The Minutes … hours … seconds that make a difference.

Whether you can give an hour, a day or a weekly commitment, the benefits of volunteering outweigh the donation of time.

Here, at the YMCA, we see every day the difference our volunteers make to the lives of our families, children and young people. Have you considered it? You could even do it with your work – take a look at what happened recently at YMCA Basingstoke.

Supplying accommodation for young people aged 18-30 years, YMCA Basingstoke is a busy place, with lots of people coming and going on a regular basis.  So, keeping it looking fresh is a challenge.

The tenants lounge, known as the HUB, is used regularly by our young people to relax in the evenings; it gives them a chance to wind down and chat and socialise – whether it’s watching TV together or playing a game of pool. In the daytime, the room is used for the YPASS programme which might be some training on budgeting for tenants or other valuable life skills services.  With regular wear and tear, the HUB was starting to look a bit tatty and in need of a good spruce up.

Last November, thanks to a team of corporate volunteers, organised by Employee Volunteering Community Interest Company, we undertook the task together of painting our HUB. Here’s what happened on the day as described by one of the YMCA team members, Adam Barrett-Alexander;

“On 15^th November we had a team of volunteers come in and help us paint our HUB; they provided all the paint and equipment as well as some very enthusiastic volunteers.

We started the day with some bacon butties (cooked by our tenants) with hot drinks and gave the volunteers some fun facts about the YMCA and what we get up to at YMCA Basingstoke.  

Our work started by priming the walls and covering the room in strips of masking tape which took longer than we thought! We stopped at lunch time for a delicious meal of Jerk chicken and rice again cooked by our tenants.  After our energy boosting meal, the hard work began – painting white walls and a soft grey finish on the woodwork to brighten up the space. We also managed to get the BBQ painted and one of our patio benches outside which was an extra bonus for the day.

The young people shared some of their stories with the volunteers – it was lovely to see that they had built a connection in just one day. We finished with farewells and thanks to all involved – and of course a sparkling fresh new HUB for all to enjoy.”  

But the work doesn’t stop there! Next, we want to paint the corridors of YMCA Basingstoke – using the same team of volunteers to put their painting skills to the test once more! Many hands make light work – we welcome any extra support at all of our community branches.

To find out more about volunteering opportunities at YMCA click here.

Or, if you have a general query or an idea on how you’d like to help – we would love for you to get in touch.  Email us at volunteering@ymca-fg.org.