The Great Leicestershire Sleepout

Hollingsworths, a leicester based firm of solicitors organised a sleepout to raise funds for The Y and LAMP on Friday 5th October 2018. This was just a few days before World Homelessness Day and World Mental Health Day (Both on the 10th of October). This was a particularly poignant activity to organise and undertake. The Y is Leicester’s leading youth homelessness charity and LAMP are advocates in Leicestershire and Rutland for those affected by mental health issues.

Several members of the Hollingworths team took on the challenge and as a business they managed to raise OVER £3000 to be donated equally between The Y and Lamp. We are very grateful to Hollingsworths for their support as a chosen charity of the year and this incredible effort towards our Challenge 135 campaign in our 135th year.

They were featured on BBC Radio Leicester and ITV Central News raising awareness of the challenge and both causes.

Our CEO, Paul Brown and the Chair of our board of trustees, Kathryn Hamylton also took part and raised over £1000 between them. It’s worth noting how extremely proud we are of them both, especially since Kathryn is over 70 years old (I know she won’t mind us sharing that). Such an incredible effort from all who were involved.

Amye Baked her way to Challenge 135 success!

Local baker Amye Watt was inspired to take part in Challenge 135 after hearing our Community Fundraiser, Michelle, give her outstanding presentation at the celebratory service held in Leicester Cathedral back in March. For anyone that didn’t attend, it was against the backdrop of Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon.

Transforming young lives through housing, education, arts, health and advice is at the core of the organisation. The Y is Leicester’s leading youth homelessness charity and can provide a wrap around service empowering young people to engage in education, training and employment.

Amye (AKA MidnightBaker13) decided to hold a bake sale at Glenfield Hospital on Monday 17th September. Not only did she sell every last glorious crumb, she also managed to raise £207.33 for our charity which will make a huge difference to a young person in need. This smashes her personal target of raising £135 to celebrate 135 years of The Y in Leicester.

A HUGE well done and thank you to Amye!!!

If you’d like to read Amye’s summary of her sale, please have a look at her blog post here.

Do have a good look at her website and gallery, she is one heck of a talented baker. Thanks again Amye, you really are a dream topping!

Leicester City Abseil

On Saturday 23rd of June, eight daredevils stepped off the roof of the Ramada Encore Hotel and descended down its seven floors–and all to raise money for the Y!

To contribute to Challenge 135, Emma Knight, Natu Ruparel, Rowan McCarthy, Frankie McCarthy, Mel Francis, Martyn Pole, Kelly McCormack and Lilia Patterson took part in an incredible abseil. The hotel is 35m high and the abseil down it was directly vertical, it must have been terrifying! Well done to these amazing people, I don’t know if I could have done it.

They not only witnessed stunning views, but the running total is £1000, and that’s not even the best part–you still have the option to sponsor them on either Just Giving or Facebook. With an average of over £115 raised each, they have almost reached their target, so keep donating!

Sad that you missed this? Challenge 135 is running throughout the year, so you still have loads of opportunities to raise money. In October, any adrenaline junkies can get involved in a skydive. Alternatively, if you prefer to keep your feet on the ground, you could hold a cake sale or do a sponsored run. Every penny donated will help put a young person on a path away from homelessness, so you really will be making a difference.

Fundraising for Challenge 135 made easier thanks to EverythingBranded.co.uk

We are delighted to announce the receipt of a donation from promotional products distributor EverythingBranded.co.uk.

As part of our fundraising efforts in 2018 , the Leicester-based company has donated 250 collection boxes featuring our own logo and message. The boxes will be used to collect donations for our ‘Challenge 135’, a campaign to celebrate 135 years of The Y in Leicester.

Fundraising & Communications Manager at The Y, Emma Knight says “This is exactly what we were looking for and will help us to support individual fundraisers and businesses who take on Challenge 135. Anyone who signs up for the challenge will receive one to collect their donations.”

EverythingBranded.co.uk was founded in 2010 and has experienced exponential growth over its 9 years of trading. With the American arm of the company, EverythingBranded USA launching in 2017 and a new Las Vegas office opening in a matter of weeks, the company growth shows no signs of slowing down.

As a result of this rapid growth, EverythingBranded.co.uk are able to make regular donations to charities up and down the country. Donations of promotional products, to aid these charities in their marketing campaigns, will help these organisations better spread awareness of the work that they do.

Paul Rowlett, CEO and Founder of EverythingBranded.co.uk, “The Y is such a well know charity, doing some amazing work to support the homeless. We’re delighted to be able to donate these promotional products towards their fundraising efforts. The impact that promotional products has on charities, such as this, is immense and we’re more than happy to support.”

If you are interested in promotional products for your charity or organisation, you can see the full range available at www.everythingbranded.co.uk.

If you’d like to fundraise or get involved with our mission to end youth homelessness, please visit: https://www.leicesterymca.co.uk/youth-community/support-us/

Zip Wire Challenge June 2017

 

So the 21st of June is now famous in Leicester for two reasons… One… like everywhere else, it’s the Summer Solstice, but Two… unlike everywhere else… Leicester had a Zip Wire, seven double decker buses high, dominating our city’s skyline.

There’s been many a happy happening on Vicky Park over the years; the famous Caribbean Carnival, LCFC’s party following their premiership win, Kasabian rockin out to a sell-out crowd… among many others, but no other event was based… in the sky! The 200 metre long zip wire stretched from the pavilion, all the way down to Victoria Park Road and gave its riders the thrill of 40 mph speeds. Here at The Y, we had our fingers crossed the weather would hold out for the event and there wouldn’t be any stormy spoilers. Well that sun… she certainly kept her hat on, a tad too tight some might say… It was the hottest June day for 40 years!

So we had the Zip Wire, we had the weather… what about the folk willing to be hiked up over 30 metres into a cloudy sky?? Where were they?.. They were everywhere! There was The Y’s very own Fab Four, a big group from Berkeleys Insurance Group, and the guys from NatWest, Overdale School and Sir Jonathan North School, not forgetting all our beautiful individual supporters who thought they’d get in on the action too!

The Y, were one of three charities, people were riding the Zip Wire to support. Along with Spark Arts and Alex’s Wish, we witnessed a steady flow of Zippers throughout the day, all willing to walk off a platform at the top of a crane and zooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom along the wire – for charity! (Obviously they had security harnesses – but all the same – it’s a blooming long way up!) These supporters kept on coming all day and not only had they paid a registration fee, they’d collected sponsorship monies along the way too! At this point we’re still counting The Y’s fundraising total, but it’s looking very likely, that we will just about topple the £3K mark – which is awesomes!!!

We’d just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported the three charities, the zipper/zoomers, the guys from Vertical Events – who kept the crowds calm and safe, the Vicky Park groundsmen and the passers-by who found the spectacle so exciting, they took pictures as they made their way across the park! Thanks to you all – here’s to next year x

Michelle Haggerty-Wood

 

See more photos from the Zip Wire

Christmas Shoeboxes

The amount of Christmas donations that we have received this December has totally overwhelmed both staff and residents here at The Y. Donations included festively wrapped parcels and shoeboxes (and other boxes) containing festive treats, gloves, socks, dishes and bowls, toiletries, clothing and more. Local schools, colleges, church and guide groups were all very busy ensuring The Y’s residents had something to open on Christmas Day.

T’was a week (or two) before Christmas.
So December came, and the days got dark,
And the tree in the bar was looking quite stark.
Until a week or two before the big day,
Truck loads of goodies came The Y’s way!!!

There were big gifts wrapped, all pretty with bows,
And small gifts sparkling, rows upon rows.
There were posh chocs, warm gloves and fluffy wool scarves,
And toiletries, note pads and stuff for nice baths.

Arriving from people, all happy to donate,
The schools and churches and guides all did great!
So it meant this Christmas when residents sat to eat,
There was a box for them each, containing shed loads of treats.

And they did an amazing job!
This year, for the very first time, The Y received more than enough wrapped boxes of festive cheer, to give EVERY resident a Christmas box, brimming with gifts. There were also warm clothes for rough sleepers attending The Y Support Project. The additional boxes will be given to new residents when they move in to The Y.

Big thanks go out to…
Beauchamp College, Cedars Academy, 1st Quorn Guides, Fullhurst College, King Edward VII, St Mary’s Church in Swithland and Stephenson College. Now every young person living at The Y will receive something on Christmas day. It means a lot for those who have been homeless or won’t be with their family to celebrate.
“Thank you for the chance to do this, means a lot for students to understand how difficult life can be for some people.” Beauchamp College

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NCS young people raise close to £4,000!

So 2016 saw The Y, team up (several times) with the young people who were on National Citizen Service. And boy… are we glad we did!
During the summer/autumn months, The Y were lucky enough to be the chosen charity for several groups involved in the NCS initiative. We went along to DeMontfort Uni and presented our charity, hoping for help with raising both awareness and funds. The NCS groups involved then made their choice as to which charity they would like to support, and The Y was lucky enough to be chosen four times in total.

Following our selection, the NCS team came to The Y for a week of planning. With young people making posters, calling local businesses for prizes, organising events, posting on social media etc etc, The Y became a hive of activity, and it was great! During their fourth and final week on the NCS program, the teams were crazy-busy accomplishing everything on their planning lists and more! We saw NCS groups selling cakes in Leicester train station, running bingo/ raffle/music/movie nights in our theatre space, taking part in sponsored sleep-outs, hosting coffee mornings, organising coin collections and much, much more!

NCS Results…
As a result of The Y teaming up with NCS, we managed to raise awareness of both The Y charity and the issues surrounding homelessness, to approximately 500 young people aged 16-18 and their families.

NCS managed to form some new relationships for The Y, with local retailers, by asking retailers to house The Y collection tins.

For us at The Y, over the course of NCS, we had the chance to work with around 60 young people directly, helping to organise and implement their chosen fundraising activities. And now, those 60 young people, through their time on NCS, have a much greater understanding of who The Y is and what we do!
NCS even created a buzz on social media attracting the likes of local MP Alberto Costa to tweet about them and the work they were doing with The Y ‘Well done to @NCS teams who volunteered & worked to support worthwhile causes this summer.’. Images of the group wearing The Y’s ‘Youth homelessness ends here in Leicestershire’ stamp T-shirts were also shared. Mr Costa also said, “The NCS is a wonderful programme that provides young people with skills and experience that will be valuable to them throughout their lives. It’s important to teach people the importance of giving back to the community whilst also developing their entrepreneurial skills through the range of money raising activities they organise”.

All this hard work paid off… And the young people involved in NCS raised £3977.14!

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The Wolf Run

A massive well done to our 18 strong Wolf Pack who were formidable on 11th June at the Stanford Hall Wolf Run! They were straight in the river just metres from the start line and completed the 10km run with lots more mud, swimming and obstacles along the way.

The Wolf Run was set in the beautiful grounds of Stanford Hall, Leicestershire. There were wild springs, woodlands, lakes, mud… lots of mud and crazy obstacles for each participant to overcome.
The Y were overwhelmed by the effort and determination our Wolf Runners showed at the event. The team of runners including our very own Joanna Smith, Vicki Corbett, Hannah Deignan, Megan Wortley, Naomi Towers, Kelly Cooper, Alisha Smith, Robin Chapman and eight running friends from outside the organisation managed to raise a whopping and totally awesome £3220.

It will soon be time for us to order our places for this year’s events. If you are interested in being part of Team Y, please get in touch to find out more.

2017’s spring and summer events take place over the weekends 8th and 9th April in Warwickshire and 3rd and 4th June, back at Stanford Hall.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Hammonds furniture partnership to help young people

7th April, 2016

Hammonds Furniture have created 25 sets of wardrobes and drawers especially for The Y, using surplus materials that would otherwise have gone to waste. It came at a perfect time as The Y is refurbishing two houses ready for ten young people to move into. Some will also be given to young people who are struggling with the cost of furnishings when they move out on their own.

Kirsty Oakes, Marketing Manager at Hammonds Furniture, said: “We were especially keen to help The Y as they are so close to home and working incredibly hard to change the lives of local people. Being a business that creates premium products, it’s easy to forget there are those out there who are far less fortunate. When we have the surplus materials available, it makes perfect sense to put them towards an amazing cause like this.”

Emma Knight of The Y said: “We were totally blown away by the idea that Hammonds could make up these wardrobes and drawers especially for our charity, it is really generous. Having good quality furniture in our accommodation is really important to raising the self-esteem and aspirations of young people, especially when they’ve not had a lot before. As we won’t have to pay for wardrobes and drawers it means we can use the money for other things, like specialist support for young people who have been through trauma. ”

The Hinckley based fitted furniture company have 100 showrooms across the UK and also work with the Woodland Trust.

Hammonds Logo

A volunteer’s story

“I act as a sensible aunt, helping young people with little things like signing up to a doctor or buying their cleaning products. They are all terribly friendly and kind. Most young people that I meet have come out of care or custody and The Y is their leaping off point, when they have a chance to take control of their own lives. What I enjoy about The Y is that young people are treated with respect and warmth by the staff. They are helped with all the basic details of daily living that most of us get from our families and I see how they slowly build confidence.”

Pat is a retired Manager who has been volunteering with young people at The Y for three years.