The YMCA was established in Ukraine in 1902. After being banned from 1917 to 1991 when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, the YMCA was reorganized and restarted in 1993.
There are 25 local YMCAs around the country reaching tens of thousands of youth and young adults each year through programs focused on sports, camping, psychosocial counseling, performing arts, HIV prevention, international exchanges and civic engagement.
Ukrainian YMCAs in Lviv Rivne, Lutsk, Karpaty and Ternopil in the west and Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv in the east are providing emergency support to the local community and the thousands of internally displaced people arriving from conflict impacted communities. This includes food, shelter, and overall support for youth, families, and the elderly. Learn more about YMCA Ukraine’s response.