Youth club may be forced to close

BURNHAM: Burnham Youth Club may have to close its doors to new members if volunteers for its Friday night sessions are not found.

Two term time sessions for 8-11 year-olds and 11-16 year-olds respectively are currently at maximum capacity with the staff-toyoung person ratio severely stretched.

Chair of the youth club’s trustees, Sue Beach, is pleased that the Minniecroft Road-based club has become really popular in recent months but more volunteers are required.

“We are ‘playing the numbers game’ at the moment,” she said.

“We need to get kids through the door to make it viable but we can’t make it viable if there are no volunteers.”

Sue said that volunteers do not need any experience and there is no commitment to help every week. The main thing, she said, is to be there to support the young people, and to give them the space to enjoy activities and meet each other.

“We would be delighted if anyone could join us and give even two Fridays a month. No experience is needed and full training is given,” she said.

“Young people like to meet and chat. It’s a safe environment for them to come and enjoy activities or just meet each other. The tuck shop is popular and we try to get them outdoors as much as possible.”

One of the steady volunteers is Burnham Parish Council’s vice chairman, Cllr Carol Linton, who said that the volunteers enjoy supporting the young people in their chosen activities.

“Every week it’s absolutely brilliant,” she said.

“We have so much fun and get covered in whatever we’re doing, whether it’s clay modelling or cake icing. The kids are so keen and so enthusiastic but unfortunately we are full.”

People who ‘enjoy working with young people and getting them active’ and those who ‘like to be part of a team’ are the kind of volunteers sought, as are those with a particular interest in sport or arts and crafts and gardening.

“We like to give them a choice of activities and we try really hard to make it ‘not like school’ with a range of things to do,” Sue added.

An open day is planned for the near future. In the meantime, interested volunteers can contact Sue for a tour of the centre and a talk through the role.

Potential volunteers can contact: suemusicbeach@aol.com