All the hard work and success of our volunteers and staff have been recognised recently with awards and nominations. We are so proud to have such a committed bunch of people on board! Celebrating success of EveryBodyCanDance Our Inclusive Lives project team won a Silver Award at the Merton Partnership Volunteer Awards, which was hosted by Merton Voluntary Services...
YMCA Walthamstow has celebrated Black History Month with a whole host of free activities and workshops, for both the young people who come along to the centre for youth sessions and for residents. As part of Black History Month, residents enjoyed an Eritrean and Ethiopian Meal, a special Quiz Night, a talk about Blackness in...
YMCA St Paul's Group works with young people to provide a safe place to stay and to help them develop their potential. But that's not to say that we don't serve older members of the community, too. YMCA Surbiton was honoured to host one of our Teapot Club members’ 104th birthday party. Grete Grey celebrated in...
Alan Maphosa, is 27 and came to the UK as a refugee from South Africa aged 17, following concerns for his safety when there were many attacks happening in the community (Alan and his family were originally from Zimbabwe). He was then in care until the age of 21 when he was referred to YMCA...
Last night our nominees for a Team London Volunteering Award were recognised for their hard work and dedication and were winners! Llewellyn Alleyne won an individual award for his volunteering at YMCA Hayes in West London. Our Inclusive Lives team won an award for their EveryBodyCanDance fitness instruction video (produced with Filmanthropy UK). Volunteering at Hayes Llewellyn has...
We believe every young person should have someone they can trust and a safe place to stay, which is why our Housing Support Officers play such a key role in the lives of our residents. Patricia Lumeca has been a Housing Support Officer at YMCA South Ealing for the last two years and is the...
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (08-14 Oct) Two thirds of us experience a mental health problem in our lifetime, and stress is a major player. The Mental Health Foundation has a Stress Test – how do you score? Release Counselling is based at YMCA Surbiton and offers support to people who are experiencing...
We believe every young person should be able to fulfil their potential. Whether that’s learning a new skill, training for employment or improving their self-confidence as they take on new challenges. Sa’ida Mohammed, 30, has been a resident at YMCA Walthamstow for the last three years and is employed and training as a playworker in...
Martin Francis, 36, is the Maintenance Worker at YMCA Wimbledon and has been a resident in the hostel three times. He first came to the hostel in 2005 and stayed a couple of months, then returned in 2013. This was a difficult period for Martin as he was trying to gain custody for his son...
With summer now in full swing, YMCA is calling on people to show their real-selves and pledge to ‘be real’ in order to fight against body image negativity that arises from the constant bombardment of ‘beach body ready' adverts, pictures and magazine features. Previous YMCA research has revealed that young people are heavily influenced by...
