Civic Mayor, Eva Hughes with the lads from Military Fitness

On Saturday local members of the community braved freezing weather conditions and gave up their luxuries to raise vital funds for the work that Doncaster YMCA does with young, vulnerable adults.

It was a fantastic night for all involved. Civic Mayor, Eva Hughes, opened the event this year and introduced the popular shelter building competition. Military Fitness warmed up participants by leading military style exercises. Craig led a Keyworker themed treasure hunt and a burn bin provided a focal point for all  the sleepers.

We’d like to acknowledge achievements at a celebratory event and distibute some quirky awards. Join us for our Sleep Easy Evaluation evening at Doncaster YMCA on Monday 6th February 2012, 6.30pm.

Ashton, Siobhan and Mitchel getting into the groove!

Some of our Gleeks started putting together some crazy moves in the last Glee session. Here’s a shot of them in action!  

Ashton, Mitchell and Siobhan are working together to create a street dance to one of their favourite songs from the Honey soundtrack.

Not only are the group getting a vocal workout, they’re now getting a physical workout too! Who needs the gym anyway?

We welcome new participants all year round. If you want to join in the fun on a Tuesday evening and you’re aged 16-25 call Craig on 01302 342148.

We currently have 4 roles, Personal/ Programme Secretary, Reception, Activity Leader and Role Model.

Give a little time to ensure that we can offer the best possible service to our young clients who are in need. Please see the Role Descriptions for specific timings and responsibilities.

We are a passionate and enthusiastic team who are dedicated to changing the lives of young people for the better. You could play a part in this. Give just a few hours of your time.

Please see the ‘Volunteering’ tab on the website for more information. All of our roles have individual pages with lots more information. Call Craig on 01302 342148 or e-mail craig.tobin@doncasterymca.org.uk.

Join us at the Sleep Easy Information Evening to find out more information about the event, register and learn something you didn’t know about your local YMCA.

The Information Evening will take place at Doncaster YMCA Monday 7th November, 2011 at 6.30pm. We will show video clips from past events, tell you more about the work of the YMCA and gear participants up for the event itself.

We will be sleeping rough on Saturday 28th January 2012 at St Peter-In-Chains. Online registration is now open. Follow the links on the website to register.

Call Craig on 01302 342148 Extension 35, or email craig.tobin@doncasterymca.org.uk.

Join in the conversation on the Doncaster YMCA Facebook page.

Are your eyes sore from reading endless updates? Would you prefer someone to tell you what’s going on in your area?

Follow Craig and his quirky video updates for Doncaster YMCA. Craig has started a video blog (vlog) to update people on upcoming events, activities and exciting news items.

Craig’s vlogs will happen weekly, so keep checking in to see what he’s talking about and what news he has to share about the YMCA.

Our young artists

“As an artist, all I need is my paints and brushes – and someone to drag me away when the canvas is done.” Pablo Picasso

We know when an activity has really connected with our young people when at the end of the session we can’t tear them away from their work!

This week in Sketch we had fun looking at texture with a little word art. One of our Sketchers, Rhian, brought in this fantastic activity to share with the rest of the group.

In Sketch, we’ve found that the best ideas that we’ve seen are those brought about from the mistakes we’ve made along the way.

Join in the INKredible fun with us on Thursdays 6pm – 7.30pm. We welcome anyone aged 16-25 to our free art session. Call 01302 342148 and ask for Craig Tobin or email craig.tobin@doncasterymca.org.uk.

Mitchell and Ashton's duet

‘Glee at the YMCA’ had a great number of new participants this week. After promoting Glee at Doncaster College last week we were excited to see how many new faces would turn up and join in the fun – we weren’t disappointed!

A couple of the new guys play in a band in their own time and were willing to put their talents to good use and play for our Glee club.

It was really lovely to see so many eager faces wanting to use their time productively, working together to create great music.

We welcome new participants all throughout the year, so if you’re interested in becoming a part of Glee call 01302 342148 and ask for Craig.

Sketchers were split into teams this week and we asked them to create their very own political parties. Magazines were used to search for celebrities with desirable qualities that would suit their party. Sketchers had to justify their choices. For example, Dumbledoor from Harry Potter, might have been chosen because he is wise and likable.

Teams were asked to think about local issues that they would change if they could and from here come up with a simple manifesto to present to the other team.

We also took inspiration from recent awards ceremonies and looked at celebrity fashion. We imagined that we were fashion designers for the evening. Sketchers were asked to choose a celebrity to design an outfit for and take into consideration their skin tone and hair colour.

The outfits created were fit for any A-Listers!

There are some really fantastic pieces of art being created in Sketch at the minute. We have been focussing on line strength and how using negative space can really help when composing a picture.

Lindsey, a new Sketcher, really got to grips with the activity last night and produced an amazing sketch using biro and Tipp-Ex.

Sketch helps young people explore their creative side with others who love art. We welcome newcomers all throughout the year.

 Thursday 6pm – 7.30pm