FAQs

You can become a RoomSponsor for just £12 a month. That’s less than 40p a day – less than a packet of crisps, a first class stamp or a packet of chewing gum.

The true cost of providing housing and ongoing support to help young people reach their full potential is far more than we can expect one person to give, which is why we need to continue to recruit generous RoomSponsors.

While all of our stories and blogs are 100 percent genuine, we often use models and change names to protect people’s identities.

As a RoomSponsor you do so much more than put a roof over a young person’s head.

YMCA is the largest charity provider of safe, supported housing for young people in England and Wales. RoomSponsors help to provide a safe space to more than 10,000 young people experiencing homelessness each year, but it’s so much more than this.

Your monthly donation helps to provide not only a bed, but helps young people gain the training, skills and confidence they need to go on to lead independent lives. You help equip them for future employment through education, skills-based training, and placement and apprenticeship schemes.

You are also enabling YMCA to work on their behalf by using the findings of our research to identify and respond to the greatest barriers faced by young people to achieving their potential. In this way you have allowed young people to improve their mental well-being and have influenced Government policy impacting on their housing needs.

Thank you for providing so much more than a room. You are helping young people to build a successful future for themselves, in which they can thrive.

You can trust our experience, because YMCA’s have been supporting communities for 178 years. In fact, we provide over 9,000 beds every single night.

This means we’re experts in providing vulnerable young people with the safety and shelter they need to help them find their feet and we can provide them with counselling and vocational training which could help them to build a better life. We enable young people to truly belong, contribute and thrive in their communities. But we can’t do it without you and need your support.

For more information about YMCA and the work we do, please visit the YMCA England & Wales website.

You will receive a special welcome pack introducing you to some of the young people you’re helping.

You will also receive regular updates from young people living at YMCA, as well as newsletters and fundraising communications about other ways in which you can support our work.

If you would like to stop these communications please either email us at roomsponsor@ymca.org.uk or call us on 020 7186 9518.

Yes, you can give more than £12 a month if you would like to.  However, to keep administration costs to a minimum, you will receive the same amount of feedback.  Don’t worry though, we will be providing updates on more than one young person so you can see how your support is helping.

If you would like to increase the amount you give each month please contact our supporter services team at supporterservices@ymca.org.uk or call 020 7186 9518

No. You will join with thousands of other generous RoomSponsors who chose to help support young people with a regular monthly gift.

Your generous gift isn’t limited to one specific room. You are helping to fund all of YMCAs work with young people, across England and Wales. Rest assured your money will be used wherever the need is greatest.

There is no obligation or expectation that you will write to the young people you are helping, but many RoomSponsors do and you are more than welcome to do so. Letters or cards should be sent via YMCA England & Wales.

However, please be aware, your letters will not be directly answered by the young people as many are very vulnerable, and their well-being is of the upmost importance. All communications will be via YMCA England & Wales.  For this reason, we ask that you do not write or call individual YMCAs.

Please also be aware, whilst all communications and updates are true, we sometimes protect the young person’s identity, at their request, by changing their name and using pictures of models.

You’ll get regular feedback on how you’re helping young people build a brighter future, and of course they’ll be eager to share their progress with you – like exam results, getting a job, or even just feeling safe for the very first time.

To protect the safety and privacy of the young people you are helping, it is not possible to visit them. However, it may be possible to arrange for you to visit your local YMCA.

We allocate funds to YMCAs according to need. The same applies to allocating rooms to young people.

A young person can stay at a YMCA for as long as they need to as every young person is an individual with individual needs. Some will stay for a few days until a problem at home is resolved but, in some cases, young people can stay for up to two years. We hope you’ll want to follow the young people you are helping and give them your support for as long as you can.

YMCA is the largest and oldest youth charity in the world. Across over 80 YMCAs in England and Wales, we offer housing and support that enables a young person to live independently, grow, achieve and contribute to their community. Find out more at https://www.ymca.org.uk/about

If your circumstances change and you are no longer in a position to be a RoomSponsor, please call our Supporter Services Team on 020 7186 9518 or email roomsponsor@ymca.org.uk, as there are other ways you can help that don’t require the same level of commitment.

We’re always happy to hear from you so please do feel free call our Supporter Services Team on 020 7186 9518 or email us at roomsponsor@ymca.org.uk