Is my donation really doubled?

Yes, while match funds last. Gifts made online through our Big Give campaign page during the campaign week are matched pound for pound.

Why do I give through Big Give, not your own website?

The match only works on gifts made through our Big Give campaign page. Big Give is a registered charity and the UK's leading match funding platform, and it passes your gift on to us.

If you are a UK taxpayer, you can tick the Gift Aid box when you donate and we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 at no cost to you.

What happens if you raise more, or less, than the target?

Every gift goes towards transforming the Newlands corridors into pods. If we raise more, we can complete more pods sooner. If we fall short, we will combine your gifts with other grants to make the work happen. If the project cannot go ahead for any reason, your gift will fund closely related improvements at Newlands, so it always benefits the young people who live there.

Who are Southend YMCA?

We are a local charity (number 1102837) supporting young people, children and families across South East Essex, through housing, youth work, early years, wellbeing and education. Newlands is our supported housing for young people leaving homelessness.

Big Give | Southend YMCA

Make home feel like home this Christmas

While most young people return home for Christmas, some have nowhere to go. Your donation could help a young person rebuild their life and find a place to belong. From 1st to 8th December, every gift you make is doubled, creating double the impact, double the opportunities, and double the hope for vulnerable young people.

Double my gift

Deadline: Doubling ends 12 noon, Tuesday 8 December.

Thirty Years of New Beginnings

For over 30 years, Newlands has been a place of safety for young people with nowhere else to turn. Behind every door is a young person rebuilding their life after homelessness, finding stability, confidence and hope for the future. Today, 78% leave Newlands for a positive future in housing, employment or education.

Because every young person deserves not just a place to stay, but a place to call home

*Add a Corridor Picture

The first thing they see

When a young person arrives at Newlands, often after weeks or months of sofa surfing, hostels or the street, the first thing they see is a corridor. Ours have served us well for three decades, but now they look old and institutional. We need better lighting, softer flooring surfaces and inspirational-coloured walls.

For a young person whose body has learned to stay on alert, those first impressions matter. Calm spaces help people sleep, settle and start to trust the place they are in.

2. Internal make over - Mood board R1 (1).jpg

*Add a Description

Our plan: pods, not corridors

We are transforming our corridors into "pods". These small, welcoming neighbourhoods where four young people share their own calm space. Designed with our architects and using psychology research, each pod will have:

softer, warmer lighting
acoustic ceilings to cut the noise
safe, comfortable flooring and calming colours
shelves and pinboards so residents can make the space their own

It is a small change to a building and a big change to how it feels to live there. Four neighbours who know each other, look out for each other and come home to somewhere that feels like theirs.

What your gift will do

Young people will feel welcome from the moment they arrive. They will settle faster, sleep better and feel safer, and they will have three neighbours to build friendships with. That sense of belonging is what already sits behind our move-on rate. The pods will make it stronger, for every young person who lives there for years to come.

Each pod will be home to around 60 young people over the next 20 years.

[Resident story: a short story or quote from a current or former Newlands resident. Two or three sentences, first name only or a pseudonym, with a consented photo if available.]

Why your gift goes twice as far

During the Big Give Christmas Challenge, generous supporters and Big Give's Champions have put money into a match fund for our campaign. When you give online through our campaign page between 12 noon on 1 December and 12 noon on 8 December, your gift is doubled until the match fund runs out.

• £10 becomes £20

• £25 becomes £50

• £50 becomes £100

• £100 becomes £200

Give early in the week if you can: match funds can run out before the deadline.

Double my gift