We were delighted to host Craigavon PCSP on Tuesday night for a workshop entitled ‘Rights & Responsibilities of Young People’.

Young people from YMCA Lurgan’s YTime MyTime group joined with young people from St.Mary’s Portadown and Lurgan Youth Annexe to take part in discussion, a quiz and a question and answer session with the neighbourhood police.
It was good fun, the young people learned a lot and the free food is always a plus!
Did you know that you have to be 12 years old to buy a pet and you are criminally responsible from the age of 10? Now you do!


YMCA Lurgan have officially adopted Carnegie Street through Craigavon Borough Council’s Adopt A Street Scheme.
Yesterday we took delivery of gloves, rubbish bags and litter pickers and the young people will use this as a Citizenship Opportunity and a Duke of Edinburgh Volunteering Opportunity.
YMCA Lurgan were crowned Connection Cup Champions on Friday night for the first time, beating nine other teams to lift the coveted trophy.

The diverse team were made up of lads from around Lurgan including, Shankill, Mourneview, Kilwilkee and Taghnevan and only conceded one goal in the seven qualifying matches.
In a blistering semi final against Drumgor Detached Youth Work Project no goals were scored by either team so it went to penalties. Our goal keeper Shea Magee saved two spot kicks to put the team through to the final.
Again in a very tight contest against Emmanuel, it was 0-0 at the end of the match and it went to penalty kicks.
Our keeper Shea saved one penalty and allowed Aaron Withers to cooly slot home the winner under pressure.
It was a fantastic team effort and a brilliant night. The players, fans and coaches were ecstatic to be finally crowned champions and the celebrations continued late into the evening at McDonalds!



We are encouraging all of our young people and their parents to attend this event next Wednesday evening at Links, Lurgan. Some of our staff will be there as well.

RDC provides a range of development, support and training services for individuals, farmers, farm families, groups, communities, public or private sector organisations. Services can be provided within Northern Ireland or further afield.
Please check the booklet www.rdc.org.uk/our-services for an overview of the types of services on offer. RDC prides itself in offering a bespoke service based on needs. The RDC reputation is built upon its attention to detail, added value, thought leadership and value for money.
For general inquires about services on offer or if seeking a tailored service not listed please contact Corporate Services on 028 8676 6980. Alternatively please email smorrow@rdc.org.uk
please email smorrow@rdc.org.uk
During the second phase of their YTime MyTime year, 14 young people took part in a ten week film making project in conjunction with the local Police Community Safety Partnership. The young people wrote, filmed, acted and put a sound track to their short film which looked at anti-social behaviour, focussing on grafitti.
On Tuesday night they presented their film to around 200 people at Oxford Island Discovery Centre and were awarded with a DVD of their work along with a trophy.
It was a special night and we were proud of their finished work.






YES! means Youth Engagement Support. The programme is to support young people with disabilities in the community to access mainstream youth activities. Lurgan YMCA YES! programme is just that. Meeting each Wednesday night form 1900-2100hrs here at the YMCA. Most young people are referred to us from the Trust but not all, so get involved. Also to run this programme many volunteers and buddies are needed, so if you can support this please get in touch. Buddies are 15-18 yrs old who want to do something productive, get experience for UCAS or the Millennium Award or Duke of Ed or just have something worth while on their CV. If you want to know more, contact Kathy Dawson here at the YMCA 3831 1025 or kathy@ymcalurgan.com. The photos are from our 2013 summer scheme where we took the guys canoeing in Lurgan Park Lake. A new challenge for some and a chance to socialise with friends from YES! Hope to see you here really soon….