We were delighted to host the monthly Home Day for the YMCA Fairthorne Group on Thursday 20th February. This is an event where different groups in the YMCA Fairthorne Group come together each month to discuss progress along with the directors, CEO’s and trustees. It was great to have different input from different teams presenting progress and future updates. Along with a presentation from ourselves to present all the new things we have planned for YMCA Basingstoke, highlighted by Adam our Community Manager with input from Cara and Shona the Youth Engagement Co-Ordinator’s. Donna and Gina did a great job as Front of House, giving a warm welcome to our guests.
Topics that we were delighted to share, included: our new windows, the launch of our YPASS programmes, the creation of our blog, our Internet Café and EduCare days and volunteering plans.
New windows- We have been having new windows fitted throughout our building, updating the white frames to tinted glass with black frames. So far the progress has been praised by our residents who have had the changes made to their rooms saying that it makes the rooms so much quieter and warmer. We also think it adds a modern look to the buildings, so it is a thumbs up all around!
YPASS programme launch- We will be launching our YPASS programmes 2nd March, starting with Jumpstart each morning which will provide our residents with breakfast to fuel them for the day ahead. Each day a cooking-based programme will take place. Food For Thought will take place Monday’s and Wednesday’s, an opportunity for people to talk about what is going on, issues and current affairs over lunch. Kitchen sink will occur on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, a fun practical course offering basic but essential cooking skills, healthy eating, meal prep, planning and budgeting, run by a volunteers. Peace, Love and Roast Potatoes will provide a nice end to the week on Friday’s which will adopt a family environment where our young people will shop together to prepare and cook a meal which will be ate together, ending with a group clean. Also on Fridays, Our Patch will take place, a resident-led programme allowing our residents to throw themselves into the heart of their community by taking responsibility for their home in gardening, maintenance, painting etc. Money Tree will take place on Monday’s, a programme that teaches money skills such as money management, budgeting and saving. Life Smart is a programme that teaches young people skills to keep safe and make everyday life easier, taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, whilst Empowered for Employment provides all the skills necessary to succeed in getting a job.
Blog creation- We have been working very hard on our Blog which provides a space for our residents to document their time with us and to show the community all that we do here at the YMCA Basingstoke.
Internet Café- As part of the YPASS programmes, we will be opening our Internet café on Wednesdays to our residents and anyone in the community that needs a space to get work done. Computers will be provided so people can write CV’s, apply for jobs, print things and complete EduCare Programmes etc. EduCare is a market-leading provider of high-quality, concise and easy-to-use safeguarding and duty of care e-learning service. They offer a variety of courses in health and safety, food safety, fire safety, first aid, moving and handling and so much more!
Volunteering- We are planning to create a resident volunteering committee, as part of our Super Heroes programme. This will be resident-led where our residents can volunteer throughout the community, giving back to the community and raising funds for us to be able to put back into our programmes. We have already had a lot of interest and ideas from our residents for this and we look forward to seeing what our young people do to provide for the community. Keep updated with these activities through our blog!
After the presentations we were joined by some of our residents for a buffet-style lunch where we were treated with a lovely spread of sandwiches, salads, fruits, flapjacks and so much more as you can see in the photos of the day! It was lovely to see so many of our residents interacting and it was great to host the Home Day for the first time!
Cara Lucas 26.02.2020