Last week Michelle Dickinson, Head of Philanthropy and Programmes and, Philanthropy Coordinator Rachael Farrell visited the Sharrow Community Forum.

Sharrow Community Forum are a community development trust established in 1997, which works to strengthen communities in the Sharrow area of Sheffield. They work with the local community to improve services, bring people together, build the community’s voice, and help to make the local community a better place to live.

Michelle and Rachael met with Jonathan Roberts, CEO and Patrick Meleady Volunteer Advisor where they found out about their fantastic new project to redevelop their existing Highfield Adventure Playground building into a state of the art environmentally conscious youth hub.

Sharrow Community Forum are one of 44 youth projects in England to benefit from a Youth Investment Fund that has distributed over £90 million of grants to 43 youth services across the country. The funding was distributed to enable youth services such as the ones provided by the Forum to continue to expand and grow. In particular , Sharrow Community forum was awarded a life-changing Youth Investment Fund grant of £2.5 million to transform its services for young people in Sharrow and the surrounding areas. Both Rachael and Michelle got to visit the existing site of their vital Highfield Adventure Playground, the location where this amazing project will take place.

A white brick wall covered in colourful, child friendly murals of rainbows and various animals.

Highfield Adventure Playground

The new service will expand and enhance their current youth work provision but also, importantly, provide space to co-locate services for young people including health services, statutory services and other community led projects. Young people supported by Sharrow Community Forum played a key role in developing this exciting new project by working with architects and designers to reflect their needs and aspirations for the space.

It is inspiring to see the great work that Sharrow Community Forum is doing to improve the lives of individuals within their local community. Their mission to strengthen the community and their dedication to providing a better space for young people to thrive in has earned them a significant grant. The new environmentally conscious youth hub will undoubtedly make a huge impact on the local community.

A run down community building surrounded by a field

Highfield Adventure Playground

We wish Sharrow Community Forum all the best with their project and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on the community.

For more information about the Sharrow Community Forum and their incredible work, visit their website at https://www.sharrowcf.org.uk

Colourful painted community building brick wall with murals all over

Highfield Adventure Playground

Colourful painted community building brick wall with murals all over
a woman and man standing in front of the entrance to the community building, standing underneath a rainbow arch

Michelle Dickinson and Patrick Meleady

Colourful painted community building brick wall with murals all over