Can-do crowd ends boredom
BORED teenagers in Wolsingham won an award this week after a chance encounter at the town’s bus stop led to them forming a youth club.
Ten girls from the town transformed a redundant church hall into a thriving club for teenagers after meeting Durham County Council youth worker Maxine Jordan at the bus stop, a hangout for the bored youngsters.
The girls, Natalie Bell, Louise Stephenson, Christina Batson, Holly Wright, Danielle Bibby, Emma Rosemurgey, Kara Smith, Paige Bushby, Lucy Porter and Bryonny Gooding, decided to end their boredom by starting the club which now attracts at least 20 youths a night.
This week, the founders of Wolsingham Youth Club received a Youth Work That Works from the council for their efforts and celebrated in style with a fancy dress party.
Maxine said: “I am very proud of all the girls. The commitment and enthusiasm was there from the start of this project and they followed it through all the way to the end.
“We gutted the hall, spiders and all, and they really did work very hard. “They very much deserve the recognition of this award; I have nothing but praise for them.” Young people had started hanging out around the bus stops and on the streets since the previous youth club shut a few years ago.
The girls sought help from Durham County Council, in partnership with Wolsingham Parish Council, in using the defunct church hall in the Market Place and began fundraising raffles and events to secure money to buy equipment such as a new kitchen and pool table.
With Maxine’s help they bid for funding from the Youth Capital Fund and cash from the parish council.
They also raised money to run a summer activities programme, including visits to Beamish and Flamingo Land.
Paul Hebron, positive activities manager with Durham County Council, said: “The value of their hard work is there for all the community to see, providing the opportunity for young people to engage in positive activities benefits for both the community and themselves.”
The girls won £100 and a trophy. The youth club meets every Thursday evening.
For more information on youth clubs and activities, visit Durham County Council’s youth website at www.getoutthere.info