Welcome to Woking YMCA's News and Events page. Here we have posted our latest news and announcements and our latest press coverage.
Sleep Out - Ypod takes action against Youth Homelessness
Ypod gets a Makeover
Over the Christmas holidays the Ypod received a make over. A team of volunteers worked for 2 days on spring cleaning and repainting the centre. Focus DIY generously donated all the equipment and supplies needed for the redecoration; from sugar soap and buckets to paints and rollers.
Volunteers ranged in age from 6 to 66 and all enjoyed the day immensely and were very pleased with the end result.
The young people who use the centre were thrilled with the fresh new look. Nicola Norman head of Woking Children’s Centre who runs a number of projects for parents and young children at the Ypod commented “The parents are really happy with the make over it’s brightened up the rooms and made for a really positive environment”
Ypod recruits new Housing Advice Worker
We have recently appointed a Housing Advice Worker to develop plans for a Woking YMCA housing project. Steph Cook has a successful marketing career and extensive experience in the Voluntary sector. Shas has worked for Healthcare charity, Sue Ryder and is a volunteer Youth Worker at the Ypod.
Steph has a genuine passion to combat youth homelessness and is currently working on a Nightstop project for Woking YMCA in parntership with Depaul UK http://www.depaulnightstopuk.org/content/home. The role will involve working closely with Woking Borough Council and another RSL in the planning and development of the Woking YMCA housing project and we are very excited about the enthusiasm and expertise Steph will bring.
New Youth Centre offers Woking a little extra
Woking News and Mail Thursday August 20th
An exciting new youth centre has opened in the heart of Woking.
Ypod Extra opened in Barnsbury on Monday night. The facility is an extension of the main YMCA facility in Chobham Road but wants to offer a service specifically for young people in the Barnsbury area. Cj Farrow, who is a worker from the centre, said: ‘We invited everyone in the community down because it is meant to be for the heart of Barnsbury. ‘For now, because we are very new, we are offering just a safe environment, a routine and security because we will be here every week.’ The centre will be open to youngsters aged between 11 and 18 years old.
Parenting Course
New course starting at the Ypod run be Woking South Children Centre aimed at demystifying parenting and equipping Mums and Dads to bring up kids in the best possible environment. The course provides practical advice from trained professionals as well as support and encouragement in the challenging times. Limited availability, please contact the Childrens Centre direct to book your place.
Surrey’s YMCAs join forces to raise funds
Sore feet, aching legs, and a great sense of achievement were the order of the day on Sunday 29 March. This year all three of Surrey’s YMCAs took part in the Y2Y North Downs Walk between Reigate & Redhill and Guildford YMCAs.
Woking YMCA joined the event for the first time, and in total there were 113 participants going in opposite directions across the North Downs Way. Woking CEO Terry Eckersley said, ‘Well I’ve only got one blister! And we all got medals - It’s the only one I’ve ever won! Joking apart, the views were breathtaking, and we had a great day of team building, fundraising, pain and joy.’
Each YMCA is an independent organisation that has developed a different ‘flavour’, responding to local needs at the same time as ‘helping young people build a future’. The Woking YPod has a strong musical element and features a recording studio for young people. Reigate & Redhill YMCA has its own gym facilities and supported housing, and runs many activities for children and families, whilst Guildford also houses young people, and runs youth work projects from Plantation, their youth hub situated just off Market Street.
Supporters from all three YMCAs walked on through blisters, bruises and aching legs in order to raise money for their local projects. Many Reigate & Redhill supporters ran the marathon. YMCA CEO Ian Burks said, ‘26.2m is long way but the scenery and excellent support from YMCA helpers kept us going.’
Meanwhile although most Guildford supporters took the half marathon option from Box Hill, one septuagenarian walked the full marathon, and finished it looking as fresh as a daisy!
In September another joint event between YMCAs will feature a cycle ride between Hove and Guildford YMCA along the Downslink Way – the old railway, so the terrain is flat! If that challenge appeals to you please contact Lorraine Galliers on 01483 448796 for more information.
All smiles at the Start line On route refuelling
Beautiful views across the Golf Course Catching up and having a breather at a Stile
A triumphant Mr Eckersley Team Woking proudly dispalying their medals
Exciting Y2Y North Downs Marathon/half walk or run FUNdraiser: Sunday 29th March 2009
Fancy Yourself as a Marathon challanger!?
Join us for the Exciting annual Y2Y trek from Woking YMCA to Guildford YMCA to Redhill YMCA. The North Downs trek is a multi-terrain event for walkers and runners. Participants can enter into either the full marathon or the half marathon of 13 miles. The trek takes in the beautiful North Downs and some of the most scenic trails in Surrey and proves to be both challenging and enjoyable! All welcome!
A mini bus will take the marathon runners / walkers from the Woking YMCA at 8am to Guildford YMCA for the 9am start. For the half distance runners / walkers another mini bus will leave Woking YMCA AT 9.45am arriving at Box Hill for the 10.45am start time. At the finish point of the YMCA Redhill the tired but satisfied challengers will be revitalised with refreshments laid on the by welcoming staff and receive their well earned commemorative medal and hip bag!
This exhilarating trek is a great way to get fit, meet new people and raise funds for the Ypod. The cost of this exciting event is just £15 with all sponsorship raised going direct to the Woking YMCA to support the us in the ever expanding work we do with and for young people.
Or………………….If you would like to sponsor us please send cheques payable to Woking YMCA and mark envelope Y2Y North Downs or visit our just giving site to donate online www.justgiving.com/wokingymca
Feb 09 Woking YMCA Partners with Peacocks Shopping Centre
Surrey vinvolved, part of a nationwide scheme to engage with 16-25 year olds and hosted by Surrey YMCA's, will be partnering with Peacocks Shopping Centre in Woking for an exciting promotion of youth volunteering.
Our aim is to encourage young people to get active in volunteering and become a modern day Superhero! In addition, we will be running volunteering projects during National Student Volunteering Week where young people can sign up for a couple of hours and make a difference in their local area!
What we're all about.
. raising the profile of youth-action in volunteering
. encouraging young people to get active in volunteering
. creating a fun & enriching experience for volunteers
. holding one-off volunteering projects with local organisations
. signing up young people & accrediting them for what they do
. promoting many volunteering opportunities!
The Highlights.
Surrey vinvolved on show all week!
Visit our stand in the Peacocks! Young people can drop by to find out more about volunteering, sign-up to the v programme & enter the free prize draw! A place also to find out about the Fashion Show & Projects! We would love our V volunteers & representatives from organisations to be involved on our stand anytime during the week! See contact details to get involved!
A Superhero Fashion Show!
Saturday 21 February - Woking Peacock's Centre Foodcourt.
Young people will be designing, creating & modelling outfits
Nov 08 Chris Ingram becomes Woking YMCA Patron
The Woking YMCA would like to announce our partnership with Chris Ingram, internationally renowned business man, entrepenuer and philantropist. Chris has graciously agreed to become a patron of the Woking YMCA, championing and protecting our cause to help the young people of our area.
Chris is no stranger to Woking YMCAs Ypod Centre after being honoured for his work in Woking community at their VIP first anniversary meal.
Chris spent the first 40 years of his business life in the media communications and marketing industry. He is regarded as the inventor of the modern media agency, having started The Media Department (TMD) in 1972 and Chris Ingram Associates (CIA) in 1976, which he built into an international, publicly-quoted business (Tempus Group). The business was sold to WPP in 2001 for £430 million and is now Mediadge:cia.
Under the name Ingram Enterprise, he now helps companies build their businesses in the media; communications and sport & leisure sectors (his primary aim is to build tangible value for shareholders). Chris Ingram’s media know how encourages the media communication that we promote among the young people. Extra curricula activities in our recording studio, community radio and information media development are all day to day activities in the Ypod. Not to mention the platform the Woking YMCA provides to local bands to demonstrate their emerging talent. Chris Ingram with Woking YMCA’s patron and friend Paul Weller, possess the experience and inspiration that our young people need.
Although Chris Ingram has no intentions on releasing a new album like our other successful partner Paul Weller, but he has certainly starred with numerous international leadership achievements. In 2000, Chris was voted UK Business to Business Entrepreneur of the Year in Ernst & Young’s awards, having earlier been London Entrepreneur of the Year. In July 2007 Chris was made an Honorary Fellow of London Business School. He was Deputy Chairman of London Business School’s Foundation for Entrepreneurial Management until 2007 and from 2002-8 was Chairman of the Centre for Creative Business, a joint venture between London Business School and the University of the Arts, London to help principals in the creative industries improve their general business skills.
Chris Ingram’s example champions the Woking YMCA’s Nhance and education programmes, and our work with Connexions, LSC and community learning projects. The Nhance project we run, sponsored by Connexions, is a creative and innovative programme working young people on the verge of school exclusion/ Nhance is designed to support and equip young people (within relational and group work) to re-engage in education through a programme that encourages a holistic approach to growth in mind, body and spirit. Our partnership with Connexions also provides advisers who are based at the YMCA offer young people information, advice and guidance.
Chris’s passion is football and he is owner of Woking Football Club, since acquiring the Club in 2002 and in 2008 became a majority shareholder of a fast-growing 5-a-side football business, Azzurri. Chris Ingram’s high profile work in Sport enhances the Woking YMCA plans for a sports hall (pending a £2.6million bid). Our plans for a second floor a multi-purpose sports hall will be suitable for a variety of classes and groups will enable us to develop a full programme of activities (such as circuits, aerobics, yoga, step, pilates, martial arts, conditioning) which will not only generate a profit, but extend our services and reach further into the community, establish the YMCAs name and reputation in Woking for developing people body, mind and spirit.
Chris Ingram is a keen collector of Modern British art and sculpture and this year has put his collection under long-term loan with The Lightbox, Woking’s new award-winning museum and gallery.
He is a Vice President of Shelter, the housing charity. We at the Woking YMCA have much to glean from Chris Ingram’s efforts to house the homeless. We too have a homeless project in the pipeline, with WBC and Greenoaks housing association a local gold award winning housing association.. Chris’s family charity, The Ingram Trust, supports approximately two dozen charities, both national and international, as well as local ones in Surrey.
Chris Ingram expertise brings a boldness and courage to the Woking YMCA team. Our endeavours to meet Woking’s marginalised young people seems that much more possible with our partnership with Chris Ingram. His consistent long-term success in building sustainable and inovative projects bring the clalibre the Woking YMCA need to go to the next level.
Thank you Chris for being our patron and helping us give Woking’s young people a hope and a future!
Chris Ingram writes monthly business and marketing columns for Business XL and Marketing Week respectively.
Oct 08 Paul Weller become Woking YMCA Patron
Music Superstar, Paul Weller is the new patron of Woking YMCA. Paul has strong links with Woking and is happy to be supporting our work. Please click here to read his biography
Sept 08 Woking YMCA teams up with CSV and The Co-operative Food to re-decorate their centre
On Wednesday 24th September a team of 20-25 store managers from Co-operative Food stores across Surrey will be coming to Woking YMCA’s ‘Ypod’ youth centre to re-decorate the inside of their building. This opportunity has been made possible through an organisation called Community Service Volunteers (CSV).
CSV was founded in 1962 by Mora and Alec Dickson who also founded Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). Their aim was to involve young people aged 16-35 in voluntary service in the UK, to enrich the lives of volunteers and those they help and to generate social change. 40 years on they are the UK’s largest volunteering and training charity.
The Ypod was recently selected by the National Youth Agency (NYA) and Myplace to be used as a case study for a World class 21st century Youth Development Centre. Woking YCMA uses its Ypod centre to run a wide variety of projects for young people including a youth drop-in café, a young parents group, a youth mentoring project, a drop-in for young people with learning disabilities, dance classes, a schools inclusion project and gigs for local young bands.
Paul Langtree, a youth worker at the Ypod, said “Our centre has been open for about 2 and a half years now and sees a lot of people coming and going seven days a week so some of our rooms are starting to look quite tired. This opportunity will help us to keep our building looking fresh and inviting for the young people who are involved in our projects. If it wasn’t for CSV we wouldn’t be able to find the people or the money to make this possible.”
Sept 08 Ypod works!
Read the testimonial below and see how coming to the Ypod can turn around the lives of young people.
'Hi Terry
I’m not sure who said it, but some great business mind said that an unasked for testimonial is worth 100s that come at your request. I believe that you certainly deserve the accolade of an unrequested testimonial of the service you provide!!
Some time ago you sent out an email asking for volunteers for your youth council at the YPOD. My friend has a son who has had some problems (with the police, drugs, fighting) but is a real talent musically. His parents are often saying that they wish they had the money to be able to fund his musical ambitions, that if perhaps he had a positive focus then things would be different. So I recommended the Ypod and the Youth Council to him. He didn’t jump at the chance! It took some time but he eventually phoned and made arrangements to visit you. The change after that visit was instant! You have given him hope, pride, ambition and a direction. Instead of fighting on the streets, he’s practising his music with guys of all backgrounds. And he’s really proud of what he’s doing. His mum, of course is delighted and I’m thrilled to have been instrumental, albeit in a very small way, in helping this promising teen. He is now a regular visitor at the YPOD, he looks forward to it, plans and prepares for it – it’s fantastic!
The effects of what you do at the YPOD are far reaching. By giving young people a focus, you are preventing petty crime and stupid fights that spring from misunderstandings and boredom. WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!
Thank You so much
And thank you to your team at the YPOD – words really can’t express how grateful my friend and I are for your help.'
Aug 08 YMCA Music Festival
Terry Eckersley, CEO of Woking YMCA, went to Prague to celebrate the world wide Christian fellowship at the YMCA Europe 2008 festival. The festival ran from 3 to 9 August. He travelled with the Surrey Vinvolved team, based at the YMCAs in Surrey, to see and help the growth and strength of YMCA and national and cultural diversities!
Delegates from USA New York, Iceland and UK enjoyed Terry’s motivational training workshop!!
Aug 08 Vinvolved go to Prague
Joining hundreds of other young people from some 60 countries, a group of young people from Surrey attended the YMCA Festival Europe in the beautiful city of Prague. The Festival ran from 3-9 August 08, and Surrey vinvolved employees Esther Nash (Woking YMCA) and Nadine Cullum (Redhill & Reigate YMCA) took 5 young volunteers to join over 6,500 young people – James Donaghy , Sean Flint, Sarah Garner, Josefina Bonsundy Nromba, and Eleanor Palmer.
The Festival, the second of its kind, was held in Prague’s city park, packed with entertainment to suit all ages and enough water to provide hours of water fights! The week’s programme centred around the theme of “Real Life”, celebrating the YMCA global movement, and included numerous activities. Stages hosted many shows and bands – including UK band 4Kornez and The Artful Dodger – talents from representatives from YMCAs around the world, musicians and singers doing many a-tune (including the inevitable YMCA song and actions)! Optional workshops included henna painting, decorating bags and T-shirts, dance tents, relaxation areas with massage tables and hammocks for the sleepy; exhibitions of efforts from YMCAs around the world; community action topics and informative lessons in how to understand young people better.
The Surrey group also attended Terry Eckersley’s inspiring workshop on “The Young Apprentice.” Terry, CEO of Woking YMCA, spoke about developing individual life skills based on Biblical truths, and encouraged small group discussions to create a sense of openness and learning from the participants. Some of the questions were themed around what dreams do the young people have for their life; do they realise that God has a purpose for them; as well as asking how they could better help meet the needs of others.
Esther Nash, who works on the YMCA’s vinvolved youth project said, “It was a great experience for all involved – staff and young people alike. When combining under a common cause and sharing experiences with 6,500 young people from many countries – whether listening to bands, involved in activities, or meeting other people – things like this provide fun ways to build connections with others. Cultural diversity is powerful, and I was encouraged to see that whatever our context and walk of life, we can have a good time and be empowered to achieve great things in our communities as young people.”
Whilst enjoying the variety that the festival had to offer, young people were given the opportunity to absorb Prague’s music and art culture – from beautiful historic architecture, to crossing the famous Charles Bridge, climbing the hill to the castle and checking out some of the countless number of art galleries – there was always much to see!
During the course of Festival, the group were able to volunteer helping with refreshments in the hot heat, and art student, Sean Flint, used his talent to draw portraits. The group raised £200 each to go on the trip through sports challenges, portrait painting and DJing.
Jul 08 Surrey High Sheriff visits Ypod
Surrey High Sheriff Sally Varah attended Woking YMCAs Ypod monthly leadership
and vision evening on 28 July.
Here the Surrey High Sheriff is presenting award certificates to the Woking YMCA
team at their monthly leadership and vision evening.
Sally shared some very powerfull stories and lessons on leadership she had
learned from life and those around her.
Terry, the CEO, said "I am really encouraged by the unique way Sally is so
compassionate and active for the needs of the most vulnerable and needy in
Surrey". He added "We are delighted to be working so closely with her, and with the lessons she has shared with our incredible team of leaders.
