The Grove @ Bedminster Down takes part in NatWest Thrive with Marcus Rashford

On Tuesday 15th October, we were delighted to see our Youth Club on Wheels feature on BBC's The One Show, highlighting the profound and life-changing work that the team behind this programme have delivered over the past five years!

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Our Youth Club on Wheels is a mobile youth service, providing detached support to young people aged 8-19 in hard-to-reach areas of the city and rural areas where there is currently no youth provision! Our sessions offer a number of activities to get involved with, including: sports, creative arts and the opportunity to learn new life skills!

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A parent from Speedwell's Youth Club on Wheels session explained:

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"Not only does it get them out the house and keep them off the street, it keeps them busy doing really good, fun and safe activities"

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The feature focuses on the vital work that our Youth Club on Wheels has provided to young people across a number of Bristol communities, offering them a safe space, engaging activities, a free meal, and a sense of belonging!

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Since its launch in 2019, the Youth Club on Wheels has supported nearly 1,000 young people and has become increasing popularity across the eight communities we currently serve. Both young people and parents have responded positively to our sessions, where we have also offered access to positive role models and a space where young people can thrive.

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Shea Stew, Youth Club on Wheels Lead added:

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"We create our own family whereever we are"

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During our sessions, we were joined by presenter Ashley John-Baptiste. From his own experiences growing up in care, Ashley understands the importance of youth work and positive role models, and was amazed to see the life-changing impact a youth provision like ours can have on the lives of young people.

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We were also joined by Leigh Middleton, CEO of NYA, who highlighted that many local youth clubs are closing down and revealed the need for more youth work to be available for young people in their communities.

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Ashley John-Baptiste, presenter from The One Show explained:

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"A warm space, a safe space and a meal here can make the world of difference"

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We would like to thank BBC's The One Show for the amazing opportunity to share the Youth Club on Wheels incredible work! If you missed our piece, you can watch it here!

This week, Young Bristol welcomed our staff team, Trustee Board and volunteers to BS14 Youth Club to discuss our Impact since releasing our 2022-25 strategy as well as developing how we achieve our 2025-28 strategy.

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The meeting explored how Young Bristol has consulted with children and young people, our supporters, national bodies, stakeholders, and the wider community to achieve our strategic priorities for 2022-2025.

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Our Strategy Development Meeting also focused on our new strategic priorities and gave our team and volunteers the opportunity to shape how we plan to achieve our goals over the next three years.

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Thank you to everyone that attended our Strategy Development meeting!

We are delighted to announce Brandon and Brooke from the Hengrove Youth Club on Wheels session are the winners of our 2024 Film Making Competition!

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Last month, we hosted a Film Making Competition across our Community Youth Club and Youth Club on Wheels network. Young people from each club were encouraged to create a short film using a mobile phone, tablet or camera, to entered into our competition.

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We received a number of entries from across our club network, our judges chose one winner from the range of amazing creative skills that were showcased in the competition!

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The winners of our competition are Brooke and Brandon, two young people from our Hengrove Youth Club on Wheels session! In their film, the pair discussed urban exploring and the number of issues surrounding it. Both our winners were awarded with a £15 Amazon gift card each.

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Congratulations both! Keep an eye out for our next competition in November!

Community-based youth charity Young Bristol has become the third South West charity to win a place on the region’s Noble Deeds programme.

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Set up in 2021 by Bristol-based SME Noble, the Deeds programme provides digital marketing training & support to not-for-profits, helping them deliver vital services in the area. Increasing in-line with Nobles’ own turnover, this year the support package stands at £25,000. Young Bristol will use this to upskill its marketing team and ensure its services reach the young people who need them the most.

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Supporting children and young adults aged 8-25 during their critical out of school hours in some of the most challenging areas of the city, Young Bristol’s mission is to provide innovative programmes that create a positive and sustainable impact on the lives of young people.

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With eight community youth clubs across Bristol, a mobile youth club on wheels, outdoor activity centres and an employment programme just part of what the charity offers, the support from Noble will help the Young Bristol team prioritise where its digital marketing efforts will make the most impact. As well as helping the team to learn new skills and maximise their knowledge of social media, SEO and other digital promotion techniques for a lasting impact beyond the Deeds programme.

We are delighted to announce that we have officially published our 2023-24 Impact Report!

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This years Impact report demonstrates the positive impact we have had around Bristol during the 2023-24 period. The report reflects how we have provided safe, social spaces for young people to thrive in, despite their increasing needs caused by the cost-of-living crisis and the rising epidemic of knife crime in Bristol.

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"Working with Young Bristol has opened our eyes to how difficult it is for young people in Bristol and across the country, and how badly a lack of funding is impacting youth work and young people's livelihoods"

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BBS, Corporate Partner

During our Holiday Clubs, we were delighted to offer young people the opportunity to learn and practice photography skills during selected sessions throughout the summer!

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Our Marketing team, along with our volunteer photographer Nicolo, visited a number of Community Youth Clubs, the Youth Club on Wheels, and external trips. Young people interested in photography were given creative freedom with our cameras, helping us to expand our image library. These images will be used in our marketing across social media, our eNewsletter, and on our website!

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We are pleased to see that several young people are now considering pursuing photography as part of their studies or as a hobby, thanks to their experience with our cameras over the summer. Our staff are incredibly proud to see such high-quality images produced through the effort of these young people. Some examples are showcased in the image gallery below!

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The photographs taken by young people will be printed and displayed in our Community Youth Clubs!

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If you would like to find out more about our upcoming programmes and activities, click here!

This summer, Young Bristol saw 21 days of Holiday Clubs delivered across 5 of our community venues and outdoor activity centre, working with new and existing young people, providing them with exciting and enriching new opportunities, access to healthy food and the opportunity to build new friendships.

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Young Bristol’s Holiday Clubs are located in numerous areas across Bristol. During the school holidays our Community Youth Clubs and Outdoor Activities Team ran engaging sessions during both the day time and evenings. These session provided young people with free activities, 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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"I feel like I belong at this club, the adults are welcoming and I find it easy to make friends with the other kids"

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This summer Young Bristol saw:

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• 2,383 contacts with young people
• 29+ Holiday Clubs sessions delivered.
• 14 communities supported across Bristol with our Community Youth Club and Youth Club on Wheels.

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A breakdown of where these contacts have come from:

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• 1,220 contacts with Young Bristol's Holiday Club's
• 571 contacts from external providers hiring our space
• 416 contacts with our continued Open access evening provision.
• 176 contacts with young people on our Youth Club on Wheels

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Young Bristol would like to thank our staff team, partner organisations and funders for helping to make this summer 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, for supporting 5 of our Holiday Clubs at our city-wide Community Youth Club venues. We would also like to say a huge thank you to Fareshare for providing young people with some amazing food to enjoy across the Summer!

From Monday 9th September, Avon Youth Club's opening times will be changing! We are pleased to announce that the club will be open from Monday-Friday!

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Our Community Youth Clubs, for 8-19 year old's, are located in many areas across Bristol. Each of our Youth Clubs offer a safe and inclusive environment, staffed by caring, trained adults. Our Clubs provide creative, sports and inspiring activities and opportunities. Most importantly, they are spaces for young people to make lifelong friendships and have fun.

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We are pleased to announce that Avon Youth Club will now be open five days a week:

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Monday

6:00pm-8:00pm (Juniors: Ages 8-12)

Tuesday

6:00pm-8:00pm (Mixed: Ages 8-18)

Wednesday

6:00pm-8:00pm (Mixed: Ages 8-18)

Thursday

6:00pm-8:00pm (Mixed: Ages 8-18)

Friday

6:00pm-8:00pm (Senior: Ages 13+)

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Address: 98a Longcross, Lawrence Weston, BS11 0LP

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Looking for a Community Youth Club near you? See below for details on our other Community Youth Clubs, based in a number of areas across Bristol:

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• Ashton Vale Club for Young People – Silbury Road, Ashton Vale, BS3 2QE

• BS14 Youth Club – Stockwood Lane, Stockwood, BS14 8SJ

• Hartcliffe Club for Young People – Gatehouse Avenue, Hatcliffe, BS13 9AN

• Sea Mills' Boys' and Girls' Club – Bluebell Close, Woodleaze, Sea Mills, BS9 2HX

• The Grove @ Bedminster Down – 27a Cheddar Grove, Bedmnster Down, BS13 7EN

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To find out more information on our opening days and times, click here.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Board of Trustees of Young Bristol – a multi-award winning charity with an outstanding record of supporting young people in the Greater Bristol area for almost 100 years. As a member of our committed and enthusiastic Board, you will help shape the future of the charity – and support Young Bristol’s work to transform young lives in our local area.

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Young Bristol is recognised as Bristol’s leading provider of community-based youth services, through our community youth club network based in some of Bristol’s most challenging communities, and a valued provider of outdoor activities, holiday clubs, mobile youth services, as well as outdoor employment and informal educational opportunities. Through safe, fun, and supportive community spaces, it’s our mission to create a positive and sustainable impact, building brighter futures for our young people.

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The Board and Trustee Role

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We are now recruiting new trustees to complement the skills of existing Board members. We are looking for people who feel passionate about our mission as well as having the desire and ability to help Young Bristol achieve its ambitious goals as we head towards our 100-year anniversary in 2028.

The Board of Trustees is jointly and severally responsible for the overall governance of the charity. In addition, and in collaboration with its Chief Executive, it is also responsible for the strategic direction and financial health of the charity, the probity of its activities and developing the organisation’s aims, objectives and goals in accordance with the governing document, and legal and regulatory guidelines.

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Young Bristol is passionate about ensuring the whole organisation represents the diverse communities across the region and we welcome applications from anyone who may feel a connection with our work. There is no need for any prior experience as a trustee, however, candidates should ideally be able to demonstrate:

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• A track record of sound judgement and effective decision making
• Empathy with and a desire to support young people
• A commitment to promoting equality and diversity
• The ability and willingness to devote the necessary time and effort
• The disposition to speak their mind and offer constructive challenge when appropriate
• Willingness to be available to staff for advice and enquiries on an ad hoc basis
• The ability to work effectively and collegially as a member of the Board
• An understanding of the respective roles of the Board and the senior management team

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We are particularly interested in experience in the following:

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• The youth sector e.g. youthwork, schools, safeguarding and all aspects of engagement with young people
• Property management and development
• Governance.

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The Trustee appointment is a voluntary role, with an initial term of three years and renewable twice. Board meetings start at 5.30pm at least six times a year in person in Bristol.

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How to apply

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Please send a CV and short covering letter outlining why you would like to join and what you would bring to the board of Young Bristol to Lee Williams, Chief Executive of Young Bristol, at lw@youngbristol.com. For further information or a discussion in confidence please contact the Co-Chair of the Board, Jamie Cameron, at Jamie.cameron@burges-salmon.com.The deadline for applications is 30^th Sept 2024 and interviews will be held shortly thereafter.