On Friday 12th October we held our third annual fundraising dinner at Woodbury Park Hotel with guests including The High Sheriff of Devon, Mrs Grania Philips, and Chief Constable of Devon & Cornwall Police, Shaun Sawyer. The Black Tie event was attended by 160 people and through ticket sales, a silent auction and individual pledges,…
We’re thrilled to announce that we have received £20,000 from People’s Postcode Trust, a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The funding boost will enable us to develop our new enterprise programme, enabling previously homeless young people to access the employment market through taking part in mini pop-up enterprises we have…
To mark the end of an extraordinary summer and say hello to cosy nights and the season of hot chocolate and Guy Fawkes, we held our first ever ‘End of Summer’ bash, welcoming staff, volunteers and a new group of TEN:10 Interns into the YMCA Family. Held at The Stable Rooftop Bar in Exeter, guests…
Exeter based civil engineering firm, Awcock Ward Partnership (AWP), has pledged support for the city’s young and homeless population by entering employees into this year’s Great West Run on behalf of YMCA Exeter. The local Christian organisation, YMCA, is committed to addressing the needs of young homeless people across Exeter and relies of charitable funds…
Following a month long crowdfunding campaign and the inspirational effort of a small team of residents, YMCA Exeter this week opened it’s first ‘pop-up cafe’ in the city centre. ‘Communi-Cafe’, the name chosen by young residents living at YMCA Exeter, is part of our Connect skills and enterprise programme which trains young people in disciplines…
Earlier this month Exeter based students organised and took part in a sponsored sleep-out and cake sale in support of residents living at YMCA Exeter. The group of 12, all aged between 15 and 17, were part of an initiative from the National Citizen Service (NCS) where they spent four weeks developing workplace skills, increasing…
A group of our young residents have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support their pop-up café initiative this August in Princesshay. The crowdfunding campaign, which includes incentives Exeter Cookery School, is aiming to raise £6,000 for a one week, pop-up community café on Paris Street. Our new enterprise programme, CONNECT, takes young residents on a…
Earlier last month we had the privilege of taking seven residents away for the weekend to ‘The Gathering’, a men’s only festival run by CVM. The following has been written by Tim Wells, our Activities Co-ordinator who ran the weekend away. Taking place in a field near Swindon, The Gathering brings men’s groups and individuals…
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” We’ve joined together with over 20 local churches to bring a whole heap of joy to the City of Exeter. Beginning on Monday 4th June and culminating on ‘Back to Church Sunday’, 10th June, we will be…
Last week we sat down with George, a current YMCA Exeter resident who wanted to share his story with the wider YMCA community. “Hi, I’m George, I’m 23 years old and I’ve lived at YMCA Exeter for 7 months now. Before coming to YMCA I’d been homeless, I’d sofa surfed and even slept rough for…
