We would love to invite you to the YMCA Exeter Christmas Service to be held at St David’s Church Exeter on Wednesday 14th December at 12.30pm. The service will be open to our friends, supporters, volunteers, staff and residents and our Lighthouse Café team will be serving festive refreshments in the Church once the service…
Give the gift of sacred space this Christmas Over the last few years, 29-year-old Poppy has moved around shared and supported housing. Sometimes she had nowhere to stay and ended up sleeping in unsafe places. Chaotic and exhausting, Poppy struggled with deepening mental health issues. But since September, Poppy has begun to thrive. She is…
After a break of three years, it was wonderful to be able to host the Gala Dinner evening once again. We were joined by businesses and individuals from the local community, celebrating the theme ‘Building a Legacy for Young People in Devon’. With a glass of fizz in hand and looking very glamourous, the 140 guests were…
YMCA Exeter resident Kirstie tells me she does not like heights. And yet we’re standing on a platform, 25 feet above the ground wearing hard hats and safety harnesses. Kirstie and other residents have spent the week helping to renovate St Sidwell’s Church bell and tower, in its permanent home opposite YMCA Exeter’s new Sidwell…
It’s been a wonderful few weeks welcoming our first residents into the newly completed, Sidwell Studios. YMCA Exeter resident, 24-year-old Owen, was the first to move in: “I don’t think it’s properly sunk in yet. There’s no way I could have afforded something like this. Not even house shares are this affordable. It only takes…
Midsummer Joy is our random act of kindness week. And what a week we had! Our Lighthouse café ran Monday – Thursday with live music sessions from residents and staff. The sun shone and with our gazebo up and bunting fluttering, we added in some classic old-fashioned fete competitions for people to try. Splat the Rat,…
“On Wednesday 25th May we learned the desperately saddening news that Paul Cloke, a Trustee for YMCA Exeter, had died following a heart attack. Paul was an amazing Man of God, who put his all into his Trusteeship at both YMCA Exeter and St. Petrock’s. Before becoming a Trustee, Paul was greatly involved in volunteering with…
Councillor Phil Bialyk officially opened YMCA Exeter’s brand new Sidwell Studios with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday 10th May, 11am. The event, attended by city and county Councillors, marks the unveiling of a fantastic joint venture to tackle Exeter’s 1-bed housing crisis by taking an abandoned warehouse near the city centre and converting it into…
As we look forward to the opening of our brand new Sidwell Studios, we also want to take a moment to praise God for the incredible heritage we’ve been blessed with over the years. We’ve recently had the privilege of welcoming Bob Whitchurch (YMCA Exeter Chairman 1986-1996) back as a volunteer and it’s been amazing…
Thank you to everyone who came along to Sleep Easy on Friday 11th March and to everyone who supported us in so many ways. The amount of involvement, support, creativity and commitment was wonderful, and we thank all the participants and their supporters for raising a fantastic £7,000. This is going directly to help with…
