Celebrating the Bristol Young Heroes Awards 2024!

Young Bristol's Pooles Wharf Outdoor Activity Centre is celebrating its 25th anniversary this week, marking a quarter-century of providing life-changing outdoor experiences to thousands of young people across Bristol's iconic harbour.

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Since opening on July 4, 2000, the award-winning centre has grown to become one of Bristol's premier providers of adventure activities, offering 16 water and land-based activities that support young people's physical and mental wellbeing through free and low-cost outdoor experiences.

On Saturday 21st June, we were pleased to see Nick and Tom sign up to 'Chase The Sun North' to raise money for Young Bristol!

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Chase the Sun North is a cycling challenge that saw participants cycle 200 miles from East to West, starting at sunrise in Whitley Bay, and finishing at sunset in Ayr, Scotland! The coast to coast cycle is full of stunning vistas, wilderness, heaths, rivers, lochs, castles and beaches.

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It has been amazing to see Nick and Tom prepare for their second 'Chase the Sun' cycle whilst fundraising to support young people across Bristol. Thank you Nick and Tom for taking part in the 'Chase The Sun North' in aid of Young Bristol this month! Support their fundraising page here.

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If you are interested in taking part in a third party fundraising event for Young Bristol, click here and learn how you can help fundraise for us!

On Saturday 21st June, we were pleased to see Amber Chubb sign up to the Morzine-Avoriaz Ultra Trail to raise money for Young Bristol!

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The Morzine - Alvoriaz Ultra Trail is located in the French Alps and is home to an extensive network of incredible slopes. The race saw participants run 100km and climb 5,726 meters in elevation whilst discovering beautiful landscapes and breathtaking views over the Portes du Soleil.

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"I chose Young Bristol because many young people face challenges like poverty and limited access to resources - factors often beyond their control. Having been fortunate to have strong support and opportunities, I want to give back and help young people build confidence and resilience, knowing how much youth shapes our future."

"It was an amazing challenge, lots of highs and lots of lows, and all for a great cause!"

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It has been amazing to see Amber prepare for her first ever Ultra Marathon whilst fundraising to support young people across Bristol. Thank you Amber for taking part in the Morzine-Avoriaz Ultra Trail in aid of Young Bristol this month! Support her fundraising page here.

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If you are interested in taking part in a third party fundraising event for Young Bristol, click here and learn how you can help fundraise for us!

This month, we were excited to invite 8 young people from across our Community Youth Club network to join us at the NABGC Essex Adventure Weekend!

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We were pleased to see young people from Avon Youth Club, BS14 Youth Club, The Grove @ Bedminster Down and Youth Club on Wheels Oatlands Avenue take part in a jam-packed weekend full of activities at Thriftwood Scout Camp Site, from Friday 20th June - Sunday 22nd June 2025!

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Across the weekend, young people were involved with a number of sports activities, including axe throwing, archery, rifle shooting, Jacob's ladder, postmans mate, kayaking, raft-building, cresta run and bush craft. Our young people were also involved in a variety of other group activities including tug of war, assault courses and smores making. During each activity across the weekend, we saw our group meet new people from across the country, try new opportunities and build friendships for life!

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"I had loads of fun. Thank you lots for the weekend, it was a great experience and I would really recommend it."

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Thank you NABGC and Essex Boys and Girls Clubs for arranging an amazing weekend, giving young people the opportunity to try new things and learn life skills!

This week, we were delighted to welcome the team from Rise HR to The Grove @ Bedminster Down, where six of their dedicated team members helped us to improve our facilities for young people!

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During their voluntary day, the team from Rise HR joined us outside in the sunshine to get stuck in with some outdoors tasks! The volunteers spent the day cleared weeds around the multi-sports court, entrance way and rest of the building. The team also helped us with painting around the club, where they painted the ceilings, which helped The Grove look more bright and welcoming!

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Thank you to everyone at Rise HR for helping us to create a safe, positive place where our young people can thrive! We appreciate your support!

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There are many ways you can work with Young Bristol and support what we do. As a charity, we are committed to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with corporate organisations in Bristol and surrounding areas. Find out how you can support us today! Click here for more information.

At Young Bristol, we continue to reflect the what, how and why in order to improve our services, better support our people and develop our facilities.

To ensure we deliver against our outcomes and aims, Young Bristol has implemented an Operations Plan for 2025 - 26. The strategic plan identifies our five key pillars from Our Strategy for 2025 - 28, assigning objectives and outputs that can be measured throughout the operating period.

We introduced our Operations Plan to work alongside Our Strategy and Theory of Change. Our Strategy outlines five key pillars to focus on during 2025 - 28: - Our Partnerships, Our People, Our Places, Our Power to and Our Programmes. We aim during this period to create safe, fit-for-purpose buildings to support our delivery of high-quality services, providing service users and our employees with opportunities to grow and thrive. Our Theory of Change allows us to reflect on our work and the impact we have, it establishes a framework, and ensures our work aligns with our vision.

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By continuing to review our work, reflect on our impact and consult with our stakeholders we can continue to have a clear, demonstratable vision which aligns with our values and goals, for ever young person. 

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Find out more here!

This week, we were delighted to welcome the team from Unite Students to BS14 Stockwood Youth Club, where seven of their dedicated team members helped us to improve our facilities for young people!

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During their voluntary day, the team from Unite Students joined us outside, despite the rain, to get stuck in with some outdoors tasks! The volunteers spent the day cleared weeds around the multi-sports court and well-being garden as well as other outdoor maintenance.

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Thank you to everyone at Unite Students for helping us to create a safe, positive place where our young people can thrive! We appreciate your support!

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There are many ways you can work with Young Bristol and support what we do. As a charity, we are committed to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with corporate organisations in Bristol and surrounding areas. Find out how you can support us today! Click here for more information.

On Sunday 8th June, we were pleased to see Fabien from Burges Salmon sign up to the Cheddar Gorge 10k to raise money for Young Bristol!

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The Cheddar Gorge run is known for its scenic views and stretches over a great variety of terrain, with the route going through a mixture of open meadows, rocky outcrops and cliff edges.

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It was amazing to see Fabien from Burges Salmon preparing for his challenge and fundraising for young people across Bristol!

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“It was a great experience seeing runners of all levels and ages take on this tough challenge. The terrain and Hell Steps on the course were unforgiving, but it was worth it when taking in the breath-taking views on top of the Gorge!

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Thank you to Fabien for taking part in the Cheddar Gorge 10k - we appreciate your ongoing support! If you would like to support his continued fundraising, click here.

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If you are interested in taking part in a third party fundraising event for Young Bristol, click here and learn how you can help fundraise for us!

This week, Young Bristol are excited to celebrate Volunteers' Week, recognising the contributions of volunteers across the UK, between Monday 2nd June and Friday 6th June.

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Throughout the week, we have been shining light on our amazing volunteers, who support us across the charity to offer a safe and inclusive environments, where young people can feel empowered, included ands not alone!

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Our Volunteers: Katie

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Meet Katie, a volunteer at BS14 Youth Club's Looked After Children sessions. Katie has volunteered on the sessions since February 2023.

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Katie found out about volunteering with Young Bristol through an online search, hoping to volunteer with young people in the Bristol area. She was hoping to get more experience working with young people, as they were going through the adoption process and so wanted to boost her confidence, as well as improve her application.

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“I love that we give the foster families the chance to have a break, that the children learn to socialise and have fun. I’ve seen children join the Club being very nervous and socially anxious, and then grow in confidence!”

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Since first volunteering, Katie says she has gained a lot of confidence and it has been a great insight into the foster system and how supported the young people are. Katie feels that volunteering has given her a sense of purpose, and would recommend volunteering to anyone as she has found her experience fun and rewarding!

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Our Young Leaders: Lola

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At Young Bristol, we have a network of 8 Young Leaders, who help staff members to run activities, sell snacks at the Tuck Shop and settle in new young people.

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Meet Lola, who is one of our newest Young Leaders to the team across our network. Lola initially joined Sea Mills Boys and Girls Club last year, and loved playing games spending time with others and having fun at the club.

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She wanted to become a Young Leader at the club as she believes it is important to help the people around her and enjoys supporting the junior members at the club and residents in her local community. As a Young Leader, Lola has so far enjoyed interacting with both young people and staff.

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"One piece of advice I would give to anyone wanting to become a Young Leader is just go for it! Just make sure that you continue to support those around you no matter what!”

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Our corporate partners: TLT

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TLT is one of our amazing corporate partners, from our number of incredibly generous partnerships we have developed, who have gone above and beyond to voluntarily raise money and support Young Bristol.

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Over the last two years, TLT have held a number of fundraising events, including their Christmas Quiz Night, Bingo Night, World Cup Sweepstake and Olympic movement challenge. Each event encouraged their team to get together and raise money for Young Bristol!

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