Y-Care (South East Queensland) Inc. has been the benevolent arm of the Young Men's Christian Association of Brisbane (YMCA of Brisbane) since July 2005.  Whilst the YMCA of Brisbane continues to operate charitable services, Y-Care solely concentrates on benevolent activities.

For over 140 years, the YMCA of Brisbane has been well recognised for running a variety of charitable programs and services. Since the creation of Y-Care (South East Queensland) Inc., the Brisbane YMCA together with an increasing number of donors, supporters and volunteers is now able to offer a much more diverse range of benevolent services to positively impact on an increasingly larger number of persons, particularly in the South- East corner of Queensland.  In particular, Y-Care has further strengthened its focus on the provision of facilities and programs for disadvantaged young people who are in desperate need of help.

Over the next 5 years, Y-Care (Southeast Queensland) Inc., together with project partners and donors,  will endeavour to commit over $10 million to support more than ten benevolent programs, and these services are already positively influencing the lives of thousands of people in necessitous circumstances.

Some of the Programs that Y-Care currently run are:

School Breakfast

Y-Care in partnership with Education Queensland, Food bank Queensland and the Clem Jones Group commenced the YMCA Schools’ Breakfast Program with five state schools in September 2006.

The program today provides over 16,000 free breakfasts each month to school students across 26 schools in the Logan and South Brisbane Region. The benefit of this program is that students commence the school day after a healthy breakfast that contributes to more effective learning.

Food for Homeless

Y-Care has committed to alleviate hunger for homeless and disadvantaged young people in South East Queensland by way of preparation and distribution of nutritious prepackaged meals. Currently over 14,000 meals a year are prepared in the kitchen at the YMCA War Memorial - Camp Warrawee. 

Youth Homelessness

Many of the social problems faced by youth (crime, substance abuse, solicitation) can develop from difficulties in sourcing suitable, safe, affordable accommodation. Y-Care aims to combat this by

• providing a safe and secure place for young people to live, therefore removing them from environments of distress and suffering.
• Sourcing suitable vocational training and work placements in order to maximise the chances of gaining longterm employment.
• Training the youth in suitable life skills, and lead them away from transient lifestyles and towards a stable home environment.

Youth Benevolence

Youth benevolence programs aim to improve the lives of young people in disadvantaged circumstances by providing developmental activities to assist them in overcoming despair and helplessness.

The young people’s personal development will focus upon the building of confidence and self-esteem, and allow them to connect with their peers and community.