A group of teenagers who set up their own youth club after working hand-in-hand with a local council have reached the final of a regional Young People of the Year (YOPEY) competition.
The Shotley Youth News Crew (SYNC), made up of nine youngsters from the Shotley area, were nominated for the award, which covers Suffolk and Norfolk, after working with Babergh District Council and CSV Media Ipswich on a special film project.
One of the main aims of the project was to break the stereotypical view of young people in their community and the key finding of the film pointed to the lack of facilities for young people in the village. The group were then awarded £17,600 grant from Suffolk County Council’s Youth Opportunity Fund and £1,800 from the Extended Schools Fund in a bid to get their plans for a youth club off of the ground.
And the excited youngsters will find out if they have won the coveted first place position at a special awards ceremony on Sunday in Norwich where they will be competing against 11 other finalists from across the region.
Josh Ling, one of SYNC’s founding members, said: “I am extremely proud to be part of this project and I know that when I move on to college, and even when I am too old for the youth group, I will have made a real difference in our village and will have been part of a completely new vision for young people in Shotley.”
And Becky Taylor, another SYNC member, added: “I never realised how being part of a project like this really makes you feel special. The fact that we have come this far is amazing and because of the experience and commitment from the volunteers, I am actually learning about how to run a business, because this is a business now.”
Jill Barton, Babergh’s Community Development Officer, said: “The group have achieved a tremendous amount in such a short space of time and they thoroughly deserve to have reached the finals.
“The club is going from strength-to-strength with the original nine committee members becoming a 39-member-strong club. At the moment, SYNC is in temporary accommodation at The Shipwreck, in Shotley, but its aim is to site a new youth facility near the Village Hall.
“It is a real example of the community pulling together to give young people a safe place to meet in the evening – with around 12-14 adults volunteering from the village to help run the club.”
SYNC has also been successful in receiving funding from the Babergh Community Safety Partnership and is planning further fundraising events, one of which is a Christmas Disco. ENDS
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