|doi=10.4000/dhfles.2108|doi-access=free}}</ref> Mostly, however, its role was limited to providing relief packages to refugees.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQO2gmIsKuEC&q=YMCA&pg=PA129|title=The Holocaust & the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France|first=Donna F.|last=Ryan|date=11 June 1996|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=9780252065309|via=Google Books}}</ref>

It was also involved in war work with displaced persons and refugees. It set up War Prisoners Aid to support prisoners of war by providing sports equipment, musical instruments, art materials, radios, [[Phonograph|gramophones]], eating utensils, and other items. [[Donald A. Lowrie]] of the YMCA created and led the Committee of Nîmes, also known as the Camps Committee, a group that gathered leaders from over twenty humanitarian organizations to coordinate advocacy for people in the internment camps, including helping children leave these camps to live in children's colonies or eventually escape to freedom.<ref>Donald Lowrie, The Hunted Children, 1963.</ref>

YMCA Motion Picture Bureau, renamed Association Films in 1946, was one of the United Kingdom's largest non-theatrical distribution companies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Collection: YMCA film bureau records {{!}} University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides |url=https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/7/resources/890 |access-date=2020-01-25}}</ref> In 1947 the World YMCA gained special consultative status with the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]]. In 1955 the first black President of the World YMCA, Charles Dunbar Sherman from Liberia, was elected. At 37 years, he was also the youngest president in World YMCA history. In 1959 YMCA of the USA developed the first nationally organized [[scuba diving]] course and certified their first skin and scuba [[diving instructor]]s.<ref name="DivingHistory">{{cite web |last=Staff |title=History of YMCA Underwater Program |url=http://www.divinghistory.com/id21.html |access-date=13 January 2011 |publisher=Diving History.com |archive-date=15 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215232647/http://divinghistory.com/id21.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="SPUMS1999">{{cite journal |last=Richardson, Drew |year=1999 |title=A brief history of recreational diving in the United States. |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/6019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515131921/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/6019 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=15 May 2009 |journal=South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society Journal |volume=29 |issue=#3 |access-date=13 January 2011}}</ref>

By 1974, YMCA had set up a curriculum to begin teaching [[cave diving]].<ref name="Kendrick2009">{{cite journal |last=Kendrick, DF |year=2009 |title=Science of the National Association for Cave Diving (NACD): Water Quality, Hydrogeology, Biology and Psychology |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/10114 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130705014546/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/10114 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=5 July 2013 |journal=In: Pollock NW, ed. Diving for Science 2009. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 28th Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL: AAUS; 2009. |access-date=2013-04-20}}</ref>

In 1973, the Sixth World Council in [[Kampala]], Uganda, became the first World Council in Africa, hosted by [[Uganda YMCA]]. It reaffirmed the Paris Basis and adopted a declaration of principles, known as the Kampala Principles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kampala Principles |url=http://www.ymca.int/index.php?id=116 |access-date=2012-07-01 |publisher=Ymca.int}}</ref> It include the principles of justice, creativity and honesty. It stated what had become obvious: that a global viewpoint was more necessary. It also recognized that YMCA and its national member organizations would have to take political stands, particularly in international challenges and crises.

In 1976, YMCA of the USA appointed [[Violet King Henry]] to executive director to its Organizational Development Group, making her the first woman named to a senior management position with the American national YMCA.

In 1985, the World Council of YMCAs passed a resolution against [[apartheid]], and anti-apartheid campaigns were formed under the leadership of Lee Soo-Min ([[Korea]]), the first Asian secretary general of the World YMCA.

In 1998, the 14th World Council of YMCAs in Germany adopted "Challenge 21",<ref>{{cite web |title=Challenge 21 - 1998 |url=https://www.ymca.int/who-we-are/mission/challenge-21-1998/ |access-date=2019-12-21 |website=YMCA International - World Alliance of YMCAs |language=en-US |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221141209/https://www.ymca.int/who-we-are/mission/challenge-21-1998/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> intended to place more focus on global challenges, such as [[gender equality]], [[sustainable development]], war and peace, fair distribution, and the challenges of [[globalization]], racism, and HIV/AIDS.

=== 21st century ===
[[File:YMCA of Greater Moncton.jpg|thumb|A YMCA in [[Moncton]] in [[New Brunswick]], Canada in July 2007]]
[[File:YMCAUB.JPG|thumb|A YMCA in [[Ulaanbaatar]], Mongolia in August 2007]]

In 2002, the World Council in [[Oaxtepec]], [[Morelos]], Mexico, called for a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis. On 12 July 2010, YMCA of the USA rebranded its name to the popular nickname "The Y" and revised the iconic red and black logo to create five colored versions.<ref>{{cite web |date=14 July 2010 |title=World Alliance of YMCAs Issues Statement on YMCA USA Rebrand |url=http://www.ymca.int/newsroom/latest-news/world-alliance-of-ymcas-issues-statement-on-ymca-usa-rebrand/ |access-date=4 April 2011 |archive-date=9 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609035526/http://www.ymca.int/newsroom/latest-news/world-alliance-of-ymcas-issues-statement-on-ymca-usa-rebrand/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History of YMCA logo |url=https://www.greenbayymca.org/about/history/history-of-the-ymca-logo/ |publisher=Green Bay YMCA |access-date=6 January 2019 |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106204251/https://www.greenbayymca.org/about/history/history-of-the-ymca-logo/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Today, YMCAs are open to all, regardless of ability, age, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic background.<ref>{{cite web |date=2018-08-08 |title=World YMCA celebrates International Youth Day 2018 |url=https://www.ymca.int/world-ymca-celebrates-international-youth-day-2018/ |access-date=2019-12-21 |website=YMCA International - World Alliance of YMCAs |language=en-US}}</ref>

During the 19th World Council meeting in 2018 in Chiang Mai, Carlos Sanvee from Togo became the first African and current Secretary General of World YMCA. During the same World Council meeting, Patricia Pelton from Canada emerged as the first female President of World YMCA.

YMCA's 175th anniversary in 2019 was celebrated with a global gathering of the organisation's young leaders at [[ExCeL London]] from 4 to 7 August, with 3,200 people from 100 countries. The event celebrated youth leadership, and elevated the [[United Nations]] [[Sustainable Development Goals]].<ref>{{cite web |date=7 August 2019|title=The YMCA at 175: from a small drapery store to a global Christian youth movement|first=Rob|last=James|url=https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the-ymca-at-175-from-a-small-drapery-store-to-a-global-christian-youth-movement/132982.htm|work=Christian Today}}</ref> It was attended by guests including [[Jayathma Wickramanayake]] on behalf of [[Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth]], and [[María Fernanda Espinosa]], the [[President of the United Nations General Assembly]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Strub |first=Chris |title=YMCA Ambassadors From 100+ Nations Join in London To Commemorate 175 Years At #Y175 |date=18 August 2019 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisstrub/2019/08/18/y175/ |access-date=18 August 2019 |website=Forbes }}</ref>

In December 2024, the Central YMCA, located on London's [[Great Russell Street]] and recognized as the first YMCA in the world since its founding in 1844, announced its imminent closure.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 December 2024|first=Harry |last=Low |title=World's first YMCA in central London to close in February |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mv0vn821eo |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=BBC News }}</ref> The decision, attributed by the YMCA to high maintenance costs and demographic changes, was met with widespread dismay from members and the broader community. A petition to reverse the closure garnered thousands of signatures on Change.org, reflecting the significant public outcry. The Central YMCA had long been a cornerstone of the community, boasting extensive facilities including a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, exercise studios, and a cycling studio, making it the largest YMCA premises in London.
[[File:YMCA FLASH MOB 1.jpg|thumb|World's first YMCA closure protested by Village People flash mob in 2025]]
The closure also sparked criticism toward Criterion Capital, the property company who acquired the site. Campaigners alleged that the company's focus on commercial redevelopment conflicted with the YMCA's historical mission of providing affordable and inclusive services for the community. The "Save the YMCA" campaign emerged as a grassroots effort to halt the closure,<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 January 2025|first1=
Olivia |last1=Demetriades |first2=Gem |last2=O'Reilly|title=Central London flash mob tries to save YMCA from closure |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrwrv0p8y5o |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=BBC News }}</ref> with supporters calling for a six-month pause to explore sustainable solutions for retaining the facilities. The campaign drew media attention, with coverage from BBC News and other outlets, highlighting concerns about the loss of vital community resources in central London.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Central YMCA face protest of flash mob |first=Caitlin |last=Maskell|url=https://www.westminsterextra.co.uk/article/central-ymca-face-protest-of-flash-mob |access-date=14 January 2025|date=10 January 2025 |website=Camden New Journal }}</ref>

Critics of the decision have argued that the sale of the premises to Criterion Capital or its affiliates undermines the YMCA's legacy,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The gym as a cultural asset 💪 |url=https://camdenist.beehiiv.com/p/the-gym-as-a-cultural-asset|first=Tom |last=Kihl|access-date=14 January 2025|website=Camdenist|date=10 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Central YMCA: Historic English basketball venue facing closure |date=10 January 2025|url=https://www.basketballengland.co.uk/news/2024/central-ymca-historic-english-basketball-venue-facing-closure/|access-date=14 January 2025|publisher=Basketball England}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Waterson |first=Jim |title=Merry Christmas, you're evicted |url=https://www.londoncentric.media/p/merry-christmas-youre-evicted |access-date=14 January 2025|date=12 December 2024|website=LondonCentric.media}}</ref> suggesting that the closure represents a broader trend of prioritizing private development over public good. Campaigners have urged Criterion Capital and its leadership, including the Aziz family, to collaborate on preserving the facilities, emphasizing the potential to reimagine the site while maintaining its original purpose of serving the community.