Claire’s world was flipped upside down on 28 September 2022 when she was told five little words no one ever wants to hear, “Unfortunately, you have breast cancer.”  

Before her diagnosis, Claire hadn’t noticed any warning signs. She went to the doctor for her routine mammogram, where they discovered abnormalities. After some testing, it was confirmed as stage 2 grade 2 breast cancer. 

Her mind immediately became overwhelmed with the seemingly endless piles of paperwork, doctor’s appointments, and trying to come to terms with everything. Within three weeks, Claire had a double lumpectomy and got scheduled in for radiotherapy at Charing Cross Hospital.  

But where many people would shut down and withdraw into themself, Claire jumped into action. She wanted to do everything possible to turn this negative circumstance into a positive.

Once she had recovered from her round of intensive radiotherapy, Claire teamed up with Emily Hurd, a web designer she met at a networking event in Eastbourne. When Claire told her about an idea of starting a website to raise awareness of breast cancer, Emily was immediately on board – the cause is also close to her as her mother lost her best friend to breast cancer. 

Together, Claire and Emily created the website Breast Friends Forever Community, which went live on 28 September 2023 – a significant date as it was the one-year anniversary of Claire’s diagnosis. The website was designed to be an online community to share the stories of women with breast cancer, diagrams and tips on how to do a self-check, a memorial page for women who have lost their battle with breast cancer, and further readings for people who have been diagnosed. They have also recently connected with a men’s group to help raise awareness that men can develop breast cancer too. 

A major part of Breast Friends Forever is the fundraising they do for Macmillan Cancer Support, Breast Cancer Now, and the St. Wilfred’s Hospice in Eastbourne. Since launching about six months ago, they have already hosted several successful fundraising events, including their launch party, a danceathon, and pizza and quiz night, and they have a flower pressing workshop and a fashion show scheduled for this spring. Through their fundraising, Claire and Emily raised £2050 in 2023 and have raised £507 (so far!) in 2024. 

You may see upcoming events on the Breast Friends Forever website or click here to make a direct donation to Macmillan Cancer Support, Breast Cancer Now, and St. Wilfred’s Hospice. 

Claire has continued to stay optimistic through her journey with breast cancer, saying that “even on the worst of days, you can find positives.” She is grateful for the supportive community she has around her and has learned just how important it is to prioritise your physical and mental wellbeing. She wants to share a special shoutout to her line manager at Central YMCA, Dianne Darvell, who went above and beyond in offering support. She did not hesitate to take on additional work to ensure Claire had all the time she needed to focus on her treatment. 

Alongside her work with Breast Friends Forever, Claire has also begun a Level 2 course in Cancer Support. Once she completes the course, she will be fully qualified to support people through their journeys with all forms of cancer. 

Claire truly represents our values, and we are so proud and happy to have her as part of the Central YMCA family. We are very glad that she is now on the road to remission. 

If you would like to read more about Claire’s journey, learn more about breast cancer, or hear about upcoming fundraising events, head over to the Breast Friends Forever website. 

Further resources: 

The Skills Bootcamps also benefit employers in the sector, providing them with a robust pool of prospective employees ready to enter a nursery setting in full-time employment or on an accelerated L3 Early Years Educator Apprenticeship. Upon completion of the programme, participants will be offered an interview with an employer. 

We are excited to be working closely with Norfolk, Suffolk, and Hertfordshire County Councils to deliver these valuable programmes that are tailored for people at all stages of an early years career, including aspiring educators just starting out, career changers entering the sector, and support staff or volunteers looking to progress into early years roles. 

Learners who participate in our 12-week Early Years Professional Skills Bootcamps will benefit from: 

Speaking on the programme, Monique Clements, Central YMCA’s Director of Education and Training, said “We are thrilled to launch our Early Years Professional Skills Bootcamps, which is a vital part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee. This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to advancing the education, health, and well-being of our communities. By providing free, highly interactive training, we are equipping eligible learners with the sector-specific knowledge and skills necessary to confidently enter the Early Years sector. 

We are particularly pleased to be collaborating with Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils — where we are the sole delivery partner in Early Years, as well as Hertfordshire County Council to deliver these Skills Bootcamps in their communities. Our partnerships allow us to create improved access to life-changing opportunities, ultimately supporting our vision of fostering a more educated and healthy society. We look forward to seeing the positive impact our Early Years Professional Skills Bootcamps will have on our community and the broader Early Years sector.” 

Our first cohorts for the Early Years Professional Skills Bootcamps are due to begin in Autumn. Norfolk and Suffolk Skills Bootcamps will start in September 2024 and February 2025, and Hertfordshire Skills Bootcamps in October 2024 and January 2025. Applications are now open for all start dates. 

Are you interested in learning more from a learner or an employer perspective? Visit this page for more information about the Skills Bootcamps or get in touch directly with us at Info.SkillsBootcamps@ymca.co.uk. 

On April 6 2025, ten dedicated runners will be racing through 13.1 miles of London’s most iconic routes to raise money for Central YMCA. Starting off at Pall Mall, the course will lead to memorable sights across the city, including the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Big Ben – celebrating the rich history that London has to offer.  

Join our fight for better health 

Are you interested in running for us? Lace up your running shoes and click here to express your interest in participating. Spots are limited, so make sure your application form stands out from the crowd! We want to hear about why you want to run, and what your fundraising plans are.  

Every donation received for this half marathon will be allocated to support our life-changing wellbeing programmes; helping to create a stronger and healthier society. 

You can also contact us at fundraising.team@ymca.co.uk to understand this event a bit better. 

Why are we running? 

Every year, we support over 6,000 people to get active and improve their health with our wellbeing programmes – people of all ages, genders and backgrounds. 

Participating in physical activity comes with a variety of health benefits: from getting stronger to reducing stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, 11.9 million of UK citizens do less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week. The reasons for this are varied. Some don’t have access to safe spaces to exercise, while others might not be able to afford classes. 

That’s where we come in. At Central YMCA we create services to ensure everyone can get active and improve their health, regardless of their background or level of ability. We prioritise creating friendly, accessible and supportive environments to exercise, especially for those who’ve never had that before. Join us in this run, and race for life-changing wellbeing programmes for all. 

For a number of months, the trustees and senior leadership team at CYMCA have been conducting a strategic review to determine how best to deliver for our beneficiaries in light of the mounting challenges facing the charitable sector.   

With demographic changes in the city centre; the ageing of the Club building and accessibility and spacing issues; changes to health & wellbeing practices, and soaring site maintenance costs, it has become clear that the cost of operations at the Club are now not being covered by the number of members the Club can sustain.   

Therefore, after much consideration and with the best interests of the charity and our beneficiaries at heart, we have concluded the sale of the 112 Great Russell Street site.  

This means that the Central YMCA Club at 112 Great Russell Street will cease trading on 7th February 2025. Our operations, including our education services and programmes across the country, will still continue and we still have CYMCA club sites at Kings Cross and Moorgate.

We want to continue to break down barriers to access and education, and to meet the needs of the less privileged and under-represented in ways that will prove most valuable to them. This sale will allow us to reinvest in more sustainable, impactful, and forward-looking ways of broadening our service provision, better serving both existing and new communities.  

I am sincerely grateful to everyone who has contributed to the Club over the years. Our priority now is our Club members and staff, and we will continue to support them in any way we can.  

Ryan Palmer  
Chief Executive

For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Erwich or email: ymca.press@ymca.co.uk. 

It’s time to announce our most recent partnership… we’ve signed up to Business in the Community’s Opening Doors campaign. And we’re in good company! We’re joining dozens of other UK companies in the campaign, and that number is steadily growing. Together, we’re changing the way the recruitment and hiring process works. 

The current labour market is a tough one to navigate. Although there are a record number of job vacancies available, a huge portion of the potential market – around three million people – faces barriers to employment. This includes, but isn’t limited to, individuals who are disabled, ex-military, those with previous convictions, people who have experienced homelessness, older workers, and refugees. Alongside Opening Doors, we’re committed to adopting a more inclusive recruitment process and hiring diverse and untapped talent. 

Some of the commitments we’ve made as part of the Opening Doors campaign include: 

An inclusive and equitable world won’t happen overnight, but we’re deeply committed to getting closer over the next few years. Business in the Community’s Opening Doors campaign plans to make 2 million jobs more inclusive by 2025, and we’re so honoured and proud to be a part of it! 

Yesterday, Central YMCA, along with hundreds of UK organisations raised an SDG flag to show their support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

This September will mark eight years since the world embraced the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving them is more important than ever. 

The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, reflect a shared objective and ambition across all countries to end poverty and hunger everywhere, to combat inequalities within and among countries, to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, to protect human rights and promote gender equality of women and girls, and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources by 2030. Their importance cannot be underestimated. 

The 17 Goals are supported by 169 targets and 232 indicators, enabling progress to be prioritised and tracked.  

Central YMCA proudly join hundreds of businesses, government departments, and civil society organisations in a global movement to fly an SDG flag to spread awareness of the SDGs and mobilise stakeholders for the 2030 agenda.  

We are committed to actively supporting all the SDGs, with a strong focus on delivering Good Health & Wellbeing, Quality Education, Decent Work, Reduced Inequalities and Gender Equality. Over the coming months we’ll be sharing more information on how we’re working to achieve these, the difference they make and how you can get involved! 

In the UK, there have been some significant milestones towards the SDGs. In 2022, the UN Global Compact Network UK released Measuring Up 2.0, a multi-stakeholder report assessing the UK’s performance against the SDGs and their Targets to understand how and where businesses, government, and other organisations should focus efforts for the remainder of this decade of action.   

The report found of the 132 Targets relevant to the domestic delivery of the SDGs, the UK is only performing well on 17% of them. It highlighted how persistent inequalities within and between communities in the UK mean that we continue to leave people and places behind. It is because of this that the 2030 Agenda is more important than ever, and worldwide collaboration between governments, businesses, and civil society organisations are essential.  

With only 1 in 10 people in Britain familiar with the SDGs, raising the SDG flag this September is key to raising awareness and mobilising stakeholders for action. Join the global movement in championing the SDGs so together the 2030 Agenda can be achieved! 

We believe that collaboration and shared vision will be key to achieving the sustainable development goals and effecting meaningful change towards a sustainable future. Get in touch today to find out more about how we can work together to create a better future for all. 

Following the recent success of the England women’s world cup team, reaching the finals in Australia & New Zealand this summer, comes mainstream attention and the ripple effect that this has inspiring the next generation of children and young people to be active and engage in sport and physical activity.

It is therefore essential that we see continued investments into PE and school sport to continue this narrative and provide safe and professional education that has a long term effect on both our happiness and the development of future talent within the sporting ecosystem.

Undoubtedly the world has changed in recent times, the impact of Covid and summary cost of living crisis caused by it, and other world events, have irrevocably changed the horizon. Yet, there are still some fundamental truths that stand the test of time, and we must pay attention to, if we are to create a healthy future. One such truth is the need for PE in our schools.

It has been undisputedly proven that physical activity directly translates to better mental wellbeing. It has also been undisputedly proven that better mental wellbeing leads to greater productivity and individual satisfaction. It is a simple truth that exercise, in any shape or form, improves quality of life and personal prosperity.

Psychologically speaking we know that habits form at an early stage of life, as such we have a responsibility at every level, from Government to Community, to create and enable extensive access to physical activity in our primary and secondary schools… This cannot be negotiable.

The current mandated hours of PE are not sufficient. The Chief Medical Officers for UK recommend 1 hour of daily physical activity at primary school, with half of that taking place during the school day; the DfE recommends at least 90-minutes per week.

At best this means our children are receiving at least 1 hour less than the recommended levels of physical activity per week than is good for them at primary school.

The bottom line is we must make room for more physical activity at every level of education, from primary school up; at a minimum 30 minutes per day. However, this is not just a question of providing more PE hours. Physical activity will not become habitual until we build it into routine, and that demands providing more PE options, and creating accessibility and universal participation.

Ryan will guide the Charity in its mission to create improved access to life-changing opportunities.

Ryan succeeds Arvinda Gohil OBE, who announced in October 2022 her intention to step down from Central YMCA. Arvinda steered the charity through a challenging tenure, with the impact of a pandemic, energy and cost of living crisis, and has helped this historic charity continue to find creative and meaningful ways to support its communities.

Ryan first joined the charity almost a decade ago and has extensive experience in the education sector as well as a wealth of knowledge of the fitness and wellbeing landscape. Ryan was most recently Chief Revenue Officer at Central YMCA, leading the charity’s income generation strategy and responsible for growing and diversifying the provision on offer.

“The Board is delighted to appoint Ryan as its new interim CEO. His extensive experience and knowledge of the charity will serve him well in his new role. We are confident that he will work hard with the team to continue developing Central YMCA’s services and we wish him every success. With the near term leadership of the charity secured, the board will look to appoint a permanent CEO over the next few months.”

– Andrew Beal, Chair of Central YMCA

“I am thrilled and honoured to lead Central YMCA at such an exciting time. Upholding Central YMCA’s history of breaking down barriers to allow all to reach their full potential, I look forward to working with our key partners to help grow our reach and impact, alongside continuing to deliver our programming and provision in our communities and beyond.”

– Ryan Palmer, Interim Chief Executive

Four of the new appointments joined in August to fulfil immediate vacancies and the final two will commence at the Charity’s next AGM in January 2022. The appointments follow an externally facilitated board and governance review late in 2020 which identified a number of skills gaps and a need to both refresh and diversify the board to bring a broader perspective. The new appointments arrive at a pivotal time for the charity with the launch of a new three-year strategy along with a refreshed purpose, mission, vision and values and a plan for recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new Trustees, Dr Amandip Bahia, Cheryl Turner, Peter Wright, Stephen Varma, Yusuf Nurbhai and Sheena Amin, bringing a breadth of expertise from the commercial, education and public sectors and will join six other Trustees led by Chair, Andrew Beal who oversee the charity’s work, delivered by CEO Arvinda Gohil. Supported by Cadence Partners, a wide-ranging recruitment process involving members of Central YMCA’s Board, led to the new appointments.

In addition to the new Trustee appointments, Central YMCA has launched a Trustee Apprenticeship Programme which draws on the Charity’s roots, having been founded by an apprentice in 1844, its longstanding passion for developing people and experience in delivering over 4,000 apprenticeships each year across the UK. The first Apprentice Trustee appointed is Gani Lawal and Central YMCA aims to appoint a further Apprentice Trustee in 2021, with the programme particularly supporting those who might face barriers to Trusteeship. The Trustee Apprenticeship Programme will give individuals an opportunity to gain 12 months of governance experience, support and mentoring without the risk or legal responsibility carried by a formal Trustee.

“The introduction of new Trustees to our Board will bring an impressive richness of expertise and diversity of life experience that will support the current Board to deliver on our ambitious new three-year strategy. I look forward to working with Amandip, Cheryl, Peter, Stephen, Yusuf, Sheena and Gani to steer this wonderful organisation’s work in breaking down barriers to opportunity through education, training, health and wellbeing. This is an exciting time for Central YMCA and we have already begun to appreciate the very positive influence and passion that they will bring to our deliberations and decision-making them.”

– Andrew Beal, Chair of the Board of Trustees

“We are delighted to welcome our new Trustees who collectively bring a huge wealth of experience and insight and will really help us deliver our ambitions. We welcome them and look forward to creating a truly inclusive and impactful organisation fit for our times.”

– Arvinda Gohil, CEO

“I am excited to be joining the Board of Central YMCA. I am inspired by and passionate about the important role this charity plays in helping to improve the health and wellbeing; skills development and educational attainment of people from all walks of life. I am looking forward to helping  drive the future strategic direction of the charity as we look to grow our reach and impact over the years to come.”

– Sheena Amin, new Trustee

“I am both proud and humbled to join Central YMCA. Its work and values are fully on purpose with my objectives to support the educational, health and wellbeing needs of people across all the communities it serves, which made it the obvious choice for me as a new Trustee. It’s been a really tough 18 months for our communities across the UK, and the work Central YMCA delivers is as important as ever to get those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic realise their academic and wellbeing potential, so I am really looking forward to working with Arvinda, her team and my fellow trustees to deliver Central YMCA’s strategy and mission over the coming years, strengthening its standing as one of the UK’s leading social enterprises”

– Stephen Varma, new Trustee

“I’m really excited about being part of Central YMCA.  I have been so impressed with the impact that the organisation has (and will continue to have) to so many people, across a wide range of demographics. Wellbeing is an inherent part of my personal and professional purpose, and I can’t wait to work with the team further on their wellbeing strategy!”

– Dr Amandip Bahia, new Trustee

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Central YMCA is excited to announce its participation in UK’s first ever Race Equality Week, as it unites in activity with hundreds of other organisations between the 1st and 7th of February to seriously address race in the workplace.

A UK-wide initiative, Race Equality Week was launched by community interest company Race Equality Matters to turn words into action; a movement spurred on by the events of 2020 which have heightened the country collective consciousness of the racism, inequality and injustice experienced by ethnic minority people. 

As the pandemic continues to disrupt ‘business as usual,’ and many people enter the new year longing for things to go back to normal, the message of Race Equality Week is simple: normal is not good enough. Let’s not go back to normal.  

It is time for a change. Now is the time to act!  

So we are asking our community to join us and thousands of others by participating in Race Equality Week and taking meaningful action towards tackling the barriers to race equality. 

There are four key ways to get involved:  

Race Equality Matters was Co-Founded by Green Park and The Collaboratory, and supported by other diversity championing organisations: BT, Data & Marketing Association, AggioSergeant, Flair, Edelman, Diversity UK, the governance forum, Mental Health First Aid England, #Talkaboutblack, & The Diversity Digest.

For more information and to sign up to participate, visit raceequalitymatters.com.