Blackburn Club for Young People
The Blackburn Club for Young People was founded in 1974 and aims to help young people in the community. Located in a quiet and deprived area of Rotherham this club allows for children aged 8-18 to improve their self-esteem, maturity and responsibility through sessions ran twice a week.
Ran by volunteers for 46 years, the club is known for providing projects and residential trips which encourage young people off the streets and away from anti-social behaviour.
Since being provided with a grant of £4,443 from the Bloomer Family Rotherham Fund & The Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation Philanthropy Catalyst Fund, the club has been able to bring in paid staff members with professional training to lead their sessions.
The funding has also enabled more people to be involved in the club and the new sessions leaders have created a more personal and comfortable environment for the children.
The club has also been able to employ a counsellor to run a six-week mental health
programme to educate young people about mental health, self-care and understanding and supporting those with mental health difficulties.
The funding has also enabled more projects, classes and workshops to run including 1 to 1
sessions between the Youth and Community Workers and the young people. This allows them to speak to and confide in an adult they trust, who isn’t viewed as an authority figure. This has been highly beneficial for everyone who has taken part and has allowed for comprehensive support being given to the children and young people at the club as well as at their schools and at home.
The club has also recently begun a volunteer programme for the older age groups to give them more experience and responsibility. They run select sessions for the younger age groups, giving them the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and to become more mature and responsible. The programme currently has 10 young people who regularly attend, all of whom have shown visible changes in confidence and self-esteem levels since first taking part.
What we do is for them, it’s their space and their club and for many of them it’s a second home. We respond to their needs.
Group Leader, Nathan Dainton
As the club still has funds from the grant remaining, they are looking to employ more staff for specific sessions like the mental health programme. They also aim to utilise the space they have a more so will be looking to increase the number of people they have at the club.
The building the club is situated in is now owned by them allowing for a range of opportunities in the future.
Overall, this is a club with young people at its heart. Feedback is always heard and responded to. This is key to the clubs success and the positive impact they have on their community to be so strong.
Find out more
Our community grants are not just financial assistance; they are giving to YOU and your vision, to make your community better. Have a look if the programme meets your funding needs