Charity of the Month - YMCA

To mark International Youth Day on 12th August, we’re delighted to be supporting YMCA as our charity of the month throughout August!

During the month, you can round up your orders to the nearest £1 at the checkout and all money raised will be donated to YMCA.

We’ll again be matching all donations so whatever you donate, we’ll donate the same, doubling the total amount raised for the charity!

About the Charity

YMCA supports young people to belong, contribute and thrive in their communities, investing in disadvantaged and disenfranchised young people who may not have been given opportunities by others, or who were born into situations not of their making.

With five key areas of work – Family & Youth Work, Health & Wellbeing, Housing, Training & Education, and Support & Advice – YMCA help more than 570,000 people every year to access opportunities that support them to fulfil their potential, whatever that might be.

This International Youth Day on the 12th August, YMCA are highlighting their youth services campaign. YMCA youth projects offer a sanctuary to provide children with a safe place to socialise and to find a trusted adult outside of school, as well as the chance to explore their skills and talents to support them to thrive. It runs more than 70 youth clubs and they go into communities to provide outreach youth work to at-risk young people too.

YMCA England & Wales’ research found that funding cuts to youth services have now reached £1.1bn – a real-terms fall of 74% since 2010/11. More than 4,500 youth work jobs have been cut and 750 youth centres closed. YMCA is calling on the Government to prioritise young people and reinvest in youth services. To find out more, hear the stories of young people whose lives have been transformed by YMCA youth projects and sign YMCA’s petition to save youth services, visit their website here.

Throughout July we supported It’s Good 2 Give, raising money to support the physical and mental well-being of young cancer patients and their families in Scotland. Through your generosity, we have raised an incredible amount thanks to checkout donations. We also matched your donations, bringing the total raised for the charity to £1247.40. It’s Good 2 Give works in partnership with hospitals and patient organisations to deliver the assistance that young patients and their families need.

Thank you so much for continuing to support our monthly charities!