The conclusion of my internship at The Y – Vikesh Mistry

The last 3 weeks have flown by at The Y – Youth homeless charity, here in Leicester. Whilst I have been here, I have worked in the Marketing and Fundraising team, mainly supporting the Cirque Du Y event at The Y Theatre. The event consisted of; Burlesque dancers, magicians, circus acts and an auction, in which I was the winning bidder of a limited edition LCFC watch.

I was also actively involved in the planning of the ‘Declutter to Refresh’ event at the Highcross Leicester, along with carrying out research to support the 2019 Annual Report and spending time designing graphics for print and digital use.

Getting involved with; event planning and delivery, social media, content creation and campaign planning has helped me to sharpen up my skills and put me in great stead for my next job.

I will take away some brilliant memories working here at The Y, having seen the work conducted by dedicated staff to help young homeless people. I have worked with a fantastic team and have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity through DMU Graduate Champions, to gain experience in a new sector.

 

Remember A Charity Week 2019

Pass on something wonderful this Remember A Charity Week

Remember A Charity Week is here! From the 9th – 15th September, Remember A Charity will be be showing you why leaving a gift in your Will needn’t be a conundrum. In fact, it’s something anyone could do and even a small gift can make a huge impact on our work with homeless young people.

We look forward to sharing some wacky, back to the 70’s content from Remember A Charity’s new show “Points Of You”.

You can also take advantage of some great Will writing discounts available without any obligation. Have a look at our legacy giving page or email our fundraising team on [email protected].

We are proud members of Remember A Charity and along with their support, we’d really like to change the conversation around legacy giving and encourage more people to get involved by raising awareness. You can view our profile here.

New intern joins The Y

Hello, I am Vikesh, a De Montfort University graduate. I have been fortunate to join The Y Fundraising and Marketing team as part of a 6-week internship through DMU Graduate Champions and I am very excited to be here. I will get involved with many aspects of marketing during my time at the youth homelessness charity. Some of my work will include; organising the Cirque du Y fundraising event, managing social media channels and creating content for the website. I have also been helping The Y to prepare the launch of the “Remember A Charity” week campaign.

It is great to gain extra marketing experience in a new sector and enhance my CV. I very grateful to The Y and DMU for the opportunity to professionally develop. I hope to share some fundraising ideas to support the charity and learn more about the services The Y offers to support young homeless people.

Coming soon: Cirque du Y – The fundraiser with a twist

We will be holding a circus and burlesque themed extravaganza, featuring a variety of local talent on Friday 13th September. The evening will also feature live music from three Leicester bands. The event will be supported by great local businesses including; Gallagher, Westerby Group and RSM UK.

Our guests will be dazzled by the theatrical burlesque style of SkyTribe and enthralled by the entertaining antics of Foolhardy Circus. The evening will include a; bar, buffet and carnival delights of popcorn and candy floss. The main show will be followed by the sound of local bands; Hard Lines, The Veneers and Fourteen Down.

“We’ve had fantastic support from local businesses both sponsoring and booking tables for the event. We’re really excited to be hosting an evening that brings people together to raises funds for youth homelessness and also showcases The Y Theatre, Leicester’s oldest surviving theatre.” Emma Knight, Fundraising and Communications Manager at The Y.

 

Volunteers’ Week 2019

We’d like to say a huge THANK YOU

We were delighted to receive a helping hand from staff from local businesses with the revamp of the area outside the front of our Aylestone centre that needed some TLC. The intention was to make a a nice outdoor space for our young people and we were lucky to have some super volunteers and organisations in Leicestershire on hand.

Volunteers Week is an annual initiative to say thank you for the fantastic contribution volunteers make. It is a UK wide campaign led by NVCO (National Council of Voluntary Organisations). During the week, hundreds of events and celebrations take place across the country, saying thank you to volunteers and recognising their invaluable and diverse contribution to the charity sector. And each day had a set theme. Most pertinent to The Y were Tuesday 4th June which was Corporate/Skilled Volunteering day and Wednesday 5th of June which was Youth themed day.

Thank you to:
Ashley, Ana and Wayne from Gallagher
Charlotte and Lynne from EMH Group
Kevin from Office Oasis

A thank you must also go to Office Oasis for donating the all the plants. Wanslip Sand and Gravel kindly donated all the soil and gravel. Gary from Harlow Brothers also sourced discounted railway sleepers which were used for the bedding areas. None of this would have happened without this support. THANK YOU.

Eggxtra Appeal Thank You

We had a huge turnout of support for our little Easter egg appeal which we named “The Y Eggxtra Appeal”.  We would like to thank every single wonderful person that donated a chocolate egg so that we could give something to each of our young people and service users. An Easter egg is a small item that can just bring a smile to someone’s face and brighten their day.

A small act of kindness and generosity means so much to a vulnerable young person so thanks to these marvellous people, every single one of our young people had a chocolate egg for Easter.

Latin Fitness Camp
Eileen Richards Recruitment
Gallagher Insurance
Asda Oadby
Hot Water Bottle Network
Luke and Heather Clark
Patricia Tyler-Dale
Jean Baxter
Michelle Hill
Timothy Trussell
Anna Guyatt
Kathryn Hamylton
Claire Perry-Brown
Amy Rankin

Christmas Carol Service 2018

On Wednesday 5th of December, we hosted our annual Christmas Carol Service in our lovely Victorian Theatre. This day was extra special as it is the 135th anniversary of The Y in Leicester and also 118 years since the East Street Building first opened.

We welcomed the Emmanu’- EL Apostolic Gospel Choir, Fly Dance Company and Leicester South Salvation Army Band who accompanied the evenings Carols. These were truly the highlights of the evening.

Special thanks must also go to Amye Watt (MidnightBaker13) who provided a superb two tiered and two flavoured cake to finish off the evening’s celebrations along with mulled wine and mince pies.

Thank you to our Trustees who provided some of the readings, our staff who attended and made this wonderful event happen and to all who came along on the night. We hope you enjoyed it and got your festive season off to a good start.

Merry Christmas from all at The Y.

Y Money Matters Website Launched

The Y is delighted to announce the launch of a new website called Y Money Matters.

The project received support from the NatWest Skills and Opportunities Fund and is for the use of young people aged 16 – 24 to develop financial skills including saving and budgeting.

Y Money Matters is a resource full of useful information about managing money, personal care, maintaining and managing a home, benefits, employment and training. Young people were involved in the design, content and creation of the website to provide greater emphasis on the topics that are important to young people in Leicestershire.

 
Over 80 young people have taken part along the various stages from the design of a logo to the subjects covered, site structure and top tips. This has been provided in the form of group planning, feedback surveys, digital skills workshops, filming and photography.

The Y Money Matters website is a resource that can be updated and improved over time as things such as technology, policies and legalities change over time and more resources become available.

Whilst the creation of the website has developed the skills of the young people involved, the website will encourage young people to embrace personal financial planning and the freedom that brings. There are many external resources cited where young people can research and improve their own knowledge to develop strategies and a mind-set that is right for their individual circumstances.

All the topics covered provide an overview and helpful hints to allow young people to make their own choices, learn to assess risks and develop a sense of financial freedom rather than feeling constrained. Visit http://ymoneymatters.co.uk

 

 

#IPledgeToBeReal launched this summer

The Be Real Campaign was and still very much is, determined to change our attitudes towards body image. It strives to help all of us put health above appearance, and champions us to be confident in our own bodies. It is a national movement made up of individuals, schools, businesses, charities and public bodies.

This year, the Be Real Campaign has launched #IPledgeToBeReal and is asking the nation to fight against unrealistic beauty standards by signing up to its Body Image Pledge. The Pledge seeks to reflect reality and diversity, promote health and wellbeing, and advocate positive body image.

We know that low body confidence is damaging people’s lives. It affects everyone – all ages and genders, and it starts young. It impacts physical and mental health and holds them back from achieving all they could.

By signing the Pledge, individuals are making a commitment to the following four principles:

  • Reflect Reality – limit, or stop editing pictures and use less filters
  • Reflect Diversity – Speaking out against lack of diversity and unhealthy body image
  • Promote Health & Wellbeing – talk more about what your body can do and not what it looks like
  • Promote the Pledge – spread the word to help change society’s attitudes to body image

You can get involved by visiting the Be Real Website and signing the pledge for yourself. Then take to social media to spread the word using the hashtag #IPledgeToBeReal and post an unedited/unfiltered photo of yourself. The pledge is part of the campaign’s mission to tackle body image anxiety and promote confidence, health and wellbeing above appearance.

 

 

 

The Y is now a proud member of the Council for Disabled Children

The Y is now a proud member of the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) in respect of the Flat 108 Enabling Independence Service. The CDC are the umbrella body for the disabled children’s sector bringing together professionals, practitioners and policy-makers since forming in 1974. It is a collection of more than 250 voluntary and community organisations representing various dimensions of the SEND sector.

 

The CDC exists to enable member organisations to support one another, share ideas and knowledge via meetings and CDC working groups and work collaboratively from policy into practice, to improve outcomes for children and young people. Over the years, members of CDC have been key in shaping the SEND landscape, most recently by contributing evidence in consultations for the SEND reforms. All members are committed to the CDC inclusion policy’s vision and work towards a society where disabled children and young people’s life chances are met and their aspirations supported.

This membership firmly underpins the differences our Flat 108 service aims to make with each young person including building self-esteem through making more of their own day to day decisions and identifying opportunities and building future aspirations.

For more information on the CDC, visit their website.

To visit our member profile, click here.