The Y Southland

12/10/2026

Before she was one of New Zealand’s best known voices, Suzanne Prentice was a thirteen year old with a guitar and a couple of songs, opening a YMCA show in the mid 1970s.

Suzanne remembers singing “Horse with No Name”. She later sang at a YMCA carol service at the Queens Park rotunda, one of her happiest memories.

“Every time I hear it today it takes me back to that afternoon show when I was thirteen years old.”

For more faces, stories and memories, come along to the 150 Faces of The Y exhibition.

Friday 16 October, 3pm to 6pm
The Y Stadium, Tay Street
Free, everyone welcome

09/10/2026

Meet Helen, the powerhouse behind our 150 faces. Thanks to your nominations, she tracked down each person and gathered their stories and photos.
A massive effort, thank you Helen.

Now we’re busy getting ready to show you the exhibition. As much as it’s about The Y, it’s a reflection of the Southland community and the many moments where The Y has been part of your life.

We can’t wait to welcome you back through our doors next Friday.

Come and view the exhibition, enjoy the DJ and face painting, and build a nostalgic pick and mix lolly bag from our candy bar while you wander.

Friday 16 October, 3pm to 6pm
The Y Southland, Tay Street
Free, everyone welcome

08/10/2026

Thank you Darren and Radio Southland for allowing us to deep dive in to the history and impact of the YMCA in Southland, and share our commitment to honours its impact through this upcoming birthday exhibition. 🎈

150 Years of the Y is an exhibition celebrating the work of the YMCA in Southland. Darren chats to YMCA CEO Steve Broad to find out more
https://bit.ly/3U9zqtr

05/10/2026

Thanks for having us More FM Southland 89.2 and supporting our 150th celebrations!

See you next Friday 🎈

Great to chat with Steve & Helen from The Y Southland this morning!

They’re celebrating their 150th year with 150 Faces of The Y 👏🏽

Check out the exhibition next Friday at The Y on Tay Street, things kick off from 3pm.

01/10/2026

🎉 Happy 5th birthday, KiwiHarvest Invercargill!

We were privileged to join the celebrations at Murihiku Marae and recognise five incredible years of KiwiHarvest, 1.4 million kilograms of food rescued across Southland, and making a huge difference across our community.

For us at The Y, that impact is felt every single week.

Through our partnership with KiwiHarvest, incredible kai is delivered to support our programmes and our rangatahi, including food that heads home with young people to support their whānau. It’s practical, meaningful support that helps make sure good food gets to where it can make a difference, rather than going to waste.

But the impact goes even further.

As a not-for-profit, every dollar matters. The kai KiwiHarvest provides means money we would otherwise spend purchasing food can instead be invested back into our programmes, opportunities and support for rangatahi. In that way, their generosity doesn’t help fuel our people, it helps us stretch our resources further and do more for young people across Southland.

A huge thank you to Angela, Jennifer, Dwight and the entire KiwiHarvest team for your mahi, and your commitment to our community.

Happy birthday from all of us at The Y! 🎂🎉💚

29/09/2026

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To everyone who nominated someone or shared a story or memory about The Y from the last 150 years in the South, we are so grateful.

Your stories have taken us back through generations. We’ve read about first jobs, late nights at the iconic dances, holiday programmes, camps, friendships and the people who made this place feel like home.

Right now we’re busy reading every one, bringing them together and getting ready to share them with you.

We can’t wait to show you a reflection of the many faces behind 150 years of The Y. Stay tuned.

17/09/2026

Got a story of your own from any era? We're collecting 150 of them ahead of our 150th celebrations. You've got till midnight tonight to share it with us. Share yours, or nominate someone whose story deserves telling. Get them in quick!
https://ysouthland.org.nz/faces-of-the-y-nominations/

Photo credit: Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

17/09/2026

Make sure you’re following The Y Southland Gym page for all the latest info and updates from our Y Gym! 💪

🔥 6AM. Spring mornings. And a FULL HOUSE.

Huge shout-out to this bunch of legends who keep showing up, putting in the mahi and bringing the energy to our Thursday 6am HIIT class. 💪

And a big shout-out to Charles for another awesome session and for keeping everyone moving (and possibly questioning their life choices before breakfast 😂).

If you’ve been thinking about giving one of our classes a go, here’s your reminder: group fitness classes are included in your Y membership — along with 24/7 gym access, sauna and plenty more.

Come for the workout. Stay for the people. 💙

Check out Y memberships and what’s included in the comments👇

17/09/2026

A massive thank you to the team at Community Trust South for continuing to invest in the organisations doing mahi across our region.

As a charitable trust, The Y Southland was incredibly grateful to access this workshop - strengthening our financial knowledge, planning and stewardship, and ultimately helping us build a stronger, more sustainable organisation.

We’re fortunate to have a funder that invests not only in community organisations, but in making them stronger.

Ngā mihi nui, Community Trust South! 💙

Understanding the numbers behind the mahi 📊

For many community organisations, financial oversight is carried out by passionate volunteers who may not have formal financial training.

Our recentFinancial Skills for Non-Financial Managers workshop was designed to help build confidence in understanding financial information, business planning and organisational sustainability.

By investing in capability alongside funding, we're helping community organisations make informed decisions and build a stronger future.

You can learn more about the events on offer here:
https://www.communitytrustsouth.nz/news/

15/09/2026

🚨 A massive local business shout-out to the team at Kiwi Enviro! 🙌

We had some unexpected plumbing chaos at our Omaui Camp today, with another school group due to arrive tomorrow. A late-afternoon mayday call went out - and Kiwi Enviro answered it.

Their legend Sam headed out to Omaui at short notice and stayed well beyond 5pm, working alongside our Y team, determined to get the job done. Thanks to that effort, tomorrow’s group of rangatahi can head out and enjoy camp as planned. 💚

It’s another reminder of how lucky we are to have local businesses and people who genuinely go above and beyond when our community needs them.

From all of us at The Y - thank you Kiwi Enviro, and especially Sam. You absolutely saved the day! 👏