News, stories & updates

On Wednesday 15th November, Young Bristol are celebrating 10 years of our Outdoor Employment Programme!

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Young Bristol's Outdoor Employment Programme (formerly known as the Instructor Training Scheme) was founded in 2013, where we have welcomed 30-60 trainees onto the programme each year! The programme offers young people 12 instructor qualifications in a range of outdoor activities, with a training process that allows them to meet local employers such as SS Great Britain and Redpoint Climbing Centre.

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We have seen some outstanding successes from the programme, with at least 80% of the trainees starting further education, training or employment within a year of their first session. The Outdoor Employment Programme has become a huge asset to young people in Bristol, and we are proud to be celebrating 10 years of success with the programme!

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Our set guest list will join us from 6:30pm, where they will enjoy champagne and canapes on arrival. We plan to hear from former and current trainees who have been through the programme, who will discuss how the Outdoor Employment Programme has positively impacted them!

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Located at SS Great Britain Harbourside Kitchen, Great Western Dockyard, Gas Ferry Road, BS1 6TY. Paid parking is available at the venue.

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To find out more about our Outdoor Employment Programme, click here!

As part of Young Bristol’s 2022-25 Strategic Priorities, the charity will be focusing on developing long-term partnerships. 

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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 delighted to welcome the team from Unite Students to BS14 Youth Club, where they volunteered to help with maintenance of our well-being garden.

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Our well-being garden and car park were in desperate need of maintenance, with winter quickly approaching. The group weeded around the club, tidied our hedgerows and overgrown brushes and gave the garden a makeover. The team used seed and plants kindly donated by Vinci!

On Sunday 15th October, 7 runners signed up to run the Bath Half Marathon, raising money for Young Bristol!

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Runners set off from Royal Avenue, racing 2 laps hugging the River Avon and completing the Bath Half by returning to Royal Avenue. Our 7 runners, fundraising for Young Bristol set off from the starting line around 10:20am. Each of our runners pledged to raised us at least £250, and each one smashed this target!

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Justin stated: 

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"The day was perfect for running. The build up was easier knowing you're raising money for such a worthwhile cause!"

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Angad added: 

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"I have really enjoyed fundraising because of the work Young Bristol does. On the day, I really liked the vest. It was quite a challenge, but I enjoyed it all-in-all."

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Jack also shared:

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"It was great to have a vest which made it feel like more of a team event as opposed to individuals. I felt welcomed as part of the team!"

Over the last four months, former Young Bristol employee, Lisa, cycled around the UK to raise money for our charity!

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Lisa cycled a grand total of 4,426 miles, starting and ending her journey from Bristol. She travelled around the coast of Wales and up to far norths of Scotland! Some of her favourite places she visited on her travels were West coasts of Scotland, Isle of Wight and Holy Island Causeway.

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"It was great being able to see the UK on a bike. I had the chance to see the UK at a slower pace and meet new people along the way. It was such an adventure! Everyone has been so helpful and friendly along the way."

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"I chose to fundraise for Young Bristol as I believe they do an awful lot for young people. They are able to give an increasing amount of young people access to a range of adventures!"

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From her travels, Lisa has been able to raise over £3,400 for Young Bristol, and this continues to rise! Donate to Lisa's fundraiser.

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 SUEZ, who volunteered at BS14 Youth Club to help with outdoor maintenance.

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Our Youth Club On Wheels currently lives in the car park of BS14 Youth Club. As the trees down the lane have continued to grow, the mobile struggles to drive down the lane without being scratched and damaged. The overgrown bushes and trees were in desperate need of trimming, so our mobile would not become more damaged.

Last week, our Community Youth Club team took part in LGBTQ+ training.

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The LGBTQ+ training was delivered to our staff at Ashton Vale Club for Young People by Off The Record - a mental health social movement for young people aged 11-25.

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During the training, the team looked at the importance of identity and pronouns, initial perceptions when you first meet people and assumptions that could be made. 

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This training was beneficial for our team and helped them to gain confidence when engaging in conversations with young people around this topic. The group even looked at some scenarios and how they would safely and appropriately approach each situation.

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Thank you Off The Record for delivering an amazing session of LGBTQ+ training. It was great for the team to get together and discuss the topic and how they can apply this training in our Community Youth Clubs.

This week, The Grove @ Bedminster Down joined a number of different youth clubs to take part in the final session of NatWest Thrive with Marcus Rashford!

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Our first group of young people this year have graduated from the NatWest Thrive programme with Marcus Rashford! This amazing programme has helped young people at The Grove think about their goals, learn new life skills and develop good money habits.

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We heard some inspiring words for Luke Vernon, who hosted the NatWest Thrive graduation. He recognised all young peoples achievements across the programme, and the group enjoyed virtually interacting across Zoom.

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The team at The Grove won a prize for finding the most things around their club starting with the letter "t". They smashed this activity by finding an outstanding 34 items around the club!

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This was a night to remember for Sennen as she won a Natwest Thrive award. Sennen was nominated for this award for her commitment throughout the Thrive programme. She put in 100% effort into all of the sessions and saw an increase in her financial literacy skills as result of the programme.

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Thank you to NatWest, NYA and Marcus Rashford for hosting the NatWest Thrive programme. This has helped our young people build self-belief and money knowhow, so they feel confident to reach for their dreams!

This week, Young Bristol were delighted to host our Golf Day and Dinner. We invited 40 golfers to Long Ashton Golf Course, to take part in the club's 18-hole course.

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Guests started the day with a bacon roll, hot drink and goody bag! Lots of our teams arrived early, eager to start their day of golf! While teams waited for their tee time, they had the opportunity to network and mingle with other teams. Tee off began from 1:00pm!

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Once teams began to return from the 18-hole course, teams tucked into their choice of dinners. Teams chose from lasagna, Steak and Ale pie or Ham, egg and chips!

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After all our teams had their dinner, we announced the winners of our golf day. The winning team received a bottle of prosecco, golf club covers and a sleeve of YB branded balls. The runners up of the competition won golf club covers and a sleeve of YB branded balls. Third places winners won a sleeve of YB branded balls. Congratulations to our top 3 teams for winning their prizes.

We are delighted to publish this years Impact Report 2022-23. Our Impact report demonstrates the positive impact Young Bristol continue to have on an increasing number of young people, in and around Bristol.

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This years report will be released at our Fundraising Golf Day, Monday 18th September 2023! Our Golf Day is welcoming 10 teams from a range of corporate partners to take part in an 18-hole competition at Long Ashton Golf Club.

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We cannot do this on our own, so I would like to acknowledge the incredible efforts and support offered to us by so many supporters.

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Our key highlights:

• 20,562 contacts with young people.
• 1,489 sessions delivered during 2022-23.
• 1,818 unique individuals supported
• 50 qualifications gained from our Outdoor Employment Programme
• 16 communities supported.

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"The youth club means everything to me, it literally saved me."

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Download our 2022-23 Impact Report

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Read our previous reports here.