Celebrating Volunteer Week: Our Volunteers

Computershare employees took part in the organisation’s annual ‘On Yer Bike’ fundraising event to raise money for Young Bristol!

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‘On Yer Bike’ has been successfully running for a number of years from Computershare's Bedminster Down office.

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The event saw just under 30 employees take on the challenge of cycling routes of 20, 55 or 70 miles in changeable weather across North Somerset in aid of the organisation.

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Lucy Newcombe, Chief Peopleand ESG officer at Computershare, said:

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“Our annual On Yer Bike event is hugely popular with employees who every year set themselves the challenge of riding some of the steepest hills in the area to raise money for an organisation that provides vital services for young people aged 8-24 in the city. We’re proud to support an organisation that aims to make a difference to the lives of local young people. Our employees enjoyed the experience, which included an after-event BBQ where they spoke to representatives from the charity and learned more about the important work it does.”

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Young Bristol was pleased in 2021 to be selected as Computershare's official regional charity for the company’s workplace giving programme Change a Life, which aims to empower people and communities facing economic and social challenges around the world. 

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Since then the partnership has helped to raise thousands of pounds, organised fundraising events and has seen Computershare employees volunteering their time at a number of the charity’s Bristol-based community venues.

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Thank you to Computershare for arranging this incredible event in aid of Young Bristol.

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All donations raised from the On Yer Bike event will help us to support young people across Bristol to discover what they are capable of!

Young Bristol were pleased to see Ashton Vale Club for Young People go through a number of refurbishments this month, with exciting developments to the clubs main, open space.

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As part of Young Bristol's 2022-25 Strategic Priorities, the charity has focused on investing in our infrastructure and resources to give young people and their local communities an environment they can thrive in.

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The work at Ashton Vale Club for Young People has hugely improved our former Silver Social room, which will now be used as a multi-media suite, helping our team expand the opportunities they can now provide for young people who attend our sessions. Improvements to the club have also seen the installation of a new heating system, new flooring and new ceiling. The improvements will also benefit the wider community who utilise our Community Youth Club during the daytime.

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We are committed to continuing our mission and stratgeic investment by providing safe, welcoming spaces for young people, where they can build friendships, access support and be themselves.

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Before:

This week Young Bristol is celebrating Youth Work Week, an annual celebration of all things youth work between Monday 4^th – Sunday 10^th November 2024. This year, The National Youth Agency’s Youth Work Week explores, ‘A right to youth work for all – delivering positive futures for young people’.

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This years theme highlights the many ways that youth work spaces are made accessible to all, enabling young people to explore and celebrate their own identity and values.  

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At Young Bristol we are committed to continuing our Mission and our strategic investment, providing safe places, a supportive environment, and activities and opportunities which support young people to feel empowered, included and not alone

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Providing safe places for Bristol’s young people

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Our work provides young people with safe, welcoming, inclusive places where they can be themselves, build friendships, and access support when they need it most.

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Our Youth Clubs and services continue be at the core of communities, giving young people the safety and support that they cannot find on the streets, acting as the bridge between home and school life.  

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• 1,345 young people were supported through our open access sessions throughout 2023 – 24.
• Our 9 community venues in North, East and South Bristol continued to open their doors up to 4 nights per week.  
• During 2023 – 24, 16 communities were positively impacted by our work, with 3 new communities supported by Young Bristol who had not previously received any youth services.
• We’ve invested £528,280 into capital improvements at a number of our community venues since 2022; making improvements that would help to create environments that young people can thrive in.

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Championing youth participation

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It is vital as an organisation that we continue to keep young people at the heart of everything that we do.  

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Through consultations, regular discussions, workshops and events, we give young people the opportunity to discuss and share their issues and ideas, inform programme development, raise awareness of young peoples’ needs and challenge stereotypes.  

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We continue to encourage and support young people to volunteer across our programmes; where they can gain new experiences, develop their skills and empower them to succeed

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During 2023 – 24, we encouraged and supported 27 young people to volunteer. Young Leaders helped at their Youth Clubs and trainees from our Outdoor Employment Programme supported our Gig Club.

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Here are some stories from young people who are Young Leaders at our Youth Clubs:

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Eli, age 16, has overcome a number of challenges prior to joining The Grove. Prior to joining the club, Eli spoke very little English.

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Despite the challenges he has faced, Eli has shown exceptional dedication and commitment to our Club and has been a great role model for other young people.  

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Eli completed his Young Leader training in February 2024. He now actively volunteers two days a week at the club, where he uses the skills he learned to help and support younger members by teaching and coaching them how to play football.

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Gracie, age 15, has overcome so many hurdles presented to her and has grown in ways we could never have imagined.

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Despite these challenges, Gracie has integrated incredibly becoming a key member at BS14 Youth Club and strives to maintain her own mental health and as Gracie looks to the future, she dreams of becoming a Youth Worker after completing service in the Army.

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With Gracie growing as a natural leader, the team at BS14 Youth Club arranged for Gracie to begin volunteering as a Young Leader at the Club’s Junior sessions.

We continue to prioritise young people as we look to the future. To find out more about our work with young people and the opportunities we provide click here.  

This week, Young Bristol is celebrating National Trustee Week, which is an annual celebration of the achievements and incredible work Trustees offer to our charity, between Monday 4th November - Friday 8th November.

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Young Bristol's Board of Trustees are a group of volunteers who help to drive our developing work with children and young people across Bristol.  We are pleased to work with 11 trustees, who are responsible for the strategic direction and development of the charity.

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Here are some stories directly from our Trustee's:

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Jamie Cameron has been a Trustee for Young Bristol since 2011! He was initially attracted to work with us as he wanted to be a part of our commitment to providing new opportunities for all young people!

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Since becoming a Trustee, Jamie has been involved in a wide variety of projects, from fundraising events and developing partnerships to large-scale volunteering projects and working on the development of our strategy.

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Jamie has had many highlights during his time as a Trustee. However, a stand out memory was witnessing, first-hand, the true, positive impact that we have on the lives of young people! When his son tried kayaking for the first time, he was nervous to sit inside a kayak. Now, he proudly considers himself a kayaker, after just a few sessions.

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"Since becoming a trustee at Young Bristol, I have developed a really interesting network of people and who I have been able to get to know and learn from. I have also gained really valuable experiences of working in different ways."

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Kassim Hanid has been a Trustee for Young Bristol since 2011! With a background in youth work, Kassim was initially attracted to join us as he wanted to help keep youth work alive in Bristol and support our offer to be accessible to a diverse group of young people living in Bristol.

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Since becoming a Trustee with Young Bristol, Kassim has been involved with supporting our strategic development, recruiting other Trustees, providing advice and offering a listening ear to our staff regarding the issues that young people face and youth work.

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A key highlight for Kassim whilst working with Young Bristol has been seeing the immense progress the charity has made since he started with us as a Trustee. He has been part of the many highs and lows that we have experienced over the years, and has thoroughly enjoyed being on board for our journey so far.

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"Through serving on Young Bristol's Board, I have met other Trustees who I would never have met, or worked alongside in my life."

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Thank you to our Board of Trustees for your continued support and voluntary efforts to support Young Bristol and the young people of Bristol! Find out more about our Board of Trustees here!

We are delighted to announce that are recruiting for Young Bristol’s growing Programme and Delivery team! This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a Bristol-based, well-respected, growing and dynamic charity, with a long and proud history!

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As an organisation, our mission is to be an outstanding provider of high-quality, community-based youth services and innovative programmes that positively and sustainably impact the lives of young people

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By joining our dedicated team, you can help make positive impact on the lives of young people:

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YB Youth Club on Wheels Youth Leader

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The YB Youth Club on Wheels Youth Leader is part of our growing Programme and Delivery team, where you will deliver engaging, energising and educational programmes to young people on our unique mobile provision. You will act as a role model for young people, encompassing our values and help young people to make positive choices across a number of local Bristol communities we work in.

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The YCOW Youth Leader will report to YB’s Youth Club on Wheels Lead. This is an exciting opportunity to join an award-winning Bristol-based charity with a long and proud history - championing the power of youth work, especially for those young people who need us most.

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Young Bristol are an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity and experience.

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We recognise that people with different backgrounds , skills, attitudes and experiences bring fresh ideas and perceptions and we wish to encourage these differences to make our programmes more relevant and approachable, particularly so our young people feel represented within our organisation.

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To find out more about our role and apply, click here!

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!

Last week, we were delighted to invite the team from Nine Feet Tall to BS14 Youth Club, where four incredible employees dedicated their day to help us improve our facilities for the benefit of young people!

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During their voluntary day, the generous volunteers from Nine Feet Tall helped by weeding around the club and trimming back the overgrown hedges surrounding our multi-sports court. This has improved our court's appearance and created a safer environment for our staff and young people.

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The team also assisted in our well-being garden, pruning and clearing the space, ready for new flowers to be planted.

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Thank you to the team at Nine Feet Tall for your support last week.

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If you are interested in volunteering for Young Bristol, click here to learn more about all of our voluntary opportunities!

Young Bristol are incredibly proud to announce that Kat, Club Leader at BS14 Youth Club, was awarded the 'Outstanding Leader of the Year' award at the NABGC Awards Evening 2024.

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The 'Outstanding Leader of the Year' Award is presented to a leader at a local youth club, who has helped make the club a special and impactful place for young people over the last year. The successful leader would have helped the club to grow and develop, from raising funds, developing programmes as well as ensuring positive differences are made within young people’s lives and the wider community.

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We would like to congratulate Kat from BS14 Stockwood Youth Club, who was awarded the 'Outstanding Leader of the Year'' Award at the NABGC Awards Ceremony 2024!

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Kat was nominated as 'Outstanding Leader of the Year' award as she has acted as a rock and constant positive role model to the 305 young people attending BS14 Stockwood Youth Club over the past year. Her main focus at the club is how she can create a wide and diverse offer for young people, and has done amazingly well in doing so by leading the only Looked After Children provision in Bristol, being involved in Holiday Club activities, ensuring young people receive a hot meal each day and has undertaken a Level 2 and 3 qualification in Youth Work to help develop her skills.

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Andy Kimber, Head of Operations said:

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Kat has been an amazingly positive influence on the Club. She has taken on leading the Club with such energy and professionalism that the sessions have increased in numbers; as well as engaging and developing a diverse offer for young people and their families. Young people have been able to take part in such a range of activities this year, thanks to Kat’s activeness in ensuring young people know about external offers to broaden their horizons.”

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Young Bristol would like to recognise Cheralee, Jesse and Natasha, who were also nominated for the 'Outstanding Leader of the Year' award as well as Eli and Gracie, who were nominated for the 'Young Person of the Year' award.