Summer Activities
Get Involved:
If you or your child wants to join in on any of the above activities, please contact siniece.hallway@ymcanewcastle.com.
Spaces are limited and subject to availability so it’s best to act quick, and don’t forget to let your friends know!
A Huge Thanks to HAF!
None of these fantastic opportunities would have been possible if it wasn’t for the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF), so on behalf of everyone here at the YMCA, and all of the many young people that will be benefiting greatly from the activities: thank you!
To learn more about the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF), click here.
Young Person Spotlight: Ellie
This month it’s Ellie’s turn to answer some questions about the YMCA – she has been coming here for 5 years, so started by asking her about some of the things she’s been up to in that time:
What are your favorite things to do at the YMCA?
“When we go on trips. My favourite is the beach. We also do cooking sometimes – I like cooking.”
If there was one activity that you could do every week, what would it be?
“Probably bowling, even though I lose every time.”
Is there anything you’ve tried with the YMCA that you didn’t think you’d like, but actually did?
“I don’t usually like climbing, but I enjoyed doing that. I was sat saying ‘I’m not joining, you’re not getting me on this’, but I did, and it wasn’t that bad.”
Is there anything you haven’t done with the YMCA that you’d like to try?
“Probably swimming. I can’t swim, but I really wanna learn to swim.”
We then moved on to some more personal questions about the YMCA and the support that it offers.
Do you feel welcome here?
“Very welcome. Everyone is very friendly.”
How has coming to the YMCA helped you?
“More confidence. I think I’m more sociable too, I try to speak to more people now.”
What would you say to a friend who was nervous about attending the YMCA for the first time?
“I’d say, ‘everyone makes you feel welcome and they’re always there if you need to talk to them’.”
Newcastle Youth Fund
We’d like to give an extra special thanks to the Newcastle City Council for the Newcastle Youth Fund, which has been supporting 2 major projects that we’ve been running here at YMCA Newcastle.
“The Newcastle Youth Fund provides funding for not-for-profit organisations to run activities or support services for young people aged 13 – 19. The fund aims to support diverse, high quality youth provision and give young people a direct say in their city.”
Both projects have been massively youth-designed and co-led by young people, leading to activities that truly engage and enrich everyone that attends. The YMCA has taken great care to listen to the young people, what they wish to achieve, and how they want to be encouraged – the success of the following projects reflects this care. Both projects started in April this year, and will continue until March 2026.
Make A Difference (M.A.D.)
We noticed that during our Youth Voice Meetings, one thing that the young people really wanted was to improve and give back to their community. They wanted the way that people see them to change, to be recognised for the good that they do and be encouraged to do more good – enter M.A.D.
M.A.D. was designed to guide young people on how to improve their community and provide them with desirable incentives. We helped the young people come up with ways that will make meaningful local differences, and they helped us by suggesting and approving ways that they would like to be noticed and rewarded for their hard work. The YMCA now has a list of exciting activities and trips that range from ice skating to beach trips, with go-karting, arcade visits, and many others in between. Through activities like litter picking and gardening, the youth will be able to better the area they live in and make people smile along the way. We are supporting young people to make a difference and helping them to be recognised and rewarded for it.
The young people in the focus group are very confident in telling us what they want and encouraging everyone else’s ideas – they also shared their thoughts with a team from the National Youth Agency, who said they were “excited for the positive things to come for young people in Newcastle”, and mentioned how they love how much YMCA Newcastle involves young people in the planning and decision making of new and exciting opportunities.
“We support youth workers to deliver great youth work through the publication of a range of standards and frameworks, which helps those commissioning or delivering youth work to ensure their services respond to local need, meet legal and regulatory requirements, and embed best practice approaches.”
Project Fusion
The second project that has been made possible via the Newcastle Youth Fund is Project Fusion. Dedicated to building confidence, improving physical health and wellbeing, and working to make the YMCA experience as interactive and inclusive as possible. Project Fusion offers group dance classes twice a week at our centre that the young people can’t get enough of. Not only do the classes encourage fitness among the group, but the coordination and teamwork skills built into every session are invaluable – Project Fusion acts as a medium to learn new skills, express creativity in a safe environment, and develop new and lasting friendships.
The dancing itself (being the main attraction) is also given the attention it needs. The classes are delivered by a dance professional to provide high quality sessions for our young people, which they vocally appreciate. They have covered many different styles of dance, including commercial, hip-hop, street, lyrical, and contemporary. The young people have also had Swan Lake workshops, and recently took a trip to the Newcastle Theatre Royal to see Matthew Bourne’s ‘The Midnight Bell’ dance performance to give them an idea of what they’re up against!
The progress that everyone has made since the project came into effect has been significant, and they are all genuinely dedicated to their dancing. Resilience plays a major role in activities like this, and the young people have certainly shown it so far.
Again, neither of these two ongoing and very successful projects would have been possible without the support of the Newcastle City Council. To learn more about them, click here.
