Staff, volunteers and residents from YMCA Brighton are celebrating after taking home the Diversity Award at the highly anticipated YMCA Youth Matters Awards on Friday 18th November 2022.
YMCA Brighton which has provided services across Brighton and Portslade for the past 150 years won the prestigious title at the leading youth charity’s national ceremony, which was held at the exclusive Bloomsbury Big Top in central London, and hosted by BBC presenter, broadcaster and writer Reverend Kate Bottley.
The Diversity Award recognises YMCAs that have actively celebrated diversity across age, disability, gender identity, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion and beliefs.
YMCA Brighton triumphed over strong competition from other projects across England and Wales during shortlisting, a public vote and a final decision by judges. It was praised for creating an inclusive workplace for all staff and celebrating diversity.
Sarah Law, EDI Lead at YMCA Brighton said:
“It was such an honour to win the YMCA Diversity award, particularly since this award represents such an important area of work for us. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at YMCA Brighton and being acknowledged in this way is a true testament to all the hard work that our EDI team have put in to making us a fair and inclusive organisation.
YMCA Brighton Staff have worked incredibly hard to support the clients through an exceptionally difficult time, and I could not be prouder of everything they have delivered and achieved.
Thank you so much to everyone who supported us – we couldn’t have won this without you. We can’t wait to celebrate this fantastic win and use it to inspire YMCA Brighton to accomplish even more in the future.”
A key event in the YMCA calendar since 2009, YMCA’s Youth Matters Awards celebrates young people, communities, staff and volunteers for their outstanding achievements, inspiring feats against adversity and tireless dedication to creating change. Twelve coveted awards were up for grabs this year, across a series of diverse categories during an inspiring night of celebration and recognition.
Locally, YMCA Brighton provides housing, support and work and learning services across Brighton and Portslade.
Read more about YMCA Brighton at https://www.ymcabrighton.co.uk and for more information on YMCA’s Youth Matters Awards visit www.ymca.org.uk/about/awards.
