News and stories

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Shea Stew, Youth Club On Wheels Lead!‍

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Shea has worked across various sectors for the past 20 years, which have included local authorities, schools and the charity sector. Shea has a passion for engagement and specializes within outreach and holds street-based engagement close to his heart. Working with young people on their own turf means you can slowly make a difference over time to the wider community.

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Humour and keeping close to the real issues facing communities is Shea’s biggest driver and all together being a positive person in the wide scheme of life. With a breadth of services and knowledge, Shea believes all young people should have access to activities, positive environments and most importantly quality youth community workers.

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When Shea is not delivering to young people, you will probably find him on adventures with his family or riding motorbikes.

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We hope you will join us in welcoming Shea to the Young Bristol team.

Young Bristol are excited to host some amazing events in 2023! This year, there will be something for everyone! From our Cabaret and Casino fundraising event to talks with inspirational speakers, there will be events for anyone in Bristol communities to enjoy!

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Join Young Bristol for a night full of entertainment and fun at our fundraising Cabaret and Casino Night!

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You will begin your evening with a glass of bubbly and canapes upon entry. Tickets will also include £10 of "fun money" to spend throughout the evening.

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Guests will hear from our amazing host Joe Sims and enjoy entertainment from the amazing Beth Rowley, and The Flaming Feathers. All money raised during the event will go towards the amazing work that Young Bristol deliver across our network of youth clubs.

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Our Casino and Cabaret event will give the great opportunity to have fun and win some amazing prizes at the Casino tables.

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Save 20% on tickets if you purchase before 10th March. Early bird tickets are priced at £36 instead of £45. Tickets purchased after March 10th will cost £45.

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Casino and Cabaret night will be on 30th March, from 7:30pm - 11:00pm! This will be hosted at The Mount Without, Upper Church Lane, BS2 8FN. Dress code for the event will be formal/evening wear.

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To find out more about our events, click here!

This February half term, Young Bristol have offered a wide range of activities for all young people to take part in. From sporting to creative activities, we've had something for everyone!

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Avon Youth Club

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This half term, Avon opened their doors from Monday to Friday, providing a range of activities for young people. They had a range of sporting activities such as dodgeball, pool, archery and basketball. Avon also hosted lots of creative activities such as wall art and colouring.

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On Wednesday, Avon took young people to a local care home. During the day, they did some gardening. The group were also able to engage with the residents, taking part in joint activities such as bingo and jigsaw puzzles.

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Hartcliffe Club for Young People

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Hartcliffe Club for Young People also hosted activities all throughout the half term!

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On Monday and Tuesday, a group of young people went to the Mendip Activity Centre and took part in Rifle and axe throwing. Wednesday, the group then used the sporting facilities at Merchants Academy for a multi-sporting activities day.

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Hartcliffe CYP partnered with Acta Community Theatre on Friday. The group delivered an amazing drama workshop to some of the young people. Firstly, they played some games such as "Golden Chick" which got them warmed up and ready for the day. Young people then created their own performance, where all the ideas, characters and scenes were brainstormed and created by the young people, with a little help from Acta. After a busy day of practicing, they performed one final time to their parents!

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Finally, on Sunday, a group of young people went cycling on the Strawberry Line. The group were able to cover an amazing 12 miles. They finished their day off with a train ride and a visit in the café.

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Interclub football tournament

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This years interclub football tournament was hosted at Avon Youth Club. We had 50 young people, juniors and seniors, from across our club network to compete in the tournament. The day brought together Avon Youth Club, BS14 Stockwood Youth Club, Hartcliffe Club for Young People, Sea Mills Boys and Girls Club and The Grove @ Bedminster Down.

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The day started with nine teams and ended with a game from our two finalists, Hartcliffe Seniors and The Grove. This years winners were Hartcliffe's Senior team! The team were then awarded with gold medals. We also awarded medals to young people who showed good sportsmanship.

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We hope to see more interclub activities in the holidays this year. To read more about the football tournament, click here!

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Our Community Youth Clubs were also open across our network for open access sessions. There was a variety of Valentines themed activities across the network such as making cards. Valentines week was also an opportunities for our sessional staff to discuss health relationships and consent with young people.

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Overall, this years February half term provided new and existing young people with enriching activities. Our holiday clubs created a safe space for young people, with an opportunity to build new friendships. Over the February half term we had:

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• 289 records contacts with young people
• 28 sessions delivered
• 5 communities supported.

This February half term, Young Bristol have offered a wide range of activities for all young people to take part in. From sporting to creative activities, we've had something for everyone!

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This week, Avon Youth Club hosted an Interclub football tournament. We had senior and junior teams from across our club network that joined up to compete in the tournament. The day brought together young people from Avon Youth Club, BS14 Stockwood Youth Club, Hartcliffe Club for Young People, Sea Mills Boys and Girls Club and The Grove @ Bedminster Down.

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We started the morning by getting everyone together, in their teams, into the sports hall. Some of these teams were a hybrid of two or more youth clubs, allowing young people from different areas to meet and make new friends. They began the morning by creating team names for themselves. This was a great way for them to get creative and we had some very imaginative and humorous names!

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The Interclub football tournament then began with the 9 teams playing each other in a round robin format. Each game had a large group of supporters cheering them on from the side-line. While the teams were playing, Avon Youth Club had a range of activities for the young people to do while they waited their turn. They seemed to most enjoy playing pool and basketball.

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After a long day of playing football, we brought everyone together to announce our finalists. Hartcliffe's Junior and Senior team, The Grove and a hybrid team from Avon and BS14 made it through to the final four of the Interclub football tournament. One of these semi-final matches resulted to a penalty shoot-out! Tensions were high, with some amazing saves from our goal keepers and some great shots from the young people.

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Presentations

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Hartcliffe's Senior team and The Grove both won their semi-final games and went on to play the finals. This was a very tense game but resulted in Hartcliffe Seniors winning our 2023 Interclub football tournament.

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After the final game was over, we went on to the presentation. The referee awarded our winners with medals and a trophy. We also awarded young people with medals for showing good sportsmanship. One player from each team was nominated by their club leader.

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Well done to all of our young people for taking part. It was great to see them interact with young people from different clubs and making new friends.

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

We are delighted to publish this years Impact Report 2021-22. 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 year's impact report was launched at our 2022 Annual General Meeting and Year In Review on Thursday 19th January 2023. Our AGM welcomed our staff team, Trustee Board and Vice Presidents. On the evening, we discussed the increasing impact we had during 2021-22 and how we plan to develop in our 2022-25 strategy.

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"Offering our city's youth a choice of opportunities and experiences, Young Bristol is a charity that makes a positive and sustainable impact on young people's lives."

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Our key highlights

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Some of our key highlights from the Impact Report include:

• 23,048 contacts with young people.
• 1,851 sessions delivered during 2021-22.
• 16 communities supported in Bristol and surrounding areas.
• 20 qualifications awarded to young people aged 8-25.
• Virgin Media O2 Captain Tom Foundation Connector Award was awarded to Young Bristol for our work in Ashton Vale's community.
• Finalists for the Charity of The Year Award at the 2021 Bristol Life Awards.

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"It is a great pleasure to celebrate what is being done at Young Bristol to help the young people of Bristol to develop the skills, experience and knowledge to support them in their lives and future careers."

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Download our 2021-22 Impact Report

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Last night, our corporate partner, Burges Salmon, kindly helped us to host our 2022 Annual General Meeting and Year In Review. The evening was well attended, with over 70 people joining us! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed looking through the impact we've had on young people and the wider community.

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The evening began by hearing from Young Bristol president, Jonathan Webb. He kindly welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. Jonathan then kindly introduced Jamie Cameron, Young Bristol chair. Jamie outlined the Young Bristol strategy 2022-25 which includes; our buildings and facilities, our people, our programmes, our influence and our partnerships. He outlined how we have been following this strategy and how we plan to follow it in the future!

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Lee Williams was next to speak. He was able to talk about the release of our Impact Report 2021-22. Lee also discussed some important figures from the report; number of contacts we have had this year, number of sessions we have been able to run and how we have improved after Covid!

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The Year in Review then progressed to hearing from some of the young people we work with. First of all we heard from Youth Voice, who discussed their residential. It was great to hear feedback directly from the young people that went to Germany and how other young people should take part in residentials in the future!

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We then heard from Molly, a representative from the Outdoor Employment Programme, and Phil Harris. Molly was able to discuss how the Outdoor Employment Programme has been able to positively change her life around, even helping her to get her first paid job at the S.S Great Britain.

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The Annual General Meeting then proceeded to discussing what we look forward to. We heard from some of the management team, who discussed their respective areas and gave a positive update on our future plans. Thank you to Andy Kimber, Lucy Saunders and Matt Donnelly for presenting!

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Finally, we were able to present celebration of service awards. These were handed out as a recognition of long service to some of our amazing staff! Peaches Golding OBE CstJ handed these out to those who had given 5, 10, 15 and 20 years of service to Young Bristol! We would like to thank each and everyone one of our staff members for dedicating their time to make Young Bristol what it is today. 450 years of service has been dedicated to Young Bristol between all of the certificate winners!

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Thank you Burges Salmon for kindly hosting our 2022 Annual General Meeting and Year In Review! We would also like to thank our supporters, donors and funders for supporting and funding the work we do for young people.

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To find out more about other upcoming events like this one, click here!

Next week, The Grove @ Bedminster Down are set to host their very own Christmas fair!

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This year is the first year The Grove will be hosting a Christmas fair! A wide range of activities will be on offer for the whole family to enjoy; market stalls, Santa’s Grotto, raffle, games to entertain the kids, food and bar on site and so much more! This year, it is going to be hosted at Bedminster Down Ex Service Club, Winford Grove, BS13 7DY.

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The entrance fee for the Christmas fair is £1, which is to be paid on the door and will include a free raffle ticket! However, under 18’s come in for free!

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We will have a wide range of market stalls on offer, including;

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• Winnie’s Melts – Homemade wax melts, candles and novelty soap

• Cat’s tarots – tarot card readings

• Sarah Fowles – Personalised clothing, door signs and personalised jars

• Max Williams – Bespoke homeware items and furniture

• Hand painted baubles

• Jewellery, make-up, perfume, bath and body products

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You will even be able to visit Santa in his Grotto at the Christmas fair. We recommend that all guests book this experience in advance. Limited spaces are available, booking will ensure you a secured place. Availability to go into Santa's Grotto cannot be guaranteed on the day without a booking. To book Santa’s Grotto, click here.

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Address: Bedminster Down Ex Service Club, Winford Grove, BS13 7DY

Over the last few months, Architect students from UWE have gone above and beyond to engage with the community in Ashton Vale. This is the beginning of their masters project. Local Councillor, Tessa Fitzjohn, gave the students a brief to look at the wetlands adjacent to the Longmoor Village development. The brief was written in hopes that it would create sustainability for the area but also create an understanding for the value of the natural environment.

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Their first meeting with Young Bristol was on the 5th October. Using Ashton Vale Club for Young People, the University group met with Tessa Fitzjohn and the TVG friends’ group. During this meeting, they discussed the initial aims of the project. This meeting lead to the students being guided around Ashton Vale, familiarising themselves with the area and the context surrounding the wetlands.

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On the 25th October, Young Bristol’s Silver Social welcomed the University students to their session. Members of Silver Social were some of the first people to ever live in Ashton Vale.  The chat they had was very insightful, finding out how some of the locals may use the wetlands and what improvements could be made to the area so more locals can access it. It was great for everyone at the meeting to learn the history behind Ashton Vale.

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All of their findings from meeting with Young Bristol and other organisations such as Ashton Vale Primary School, Manor Woods Valley Group, and Bristol River Avon Trust, were collected together. This gave the group a chance to reflect on all their findings before presenting. They were able to create a number of storyboards and interactive models to present to Ashton Vale’s local community.

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Yesterday, 8th December, was the day that the UWE students presented their findings to the local community at Ashton Vale Community Centre. A large group of local residents were able to attend to see their findings, as well as a few people from local trusts and organisations. UWE students proposed that a boardwalk is built around the wetlands. The boardwalk will deter visitors from walking across the wetland, helping preserve the valuable area. Their idea was inspired by Iron Line, located in Cumbria. The local residents engaged with this presentation very well! Some attendants even presented their own ideas to everyone and offered their help to try turn this idea into a reality. From this presentation, a Facebook and email group has been set up, where everyone can continue the conversation and keep the idea alive.

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We hope that their development can come to life in the future. The boardwalk and visitor centre will allow us to take young people on nature walks around the local area. This will get them exploring their local community and encouraging healthy activities.

This week at Ashton Vale Club for Young People, staff from across the youth club network came together and took part in team building activities.

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The evening started off with a game of staff bingo. This was an activity for the group to walk around, talk to new people and get to know facts about each other. The group used the bingo grid to ask staff questions such as “do you have a cat?”, “do you have a sibling?” and even “can you hula-hoop?”. A great ice-breaker to start the evening! We had two groups win this activity, BS14 Stockwood Youth Club and Hartcliffe Club for Young People.

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The group then gathered into smaller groups. In these groups, staff discussed what is going well at their clubs, and what they think could be improved. They wrote this on an A3 sheet of paper, separating it to discuss each person’s club. The small groups proceeded to share their discussion with the whole group. There was even some cross-group discussion, some agreeing with points made and others arguing against ideas. It was great to see healthy debates among the groups.

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The evening finished by asking the groups to think independently, what events the youth clubs and young people would like to see across the club network. The group came up with some amazing ideas and even talked about how they could host these ideas next year. We are excited to see some new inter-club competitions and events next year!

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

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