To celebrate Remember a Charity Week we have launched a new service to enable our friends and staff to set up a basic will for free! Remember a Charity Week 2021 is from 6th – 12th September. BUT, we intend to offer this service all year round.
After providing for your loved ones, we hope that you’ll consider leaving a gift to The Y. Your gift will provide a safe place and fair start for homeless young people in Leicester, long into the future.
There is absolutely no obligation to do this, your will is free either way! To find out more on our free will service, visit our Gifts in wills page.
We’d like to shine a light on some incredible businesses who have gone above and beyond to show our organisation that human beings are pretty blooming fantastic. In a year or two where the world has seemed a little chaotic, these businesses have not turned their back on youth homelessness.
RKH and Weightmans chose The Y as their Charity of the Year and rallied a big group of colleagues to come together virtually for a fundraising sleep out.
RKH also provided us with some fab pro-bono design work.
Funds from Pukka Pies and Highcross have helped us launch Y Skills Matter, which provides an exciting learning programme for young people.
Impact Air are working with Y Skills Matter to provide training and work experience for our young people.
Mattioli Woods provided a work experience placement for a young person which led to a permanent position.
Two businesses sponsored a house: Beauty with a Purpose and STB who’ve been superstars with pro-bono design work and donating a freezer in lockdown.
Utilita have created and taken part in their own fundraising challenge and donated vouchers for every young person here at The Y at Christmas.
Combined Knowledge provided 10 laptops for our young people and offered training sessions to both staff and residents.
Mercer Building Solutions donated to the “Save Our Theatre” campaign which supported the re-opening of The Y Theatre in May.
Asda and many more businesses have provided us with donations of food, toiletries, crafts, towels, bedding, furniture and Christmas cheer!
Our exciting partnership with Gallagher: “What a wonderful bunch of people who go out of their way to help support some of Leicestershire’s most vulnerable young people. I would personally like to thank them for letting us be an extended part of their team and helping to pull off an amazing charity event together, Cirque du Y. I hope local businesses share my values and help support this worthy charity”
Andrew Franks, Gallagher.
Thanks to these and so many more for making a massive difference to the lives of young people living here at The Y. If your business or work place would like to be on our ‘pretty blooming fantastic human beings’ list… please get in touch.
Thanks again,
Emma, Carly and Michelle ????
England’s largest festival of history and culture is back for 2021!
The Y is delighted to be part of Heritage Open Days again this year, England’s largest festival of history and culture, bringing together over 2,000 local people and organisations and thousands of volunteers. Every year in September, places across the country throw open their doors to celebrate their heritage, community and history. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – and it’s all FREE.
Join the fun at Leicesters oldest theatre for our Y Heritage Edwardian Summer Fete where you’ll find a theatre full of traditional parlour games, side shows and suitably dressed Barkers to get you playing and winning (and chuck out the cheats!) there will even be the Olde Sweetie Shoppe for prizes and treats, you only get a prize if you win!
Our innovative Y Heritage Project has been shortlisted for Training & Education Project of the year in YMCA’s Youth Matters Awards! Over the last three years young people living at The Y have been empowered to commission local heritage projects and taken part in some exciting placements, making a big impact on local culture. We are one of 116 local YMCAs supporting disadvantaged young people across the UK with many amazing young people and projects nominated. A massive well done to The Y Heritage team and our young people – please vote and share to give them the recognition they deserve!
Voting closes 13th August – find Y Heritage in the Training & Education category! CLICK HERE to vote.
With thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.
What a great Saturday at an archaeological site in Castle Hill! Who knew that this historic site of regional significance is in Beaumont Leys? We took a group of young people to get some hands on dig experience and they really enjoyed the visit. We found everything from roman pottery, roof tiles and even a pigs jaw with teeth still in place!
Thank you so much to Mathew Morris and University of Leicester Archaeology department for giving us this opportunity to visit their dig!
We’re delighted to be added as a signatory to the “Promise to Care” pledge by Leicestershire Cares. As an organisation, we support over 100 young people aged 16 – 25 with accommodation, skills, arts, health, advice and care. Our Y Heritage team also supported and funded the care experienced book “Taking Hold of Our Heritage” in partnership with Leicestershire Cares. You can read more on that project here.
Did you know… we are now in the second week of #FosterCareFortnight? It’s very timely to share this news and celebrate the relationship as organisations who both understand and address the complexities of identity for care experienced young people.
We can now reveal that The Y is a Not-For-Profit-Organisation finalist in the Leicestershire Live Business Awards! We are so proud to have been selected by BHIB Insurance Brokers as a charity that not only supports some of the most disadvantaged young people in our community but also plays an important role in the city’s culture and heritage. Our amazing staff have kept going with such strong resolve over the last year and this nomination is a testament to their hard work!
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Heritage Ambassadors receive Antoin Akpom Achievements Foundation award for Community Achievement.
Y Residents Rochana, Carl and Heather coordinated Tours and Talks at the Y Theatre as part of Heritage Open Days 2020. Coordinating and managing the public tours with the Y Heritage Team was no easy task especially with the pandemic causing additional challenges.
Congratulations to these brilliant Heritage Ambassadors on this AAA Award and thank you to the National Heritage Lottery Fund and Lottery players for supporting this event.
Watch this short film to find out more about Heritage Open Days and the Y Heritage project.
We’re appealing to the Leicester Community to help us find vacant city centre premises which could host The Y Support Project. We are struggling to find the right space but we need to move swiftly or risk losing our vital service for rough sleepers. Please share with your network!
To give you some background, our amazing Y Support Project was required to leave its usual base at the Dawn Centre to safeguard service users at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, we were warmly welcomed to share a space with Inclusion Healthcare as a temporary measure. While nobody could have anticipated this situation nearly 12 months on, we are now in desperate need of a more permanent solution.
For 26 years The Y Support Project has been a lifeline for rough sleepers in the city, with a wealth of expertise in helping people in crisis to make positive changes in their lives. Without a home for our project we will be forced to stop helping some of the most disadvantaged people who need us.
Contact Us
We are seeking a minimum space of 64m2 with additional toilet, shower and kitchen facilities to help our small team offer practical support and advice to around 30 homeless adults a day, limited to six people at a time. As a charity costs are an important consideration. We’d love you to contact us swiftly for the full spec and to discuss any opportunities. Please send any enquiries to [email protected]
On Thursday 10th of December, some young people from The Y and joined by some young people from Focus Charity delivered the WotBox Heritage Newsroom supported by our fabulous partners, Documentary Media Centre. This event was a 4 hour special consisting of both live and pre-recorded interviews. Please do have a look at all of the interview on the Wot Space Facebook page. It is fascinating listening to discussions between young people and heritage organisations collaborate and share ideas. We couldn’t be more proud of how our young people have embraced the project and become journalists to bring you these interviews. The interviews include some of the organsations who’ve received funding from our Y Heritage project, staff at The Y and much more.
“The Y Heritage Newsroom was an exceptional broadcast, over the last few weeks skilled colleagues have supported young people to learn and develop their skills around documentary media, podcasting, digital photography and social media. Young people have been liberated and allowed to ask questions and challenge movers and shakers in society and representations of heritage; yesterday that did just that and more! Please watch the short interviews from the Y Heritage Newsroom (add link if appropriate) and be amazed at the professional quality and skills of all those who took part. I could not be prouder and want to thank all my colleagues and the young people for delivering an outstanding event.” Juliet Martin, Y Heritage Project Manager
“The WotBox Heritage project has given young people an opportunity to expand on or develop new skills around the use of media equipment and the online platforms used across the Heritage sector today. As usual they shock adults with their level of understanding and grasp of the opportunities around them. They are willing to challenge stereotypes and make effective suggestions for how Heritage organisations can attract and engage with young people in meaningful ways. The willingness from organisations who took part in the newsroom to continue engaging with young people demonstrates that the value for those who participated in the WotBox Heritage project is immeasurable.” John and Tina, Documentary Media Centre
Our thanks to all our interviewees:
Ros Kerslake, CEO National Lottery Heritage Fund
Amy Christer – Y Heritage Support Coordinator
Joanna Fleetwood-Smith – Business Development Director, The Y
Emma Fay – Artistic Director, Enter Edem
Saul Argent – Hope Streets Project Coordinator, Curious Minds
Rachel Ayrton – Learning & Interpretation Manager, King Richard III Visitor Centre
Zam Zam Yusuf – Heritage Development Officer, Leicestershire Cares
Jodie Lees – Creative Programme Manager, Sudbury Hall
Paul Brown – CEO, The Y
Juliet Martin – Y Heritage Project Manager & Tina Barton – Education and Engagement Director, Documentary Media Centre
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“What a wonderful bunch of people who go out of their way to help support some of Leicestershire’s most vulnerable young people. I would personally like to thank them for letting us be an extended part of their team and helping to pull off an amazing charity event together, Cirque du Y. I hope local businesses share my values and help support this worthy charity”
England’s largest festival of history and culture is back for 2021!
Find out more at 
For 26 years The Y Support Project has been a lifeline for rough sleepers in the city, with a wealth of expertise in helping people in crisis to make positive changes in their lives. Without a home for our project we will be forced to stop helping some of the most disadvantaged people who need us.
