Dear Roomsponsors,
I hope you had a joyful Christmas, and Happy New Year to you all. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and update you on the progress of Mark, Dannielle and Rachel, who you may remember reading about last year.
Mark is currently in the last stage of YMCA accommodation, with the next step being independent living. He still needs support from YMCA emotionally, but is making great strides for himself. He recently applied for a managerial position at his full-time job in Retail and is now the proud owner of his very own moped, having passed his test last year. Mark has also done fantastic work for YMCA as a Youth Ambassador and helped us prepare for the launch of our #IAMWHOLE report. Your support has been so encouraging for Mark and his keyworkers feel he’ll soon be ready to move on.
Rachel is also still living at YMCA, but she too will be moving on in the next few months. Her planned trip to Tanzania went ahead and she made lots of friends from different backgrounds. In her three months of voluntary work there she helped develop not only a water irrigation system, but a school building too. She recently won the Young Leader of the Year award at our national awards ceremony and in between working at her YMCA again, she’s also actively looking for a job in the care sector. Rachel still struggles with her mental health, but without your generosity and kind comments over the last year, her progress would have been far harder, so thank you.
Dannielle is also raring to go, having been accepted for her apprenticeship with YMCA. She starts in the next couple of weeks and will also be attending college as part of her placement to study English, Maths and gain customer service skills. Next week, Dannielle will be transferring to our move-on accommodation with two other young people from YMCA, which she is absolutely thrilled about. It’s truly wonderful to see how much progress she has made, and how confident she is for what lies ahead of her.
Mark, Dannielle and Rachel are all preparing to leave YMCA and begin independent living, and their fantastic progress just wouldn’t have been possible without your kind support over the past year. So, thank you once again from them and from us for your generosity.
In the coming months we’ll introduce you to three new young people that are receiving support from YMCA, and share their updates with you through the Roomsponsor blog. With your support, I have no doubt they’ll come on in leaps and bounds too.
With best wishes for a peaceful and happy year ahead.
Sarah Lewis,
Roomsponsor team