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.
Corporate & NGO Sponsors
platinum sponsors €10,000 +
silver sponsors €3,500 +
gold sponsors €6,000 +
bronze sponsors €1,000 +
The 20K Bridge for Homeless
In 2024, Bridge (www.bridge.mt) launched the initiative –The 20K Bridge for Homeless – to bring together twenty firms that are willing to contribute to YMCA’s cause, generating twenty thousand for the homeless in Malta. The following firms committed to donate to YMCA.
Patrons
Niki cassar
“My dream was to teach and to share what I have gained.” – Niki Cassar.
Nikolai was a Maltese aid worker and one of the YMCA volunteers who helped set up a 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 the Andes in Peru and in Bali, Indonesia promoting the trade of traditional handcrafts with Malta on behalf of Aw Tribu and the YMCA. He died in a motorcycle crash in Bali on April 19, 2003. He was 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 those local heroes who have dedicated their lives to helping others. Nikolai is but one of them. His vision is dreamed anew every day at our residential facility for homeless people, named in honour of him: ‘Dar Niki Cassar’ – ‘Niki Cassar’s Home’.
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 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.