News, stories & updates

This week at The Grove @ Bedminster Down, staff from across our network came together and strengthened their friendships at our networking evening.

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The networking evening began with a delicious BBQ. Our Club Lead at The Grove, Jesse, kindly prepared burgers and sausages for everyone to enjoy. The group used this time as an opportunity to catch up with each other and find out what had been happening across the network.

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After everyone had eaten their BBQ, it was time to start the networking evening. Our staff started some group work by encouraging each other to share good things that happened across the clubs since the last networking event. It was great to hear what amazing work they had been doing over the last few months.

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We then saw an engaging presentation and activity from Shea Stew, our Mobile Provision Lead. Shea was able to teach everyone about detached youth work. The team put themselves into smaller groups, and acted out a scenario with a young person and a youth worker. This was a good way for them to learn new skills when practising detached youth work.

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Thank you to The Grove @ Bedminster Down's Youth Club staff for hosting the networking evening. The group all enjoyed the delicious BBQ.

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To find out more about our Community Youth Club network, click here!

Young Bristol value the amazing contributions corporate partners have made throughout our journey. Without their valued input, we would struggle to provide modern, engaging facilities for young people! 

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Recently, Vinci kindly offered to re-develop the car park area at BS14 Stockwood Youth Club. This space is now a functional space for young people and the wider community! The garden can now be used as a place to promote well-being and be used for informal educational activities.

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This week, Young Bristol hosted the grand opening of our well-being garden. We invited Vinci staff as well as local Stockwood residents to enjoy the event. The grand opening saw an amazing number of people, ranging from local police to local councillors!

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The first activity on the agenda was for our Patron, HM Lord-Lieutenant Peaches Golding OBE CStJ to meet young people in our after-school club. The group had some questions to ask her. It was great hearing the amazing questions they came up with!

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After the young people had asked all their questions, they were kindly gifted some goody bags, put together by Vinci. The bags included a Hi-Vis vest, with Vinci and Young Bristol logos printed on the back. Credits to Vinci for putting together these thoughtful gifts.

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It was then finally time to cut the ribbon and let everyone explore our garden. The honour of cutting the rope was given to our Patron, Peaches. After attempting to cut the ribbon with her sword, we decided it would be best to use scissors instead!

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When our guests had finished exploring the new garden, we invited everyone to join our formal tree planting ceremony, where our patron planted a fruit tree. Young people were then able to enjoy planting their own flowers around the tree. It was great to see their enthusiasm as they got their hands dirty and planted the new flowers.

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Finally, we gifted Vinci a tasty cake and flowers in a handmade pot. The pot was beautifully hand painted by Holly, our Corporates and Events Fundraising Lead! This gift was a token to show our appreciation to the hard work and generosity that Vinci have shown throughout this process.

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Thank you Vinci for refurbishing our car park, making it a usable space for young people and staff! To find out more about our youth club facilities, click here!

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Young Bristol value the ongoing dedication and contribution from our volunteers. Volunteers play a crucial role in enabling us to impact the communities we serve. Without their tireless efforts, we would struggle to achieve the collective impact we strive for! In recognition of the contribution from our volunteers, we have previously been awarded the Queens Award for Volunteers.

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Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to nominate a number of our volunteers to attend the Kings Coronation Garden Party held at Buckingham Palace.

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Kassim Hanid was one of our volunteers to attend the Buckingham Palace Garden Party. He has made significant contributions to Young Bristol as a trustee for many years. Kassim was delighted to be nominated to attend the garden party, attending with his partner Marcia.

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After attending the garden party Kassim said:

"Marcia and I enjoyed every minute of our time there - especially the comments on Marcia's outfit both at the event and the walk back to the car!"

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Steve and Helen Price both also attended the garden party. The pair were nominated as they have shown amazing dedication to Avon Youth Club's management board. After the event, we heard from Helen Price, who said:

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"What a wonderful day we had! It was such a big honour to attend."

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We would like to thank everyone that has got involved with volunteering at Young Bristol! The contributions you make are invaluable to us.

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Volunteering has a positive, long lasting effect on the charity. To find out how you can volunteer at Young Bristol, click here.

As part of Young Bristol’s 2022-25 Strategic Priorities, the charity will be focusing on investing in our infrastructure and resources to give young people and their communities an environment to thrive in.

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Recently, Vinci Building offered their time to redevelop the front area at BS14 Stockwood Youth Club. The old fencing was near collapsing and the grass area alongside the car park was over grown and unused.

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Vinci's generous offer meant that the outdoor area could be completely renovated! This included installing new fencing, moving the large container in the car park and adding a well-being garden to the overgrown area.

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This area is now a functional space for young people and the wider community. The addition of well-being garden and the new fencing has improved the club's appearance, making it more inviting for everyone to use.

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The well-being garden provides opportunities for young people to learn about their local environment. This space can also help to promote mental well-being and be a great quiet area to unwind and socialise. In the garden, young people can plant their own food and flowers as well as build eco-hubs, which can be a great start to promoting healthy eating and adopting healthy habits.

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Thank you to Vinci for offering your time to help improve our outdoor facilities. We would also like to thank the following organisations for your kind support: throughout this process:

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• EG Fencing Solutions LTD.
• Sandford Building Contractors LTD.
• Highadmit Projects.
• PEC Group.
• Juniper Construction and Groundwork.
• Sunbelt Rentals.
• Hurley.

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To find out more about our Community Youth Clubs, click here!

Young Bristol are incredibly proud of Millie, a young person attending The Grove @ Bedminster Down, who has been recognised as an "environmental hero" finalist for her amazing contribution to environmental sustainability.

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Millie has demonstrated a deep commitment when it comes to protecting and preserving her local wildlife and environment. She has constructed numerous wildlife habitats such as bird houses, bug hotels and bird feeders to create a safe and welcoming space for the local wildlife.

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"Millie's contributions to our community have been truly inspiring. Her dedication and commitment to environmental sustainability serve as a shining example to us all, and demonstrate the powerful impact that one person can make when they put their mind to it." says Jesse, Club Leader at The Grove.

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We wish Millie the best of luck at the upcoming Bristol Young Hero Awards on Friday 7th July.

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To find out more about our Community Youth Clubs, click here.

Young Bristol were 1 of 105 Welcoming Spaces that opened their doors to the local community over the colder months.

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During the winter months, we received funding from Bristol City Council, to open our doors to the local Stockwood Community. The Welcoming Spaces Initiative aims to provide everyone across Bristol a place to keep warm and cost of living support. Everyone that came through our doors was offered a free tea coffee and warm meal to enjoy!

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Since we opened our doors, we have seen a variety of different people, from child minders to elderly people. Everyone that attended took part in a range of activities we had on offer. From walking football, to enriching activities for toddlers, it was amazing to see locals interacting with new people. From January to March 2023, we have had 207 contacts with Stockwood's local community!

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Thank you Bristol City Council for providing us with vital funding, to help support Stockwood's local community. BS14 Stockwood Youth Club is still open Monday, Thursday and Friday, 10am-1pm for all as a Welcoming Space. This is a space for anyone to meet up, socialise and have access to a warm space. Our doors will be open until the end of May. Contact us for more information!

As part of Young Bristol’s 2022-25 Strategic Priorities, the charity will be focusing on developing long-term partnerships. Developing our partnerships allows Young Bristol to strengthen services and influence, which allows young people to thrive across our youth provision.

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We were thrilled to welcome the team from Amazon Web Services as they volunteered their time at BS14 Stockwood Youth Club this week. The team worked hard to further develop our gym room, sports cupboard and wellbeing garden.

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BS14’s sports cupboard is a well-loved room at the club, storing all of our sports equipment that young people enjoy using. The group were tasked with building new shelving units as well as making it more accessible and easier to navigate. This room now is well organized and equipment is easier to find.

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Our wellbeing garden is a new addition to BS14. We tasked the team with painting the fences and raking the ground, so seeds could be sown. It was great to see them add the final touches, ready for the local community to enjoy.

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In recent months, the gym room at BS14 has been the biggest transformation at the club. This was a room at the club young people and staff rarely used. The group at Amazon Web Services cleaned all of our gym equipment, and made the final touches. We now can use the gym for supervised activities. This gym room can be a real vital asset to the club, helping both young people and staff maintain good physical and mental health.

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“We had such an enjoyable day supporting the team at the BS14 Youth Club and we are so happy with everything we achieved together. Young Bristol provide extremely valuable support to some of the most vulnerable young people in Bristol and the surrounding areas - this has been a great opportunity for local Amazon Web Services employees to get together and give something back to our community.”

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Thank you, Amazon Web Services, for your amazing support this week! It’s great to work with corporate organisations to improve our facilities across our network. We would also like to thank the group for their kind donation. This donation will go towards helping young people to thrive in our youth clubs.

This Easter Holiday, we saw 2 weeks of Holiday Clubs delivered across Young Bristol’s Community Youth Club's and outdoor activity centre. We worked with new and existing young people, providing them with exciting and enriching new opportunities and provide them with a hot, healthy meals.

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Young Bristol’s Easter Holiday Clubs for 8 – 19 year olds are located in many areas across Bristol. During the holidays, our Community Youth Clubs and Outdoor Activities Team ran sessions both during the day and in the evening. Our team provided young people with activities, free prepared meals and a safe space to have fun! Our programmes had a focus on supporting those who receive free school meals.

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This Easter, Young Bristol saw:

• 139 young people.
• 645 contacts with young people.
• 22 sessions delivered.
• 4 communities supported.

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This Easter Holiday, our programmes supported children and young people to:

• Take part in new and exciting opportunities,
• Learn new skills and increase their confidence,
• Make new friendships.

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It was amazing to offer a wide range of activities for young people to enjoy! Ranging from sports to creative and even some Easter themed activities. Young Bristol also hosted an Interclub Arts Day, for young people across our network to enjoy! Throughout the Easter Holiday, we offered young people a free prepared meal. One of our clubs even finished the week with a BBQ!

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Young Bristol would like to thank our staff team, partner organisations and funders for helping to make this Easter one to remember! We would also like to thank the Your Holiday Hub Bristol Programme, supported by Bristol City Council and The Department for Education. This helped support 4 of our Community Youth Clubs over the Easter Half Term.

Over the last few months, Young Bristol have been offering sessions, specifically for Looked After Children!

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At BS14 Stockwood Youth Club, we have delivered 8 sessions of Looked After Children Positive Changes. Young people have been engaging in a club setting, taking part in sports, arts and discussion activities.

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As a part of our sporting offer, young people have taken part in weekly exercise sessions. The group have been able to utilise our sports hall and equipment in order to get that essential exercise!

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Both our creative and discussion activities offered young people to engage in key parts of our Positive Changes Programmes. Activities included discussion around strengths and weakness, role models and problem solving workshops. Young people were also able to create clay figures, graffiti art, and decorative masks. These activities all contribute to help young people make informed positive choices.

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Some of our young people's foster carers kindly left us some feedback, discussing how they have found our Looked After Children session so far.

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"Most of our looked after young people never get the opportunity to join clubs due to triggers and trauma, which effects their behaviour. It has been lovely to see our young people socialising, playing together and building forever friends."

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"My 3 young people really enjoy being part of an inclusive youth club, meeting with their peers, building new friendships and learning new skills."

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We would like to thank Children In Need for funding the Positive Changes Programme, ran with the Looked After Children group.

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We would also like to thank The Cause Bristol for helping us deliver Young Bristol's Positive Changes Programme. It is great to work with partners to help support young people.

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To find out more about our Community Youth Clubs and how you can get involved, click here!