‼️Update - we have been granted 3 months to get ourselves in a position to takeover the community centre to stop it’s closure‼️
✅ We now need your help to fund this transaction, saving the community centre not just for the youth club but the whole community ✅
We are the Hangout Club, a voluntary led youth club
We provide two weekly sessions to vulnerable children and young people, in an area where there are no facilities or provision for young people, where there are high levels of crime, high levels of unemployment and young people feel forgotten by society.
Many of the young people come from broken homes, or live in foster care, are vulnerable to exploitation and living below the poverty line. We build self esteem through activities encourage friendships to form, giving them a time out from the stresses of their life’s which for some is life saving.
The volunteers are all trained in various supportive skills, to help recognise issues and to signpost or escalate to organisations when needed.
Without the Hangout Club many of these young people would be on the streets, getting in trouble and vulnerable to exploitation.
We provide sport, such as football and street hockey which many of these young people can’t afford or get to the organised football clubs, we bring in experts to talk about various issues, including alcohol and drug awareness, consequences of knife crime etc and give advise. At every session we cook with them and provide free hot food, some young people come in School uniform because they're not allowed home or choose not too, so haven't accessed a cooked meal.
During the school holidays we provide daytime activities and provide free lunches, this give them a break from home life and ensures they get at least one good meal a day. Without the community centre, we can not deliver these activities, in the area this is the only building available to use. A life line for young vulnerable people who shouldn’t be living below the poverty line, they’ve only just started out in life, we need to give them the opportunity to thrive.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We are have been told that the building we currently use is closing down by the council and therefore we need a new home for the young people to be welcomed into. Our aim is to take over the running of the building or if this isn't possible provide activities for the young people outside of their area, we would therefore need to transport them or provide outdoor activities to ensure they don't loose their club.
We aim to take over the building and expand the current program of activities to ensure the community has their needs and desires met.
Raffle (Now Sold out)
T&Cs
Prize draw is on 11th March, by live stream on Facebook page Save Gamesley community centre. . Only over 18 and only residents of Great Britain can enter. To enter you need to contact one of the volunteers at the Club, who will issue your tickets. The raffle is ran by The Hangout Club any enquiries need to be directed to them. Winners will be contacted on 12th March and collection arrangements made All data will be destroyed after the raffle is drawn.
How we’ll spend the money raised
We will spend the money to secure activities for the young people. We need to ensure we give these young people stability, by continuing our clubs weekly activities. We will continue to support them regardless of the situation, outdoors if needed.
The funds will go towards the rental costs of the venue and once we've done a community asset transfer the running costs of the building. We will also look to make improvements improvements to the facilities, as they are currently tired and in a state of disrepair. Along with new equipment and costs for food to ensure we keep supplying hot food for the young people who attend.
The community group are aiming to do a Cooperative style model, bringing lots of community groups and delivery partners into the building to provide a range of activities for the young people and the whole community. This will require time to build up and create a sustainable model. The funds raised will go towards the running costs of the building, including crucial maintenance cost for the first year, to enable delivery of the current activities whilst developing a full program of activities throughout the week, ensuring the a sustainable hub of activities that the community of Gamesley will be proud of.
Community impact
Providing a safe place for young people to be with their friends, has a positive impact on their behaviour, there has been a reduction in antisocial behaviour, we have provided them with help and advise, such as young minds and drugs and alcohol awareness, along with life skills such as cookery. Building confidence and aspirations to be able to find a job and create a stable family environment.
The whole community support the club, by volunteering and fundraising. The volunteers relationships with the young people has enabled respect across the generations has improved. The young people are always grateful for the activities provided and to the volunteers who provide it, some of the young people have a difficult life, but the Hangout club, gives them a helping hand, somewhere to laugh, cry, run around and be a kid for a while. We're like a huge happy family.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
5. Donate to us.
6. Sponsor one of the young people.
We are holding a sponsored skip and a sponsored keep it up with the young people who attend the club. Please sponsor them as it will show them how much their efforts mean.