Benefactors
The work we undertake inspires many in the public and private spheres to help us lend a hand to those less fortunate. Whether through monetary support or the donation of food and other essentials, or by offering an entertaining day out for those who would otherwise not be able to afford it, we are graciously assisted in our work by our beloved benefactors.
Essential DAR Partners
Our In-Kind Angels of Dignity, Access & Refuge. Their in-kind support help us on so many levels❤️
Adopt a DAR Partners
Our DAR Partners who donate €250 to Adopt-a-DAR, and become a cornerstone of YMCA Malta’s mission to provide not just temporary shelter, but a pathway to stability, dignity,
and long-term reintegration for individuals and families
in need.
❤️ Their contribution supports a holistic package of care
that touches every pillar of our DAR campaign: Dignity,
Access, and Refuge.
❤️This donation represents a symbolic “adoption” of the
core work YMCA Malta carries out daily – a direct investment in the belief that every person deserves a place to call home.
365 for DAR – Dignity – Access – Refuge for All!
Our Daily Supporters of Dignity, Access & Refuge: Their financial (€1/day) support help us to:
❤️Shelter to individuals, families and children experiencing homelessness.
❤️Provide daily hot meals and snacks to those experiencing rooflessness.
❤️Give access to mental health sessions, clothing & hygiene support.
❤️Provide staff support for reintegration planning.
The DAR Giving Circle – A Door to Dignity
Our Copper Donors of Dignity. Their financial (€3/day) support help us to:
❤️Support our initial needs to homeless individuals, families & children when they are admitted in our shelters with hygiene kits, basic clothing, and a warm welcome into shelter.
The DAR Giving Circle – A Path to Access
Our Silver Donors of Dignity. Their financial (€10/day) support help us to:
❤️Support not only the initial needs to homeless individuals, families & children but also their entry into casework, medical support, and psychosocial care.
The DAR Giving Circle – A Year of Refuge
Our Gold Donors of Refuge. Their financial (€20/day) support help us to:
❤️Support the initial needs to homeless individuals, families & children, their entry into casework, medical support, psychosocial care and sustained access to shelter, meals, and emotional support throughout the year – a stable foundation for long-term change.
The DAR Giving Circle – Future Builders of DAR
Our Platinum Donors of Refuge. Their financial (€30/day) support help us to:
❤️Support long-term outcomes: reintegration, education, housing support, and advocacy for systemic change.
The DAR Community Lifeline Partners
In 2024, Bridge Advice launched the initiative – Bridge for Homeless – to bring together 20 firms willing to become bridge builders as community lifeline partners to contribute to YMCA’s cause.
YMCA Heroes
Niki cassar
Nikolai was a Maltese aid worker and one of the YMCA volunteers who helped set up the first homeless shelter in Malta as well as on missionary abroad.
Niki was a global citizen with a powerful sense of social responsibility. He worked in Andes in Peru, in Bali and in Indonesia promoting the trade of traditional handcrafts in Malta on behalf of Aw Tribu and the YMCA. He died in a motorcycle crash in Bali on April 19, 2003 at the age of 29.
Sometimes missionaries and aid workers abroad may get disheartened being so far from home. Their work is not flashy, not glamorous and rarely held in high regard compared to other money-first careers. However, Nikolai’s death, as tragic as it is, has shown that such people are valued and commemorated.
Life is becoming increasingly hectic for us all: people rarely get a moment to pause and reflect. But it is important to remember local heroes who have dedicated their lives helping others. Nikolai is but one of them. His vision is dreamed anew every day at our residential facility ‘Dar Niki Cassar’ – ‘Niki Cassar’s Home’ where 34 individuals, families and children experiencing homelessness are sheltered.
Simon Soler
In 1999, Simon Soler decided to start a business selling detergents and toiletries serving customers directly at their doorstep, at a time where it was very uncommon for supermarkets and grocers to provide delivery for their products.
From the beginning of his operations, Simon sought to help those in need through his business by way of product or monetary donations. This desire resulted in supporting numerous NGOs and organisations providing them with frequent aid such as the Ursuline Sisters, Suret il-Bniedem, Dar Merhba Bik, St. Joseph Home Zabbar and of course YMCA . He ensured that our residents are serviced directly at ‘Dar Niki Cassar’ personally and he always had time to sit down with them, listen to their suffering and support them to become self-sufficient, make healthy choices and encouraged them to become independent.
Simon, sadly passed away in 2016 at the age of 51 after battling a serious disease for 3 years. His encouragement lives on at ‘Dar Simon Soler’ our second-stage shelter for 16 individuals, families and children supported in their process of reintegration in society after they have experienced homelessness.
Albert Degiorgio
YMCA Malta was established in 1976 when Albert Degiorgio was inspired by a Scottish YMCA summer camp. Initially the YMCA centered around a coffee bar in Valletta, the early activities included organizing concerts, visiting patients in hospitals, hosting Christmas parties for children, and conducting street patrols.
The National Council was formed in 1989 with support from YMCA Europe, YMCA Scotland, and the Swiss parish of Wil. Four local associations were established within the first two years. During Albert’s time YMCA Malta engaged in various programs such as international youth exchanges, English language courses, literacy programs, a suicide helpline, canoeing, first aid training, street theater, counseling, and providing homeless shelters.
Albert passed away at the age of 73 but remains forever in our hearts and in the soul of our work. Until the very last days Albert kept visiting the YMCA Head Office to ensure YMCA remains active and contemporary. He never missed a visit at ‘Dar Niki Cassar’ even when the facility was moved outside of Valletta.
In November 2023, YMCA Malta organised a Conference ‘Soul Empowerment: A Holistic Care Programme in Memory of Albert Degiorgio’. Alber’s vision to support young people, with a particular focus on those living on the streets, at a time when other supportive NGOs and services did not yet exist, remains alive. Since then, his vision grew and so did YMCA in Malta
Y’S FRIENDS MALTA
Y’s Friends was founded in 2004 and currently consists of eight members, all whom hold our mission statement at heart. Y’s Friends raison d’être is as a service club to the YMCA Malta, assisting us in our operational needs on a project-by-project basis. The group meets with key staff from our team approximately 6 times a year and projects are identified and planned together.
Y’s Friends was founded in 2004 and currently consists of eight members, all whom hold our mission statement at heart. Y’s Friends raison d’être is as a service club to the YMCA Malta, assisting us in our operational needs on a project-by-project basis. The group meets with key staff from our team approximately 6 times a year and projects are identified and planned together.
Y’s Friends is affiliated with Y’s Men International, a collaboration from which we have also benefited in the past. In 2000, Y’s Men International sponsored the opening of Dar Nikki Cassar (DNC) homeless shelter in St. Paul’s Street, Valletta with a donation of 20,000 USD. This enabled YMCA Malta to fund the salaries of its first employees.
Y’s Friends has concentrated its efforts on fundraising for the YMCA Malta and recently obtained a donation of €20,000 from the Dutch YMCA to furnish the new Msida shelter. The kitchen was completely renovated, bunk beds and mattresses for 30 sleeping places were renewed, as well as office furniture and other essential items.
International friends of YMCA Malta who are visiting the islands are always impressed with our work and are eager to help. One such friend, a Scotsman, donated €1000, and the next year followed it up with another donation of €1500. He had collected this money instead of gifts for his 70th and 71st birthdays and passed it on to us.
At every Y’s Friends meeting members bring along a food hamper which is then passed onto our homeless shelter, saving us on daily food expenses. At one meeting, a member obtained a food donation worth €400! However the expenses of the YMCA Malta are ever-growing and it was therefore decided that Y’s Friends should refocus its efforts on Corporate Social Responsibility. This forms the foundation of its current work.
