YMCA North Staffordshire - Summer Impact

The impact of Summer Activities #YMCASummerThrive

OVER £15,000 RAISED DURING 47 SOCIAL ACTION PROJECTS

NATIONAL CITIZEN SERVICE

YOUNG PEOPLE DEDICATED OVER

37,000 VOLUNTEER HOURS

100 SUMMER JOBS CREATED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

619 YOUNG PEOPLE ENGAGED WITH NCS

“ YMCA North Staffordshire have provided so many activities for my children over the Summer. They have been fab and my three kids have absolutely loved it.”

-Karen, Parent

GREENBELT SUMMER RESIDENTIAL

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GO! OPERATED 36 YOUTH CLUBS OVER THE SUMMER

50 MAGICAL

15 COMMUNITY

ACTIVITIES AND DAYS OUT PROVIDED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

PICNICS

13 SUMMER SPACE EVENTS

3 ONE BIG ACTIVITY DAYS

“ For me the YMCA is a safe secure place with lots of opportunities.”

- Parent 2

1800

OVER PEOPLE ATTENDED THE CHELL HEATH CARNIVAL AND FEGG HAYES FETE SUPPORTED BY STOKE NORTH BIG LOCAL

617 CHILDREN

4 SUMMER

RESIDENTIALS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

ATTENDED SNBL SUMMER HOLIDAY PLAY SCHEME

#YMCASummerThrive Affordable Our summer activities were offered either at an affordable price or free of charge, making them accessible to all.

The Future YMCA North Staffordshire plans inspiring activities and events all year round. For the best and most up-todate information on all future events, join us on our social media. See back page for details.

BEST SUMMER EVER We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing this remarkable summer with you all.

Got your own ideas for events - we’d love to hear from you? hello@ymcans.org.uk

A particular highlight this summer was the YMCA GO! Big City Passport project. Young people visited: Sheffield / Nottingham / Leeds / Liverpool / London / Manchester / Blackpool / Birmingham 3

Why we do, what we do, for you.

YMCA North Staffordshire keeps children and young people fit, healthy, active and engaged during the summer holidays.

By keeping kids and young people active and engaged over the summer with YMCA North Staffordshire, parents have given their children the best chance to succeed when they return to education. Research undertaken by Explore Learning has shown that you, the parents, are the child’s most influential teachers, and over the summer holidays, children and young people who remain active, social and engaged throughout summer, are better prepared for the academic year come September.

No stigma here Our Community Picnics were a huge success. Each picnic was carefully designed to incorporate fun, food and quality family time.

The brain is like a muscle You either use it, or you lose it. Scientific research shows that by keeping the momentum and engaging the brain during the summer break is essential in ensuring that children and young people are in the best position to thrive when they return to education.

We are your YMCA We love to do what we do. We believe in ensuring all young people and families thrive. By unlocking that potential helps everyone to succeed in the community.

Young People are the future We are all about empowering young people. Our NCS and YMCA GO! teams have worked hard throughout the summer delivering moments and opportunities that will stay in the minds of young people forever. They have created a space for self-discovery, new friendships to be made and new ways of thinking to be viewed.

We develop young people, they develop their world.

3 COMMUNITY MEALS

4

During the summer we worked with over 30 organisations, partners and friends to create the magic of summer 2018.

Thank you for being awesome.

OUR FRIENDS & PARTNERS

All of this was only possible with the support of our corporate partners, friends and individual supporters.

Simply put, if it wasn’t for faithful supporters like you, we wouldn’t have had the great summer we experienced.

So, to our supporting friends; thank you for supplying the love, the camaraderie and backing that we need to make a difference in the lives of young people in our city.

THANK YOU

OVER 2000 YOUNG PEOPLE ENGAGED WITH YMCA

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Chief Executive’s message School was out for the summer. Every kid filled with excitement as they walk away from school for 6 whole weeks, and every parent has a corresponding feeling of ‘we need to plan summer’, whilst balancing life and work. Nevertheless, YMCA North Staffordshire had a solution, and over the summer we proved just that.

Firstly, I am proud to mention that two youth programmes delivered by YMCA North Staffordshire served over 2,000 young people over the summer.

Our NCS programme saw 619 teenagers invest in their own futures, whilst our YMCA GO! project continued to deliver exciting and fun activities just like it does every day and every week throughout the year. Young People of all ages enjoyed visits to different cities. Activities included cultural offers such as the Cavern club in Liverpool to sunny days in a canoe, to scary days climbing and messy days at our paint party.

“My children have attended most of the events this summer and I would like to say what fantastic days they have been. I would also like to thank the staff for being so wonderful with the children.”

But it is more than just fun, it all means something - empowerment. After the summer when kids go back to school and parents reflect back to the summer that was. We know investing in children and young people (like all parents know too) is the best investment we can make, and we must equip our kids to make positive life choices. We will be working with schools across the city to help us to prove the positive effect our work has achieved over the summer. We have clear evidence that summer programmes keep kids engaged. Teachers have told us that they can see the difference in young people that have participated in our school holiday programmes.

- Lisa, GO! member parent

At YMCA North Staffordshire we are privileged to serve all these amazing young people, and their families. In closing, I would like to thank all the staff and volunteers who have done such a remarkable job of spreading the YMCA mission which will always be inclusive of everyone. We serve all young people, we serve families and we serve communities.

God bless, a very proud CEO. - Daniel Flynn

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YMCA North Staffordshire Harding Road Stoke-on-Trent ST1 3AE T 01782 222376 E hello@ymcans.org.uk www.ymcans.org.uk We provide community activities all year round. For further information and to discover more, please visit and follow and like our social media platforms.

@ymcans

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www.justgiving.com/ymcans or Text: YMST18 £5 to 70070 #YMCASummerThrive #YST18

“Activities bring these children together, create a community and give them something to look forward to. All children should have something fun to share when they come back to school and all parents should have affordable activities that enable them to have summer fun as a family without the worry of money.”

- Jessica Smithson, Local Teacher

YMCA North Staffordshire Registered charity number 1100749