News, stories & updates

New partnership with Redpoint Bristol will see Young Bristol's Outdoor Employment Programme trainees work at the Indoor Climbing Centre!

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Young Bristol's FREE Outdoor Employment Programme is open to young people ages 16 – 25 across Bristol. This scheme supports young people to gain qualifications, meet new friends, and build a future towards a positive employment as an outdoor instructor, with our partnered local outdoor centres.

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Five trainees from our Outdoor Employment Programme have begun their training and work experience at the Indoor Climbing Centre. It is fantastic to be collaborating with local outdoor pursuit centres, supporting our city's young people in gaining access to employment opportunities. A massive thanks to Redpoint Bristol for all their support!

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If you're aged between 16 - 25 and want to get involved with the Outdoor Employment Programme, contact Phil Harris at ph@youngbristol.com. We will be recruiting new trainees in early December!

“There are loads of benefits to working with Young Bristol, in terms of business, as well as culture and morale” – Chris Sheard, founder of SR2 Recruitment.

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Corporate partnerships are important to Young Bristol and aim to be mutually beneficially to the parties involved; encouraging team building, meeting corporate social responsibility objectives, securing positive PR and supporting corporates to reach new audiences. Our partnerships aim to ensure shared value and impact.

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Local business SR2 (Socially Responsible Recruitment) winners of ‘Best New Agency’ at the Recruiter Awards 2020, are a recruitment company founded in 2017 in Bristol, specialising in IT and Engineering recruitment. It is important to SR2 as a business to be socially responsible, contributing to society by prioritising people and giving back to the local community. And so during 2020-21, the company chose Young Bristol to be one of two of SR2’s Charity of the Years. At SR2 it is core to the business to not only support charities and make a difference financially, but to also ensure that there is staff involvement during the partnership, and that the charity they support is in line with their corporate beliefs.

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Young Bristol has been on SR2’s radar because of its great reputation and being in the press as an award winning charity, said Chris, owner of SR2. SR2’s process of selecting a charity partner is always through staff recommendations, ensuring that the team feel connected to the cause they are helping. The ethos of Young Bristol really stood out to SR2 as a children’s charity that is driven in creating opportunities, and being active in helping young people find their potential.

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The proactive and outdoor approach of Young Bristol is also very much in-line with the interests of SR2, as staff can go out and volunteer in the community, which is great in ensuring staff from SR2 can see the difference that their support is having. It is very important to SR2 “to not just write a cheque”, but to be as involved as possible in the charity; and Young Bristol provides multiple opportunities to do so, which results in “ a definite increase in staff engagement”, adds Chris.

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During 2020, SR2 donated over £8,300 to Young Bristol, as well as six members of their team getting involved in Young Bristol’s fundraising event, raising an additional £600! Events like the Road to River Duathlon have been a great way for staff to volunteer and get involved with the charity, so early on in the partnership.

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2021 saw the partnership continue, with SR2 planning to engage with further volunteering opportunities to benefit the local community such as workshops to improve CV writing and employability skills, as well as taking part in a recent fundraising challenge which saw their team cycle virtually from Bristol to Berlin… and back.

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SR2 this week surprised the Young Bristol team, donating £41,716.38 to Young Bristol and Jessie May Trust. This outstanding charitable donation will support Young Bristol's Outdoor Employment Programme and Creative Programme, developing confidence and allowing a safe space for expressive working, and providing young people with new skills, unique opportunities and a direct pathway into employment.

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SR2’s partnership with Young Bristol continues to have a positive impact, with Chris adding, *“Our partnership with Young Bristol feels like a good fit for us and even in the current climate, is a partnership that can grow”. Thank you SR2!

We are delighted to announce the appointment of four new Trustees to the Young Bristol Board.

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These appointments come at an exciting – as well as challenging time for the charity, supporting Young Bristol's developing work with children and young people across Bristol. We continue to build on the importance that Young Bristol's Board has a broad representation of skills, background and experiences; as well as a shared passion for our mission.

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Meet the Trustees

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Victoria Matthews, Trustee, Victoria joined the Board of Young Bristol in 2021, she currently oversees the management of the Bristol & West of England Initiative at Business West, bringing together city and community leaders. Victoria works with stakeholders across the city, representing employers and key sectors across the economy, to ensure our region is the best place to live, learn and work. Victoria helps shape and influence our city and also sits on the Bristol Women’s Commission. Victoria previously studied politics at Cardiff University and is passionate about ensuring equality and diversity is at the heart of decisions and making sure our city’s young people have a voice. Out of work you can find Victoria walking her dog, baking or cycling. (Image ID: 13337)

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Charles Wyld, Trustee, Charles joined the Board of Young Bristol in 2021, having previously been involved through Bristol Youth and Community Action. He has served as Trustee/Governor for a number of organisations in Bristol and elsewhere, and was Chair of St George’s Bristol for 6 years. Following a career in Law, Charles now acts as Consultant/Adviser/Trustee to a range of businesses, families and charities; helping with governance and strategic planning. He was High Sheriff of the City of Bristol in 2019. As a father of three sons, he knows the value of activities in the outdoors! (Image ID: 13318)

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Marcus Graham, Trustee, Marcus Graham is the head of Transaction Services at Smith & Williamson’s Bristol office. Marcus had various positions in not-for-profit organisations in London before relocating to Bristol with his young family in 2016. He is committed to Bristol and to contributing his skills to support the provision and development of opportunities for young people in the city. (Image ID: 13323)

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Mark Hammond, Trustee, Mark spent four decades working in social and private sector housing and support, focusing particularly on meeting the needs of young people leaving local authority care. He has chaired and served on the governing bodies of a range of community-based charities and voluntary organisations. Growing up in coastal Kent, Mark spent much of his spare time at the local youth club and outdoor pursuits centre. He learned there about the importance of safe, supportive environments that enable young people to be challenged and develop through new activities. Mark moved to Bristol in 2019 to help care for his new granddaughter. (Image ID: 13320)

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A special recognition

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Young Bristol would also like to share our biggest thanks to Trustee Robin Geller, who this year retired from Young Bristol's Board. We would like to thank Robin for dedicating her time, effort, support, and guidance, in particular surrounding her work on Governance, throughout her time as Trustee of Young Bristol. We are thrilled however to be welcoming Robin into her new supporting position of Vice President. (Image ID: 8277)

Young Bristol have today been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

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Young Bristol is an outstanding provider of community-based youth services that positively and sustainably impact the lives of young people aged 8 – 24 years.

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Founded in 1928, Young Bristol has evolved into one of Bristol’s leading youth charities, providing 9 Community Youth Clubs and a Youth Club on Wheels, Outdoor Activities, as well as Sports, Creative, Employment and Educational programmes in communities across the city.

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Volunteers are at the centre of our work; working with young people during their critical non-school hours to offer a choice of opportunities, experiences, education, training and accredited learning.

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Lee Williams, CEO of Young Bristol commented, “On behalf of everyone connected with Young Bristol, including the many volunteers who support our work in so many ways, we are deeply honoured to receive this prestigious Award. 

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"Our army of volunteers make a profound and lasting impact on the lives of the children and young people we work with, supporting, inspiring and empowering them to succeed.”

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We are delighted to announce that two new Trustees have been appointed to the Young Bristol Board.

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These appointments build on the importance that Young Bristol has a broad representation of skills, backgrounds and experiences on our Board, to help steer the charity as we develop and diversify our services.

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Carolyn Jenkins, Trustee

Carolyn has many years’ experience across a broad range of commercial disciplines and industry sectors. She currently divides her time between working on commercialisation projects at the University of Bristol, holding roles as Director/Observer on the boards of various University spin out companies, and other freelance and charitable activities. Carolyn joined Young Bristol as a Trustee in December 2019, and is committed to Bristol and supporting the development of young people in the city.

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Jenny Singleton, Trustee

Jenny works at a local secondary school as a Deputy Head with responsibility for School Development. She has recently moved back to Bristol having worked in and around London as a Maths teacher and pastoral leader for over twenty years. Jenny is delighted to be back in the city where she grew up and is committed to supporting the work and aims of Young Bristol. She enjoys running, particularly in the Bristol 10K and is currently completing her Doctorate in Education at UWE. Jenny is also a governor at Claremont Special School.

At Young Bristol we believe that every young person has the right to discover what they're capable of; supporting them to be confident, healthy, responsible, resilient and successful.

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We are pleased to share this short-video 'Our Values', featuring young people from our Community Youth Clubs, outdoor activities and educational programmes, sharing the impact of our work in their own words.

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With special thanks to Ashton Vale Club for Young People, Avon Youth Club, Sea Mills Boys' and Girls Club, Hartcliffe Club for Young People, and City of Bristol College, for featuring in the video. We would also like to thank PaoloR Freelance Web Designer and Videographer for producing the short-video.

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Watch here: https://youtu.be/-rjum4fTFPg

The Grove will be re-opening on Tuesday 12th November, for young people aged 8 - 14!

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The Youth Club based in Bedminster Down is re-opening its doors, offering opportunities for young people locally to socialise and take part in youth-centered activities, such as creative and sports sessions.

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The Grove will open on Tuesday 12th November, 6:30 - 8:30pm at 27A Cheddar Grove, BS13 7EN. Entry is FREE for the first session, 50p per session thereafter. Tuck available.

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For more information please contact Young Bristol on 0117 929 2513 or email info@youngbristol.com.

We have officially launched our new mobile ‘Youth Club on Wheels’ this month with an event on May 8th at The Station in central Bristol to celebrate. For years Young Bristol has been bridging the gap in providing safe, social spaces for young people to turn to. Keeping them away from crime and anti-social behaviour by providing positive out of school activities and programmes. We run eight clubs in Bristol and have many more in our wider clubs network however many children live in areas with no youth clubs or provision. Our new youth bus will enable us to get to those hard-to-reach areas in the city and rural areas.

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On the night we had lots of fun playing in and outside of the bus with some of our youth club members and invited guests. BBC Points West were in attendance filming LIVE for the evening news and we were joined by the Bristol Post too. Their article can be ready HERE. We were also delighted to joined by Paul Andrew from Heart FM West Country who had some of the YB team on the Breakfast show with Ed, Troy and Paulina that morning.

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Held almost a year to the day since the initial appeal launch, we were joined by our supporters and funders to celebrate the success of the appeal and the new service we will be offering. Alongside the activities we had inspiring speeches by our chair Jamie Cameron, as well as our President, Jonathan Webb, our Patron Peaches Golding OBE and Bristol Cllr Anna Keen.

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We are incredibly grateful to each individual and to the charitable trusts that have kindly donated to the appeal. Without your help we would not be able to provide this service.

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The Youth Club on Wheels will be heading over to Shirehampton in the coming weeks to begin work in the local community. If you would like to find out more please email us in info@youngbristol.com or call 0117 929 2513.

Since the Youth Bus for Young Bristol #YB4YB Appeal came to a close in 2018, we have been working hard behind the scenes to make our dream of a Mobile Youth Provision for Bristol and the surrounding areas a reality.

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We can now reveal the design of the bus which is on schedule to be delivered next month in February. The designs include a space to complete homework, an area to learn about preparing healthy meals, a safe place to talk to our youth workers and to relax and socialise with friends. There will also be a detachable awning to create a separate outdoor space. From the mobile youth provision, Young Bristol will provide social, creative, multimedia, sports and indoor and outdoor projects and activities for young people to take part in.

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We have worked with young people from our Community Youth Clubs to name the mobile provision and have settled on two options either, the Mobile Youth Club or Youth Club on Wheels. The chosen name will be incorporated into the final design.

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From discussions with local BCC councillors such as Councillor Helen Godwin (Cabinet Member for Children’s Services), and data pulled from our youth clubs, we have identified three strategic areas within the Bristol City Council boundaries in which we are focusing our efforts. These include but are not limited to Shirehampton & Avonmouth, Henbury and Oldbury Court/Hillfields.

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Following discussions with Bath and North East Somerset Council, we will also be working across certain areas of BANES, such as Keynsham and areas within Chew Valley.

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As the appeal now stands, we have raised the stretch target of £120,000, which not only enabled us to purchase and design the bus but will also contribute to its running and staff costs.

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We would like to express our enormous gratitude to five of our key donors, The Nisbet Trust, The Nani Huyu Trust, The St Johns Foundation, The Society of Merchant Venturers, The Fairfield Charitable Trust and The Leonard Laity Stoate Foundation. These donations will be recognised with a message and presentation of the organisation’s logos on the bus.

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We can't wait to get on the road and to continue to provide safe, social spaces for young people to turn to in areas with little to no pre-existing youth provision.

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YB4YB Bus Design