We are delighted to welcome Jonathan Gracey as he steps into his new role as General Secretary/CEO and wish him every success as he leads our team, supports our young people, and guides our local YMCA into its next chapter. As we look forward to the future under his leadership, we also take this opportunity to reflect on a fantastic summer of connection, growth, and achievements across our drop-in programmes and youth initiatives.

Summer Youth Programmes & Growth

Our summer was packed with energy, learning, and fun across all age groups. Youth volunteers led a vibrant Junior summer scheme featuring park days, messy games, healthy relationship workshops, and an aquarium visit. Intermediate and Senior groups stayed active with cooking classes, wellbeing art, inter-club competitions, a youth-led stay-awake fundraiser, and money-management workshops with Money Ready.

They also joined Portadown YMCA at Greenhill for the Shared Agenda for Peace event and collaborated on cross-border initiatives with Cork YMCA and Comhairle na nÓg. Our specialized cohorts experienced equally transformative summers. The ILP group enjoyed a week of team-building, gardening, slime-making, a visit to Belfast Zoo, and a trip to Castlewellan and Newcastle. Meanwhile, our new E2T cohort completed their money-management qualifications, explored history on a day trip to Derry/Londonderry, and tackled team-building challenges at Let’s Go Hydro.

Staff & Leadership Celebrations

We have plenty of achievements to celebrate within our team. Congratulations to Josh and Rebekah on graduating in Community Youth Work, and to Lea on completing her teaching certificate. As Josh and Lea move on to new ventures, we wish them both every success. We are also thrilled to welcome Rebekah Vennard into her new role as Youth Work Manager, alongside Jonathan Gracey as our General Secretary/CEO, as we look forward to an exciting next chapter for YMCA Lurgan.

Rebekah Vennard, Youth Work Manager
YMCA Lurgan