Your Ideas believes in a community led approach to delivering youth work, bringing partners together to develop ideas and improve the quality of life of young people and the community as a whole.
Your Ideas supports many disadvantaged and vulnerable or hard to reach young people who are experiencing difficulties in their lives.
They have 14 years’ experience of delivering youth work at their Woodrow centre to ensure every young person has access to activities and support that is right for them, creating environments that are appropriate, so they feel comfortable, valued and nurtured.
Your Ideas provides access to safe and inclusive activities relevant to young people’s interests such as the arts, life skills, emotional support, sports and fitness and game play. By doing this their aim is to reduce young people’s isolation, give them access to healthy lifestyles, build their confidence, and help to divert those at risk of criminality or exploitation.
Your ideas want to replicate the success of the Matchborough youth service, but the building they have is a tiny community building on the corner of a housing estate– from the outside it looks like a small 1 bedroom house, totally unsuitable for youth work! But it has so much potential and there’s lots of outdoor space for its development and an extension.
The Youth Investment Fund grant means Your Ideas can go full steam ahead on their new dream project. When complete it means Your Ideas can double the number of young people they support to about 400 per week across two sites. The grant will fund a two-storey extension on the existing building, housing a large kitchen to teach life skills and to feed young people who access our clubs.
A single-storey workspace to the side of the building will be a collaborative space, a real hub, bringing the community together, working with agencies like The Children’s Society, YMCA, Police, Worcestershire Children First and the Up Foundation. Over the last six months Your Ideas has worked closely with young people and the whole community is developing ideas for the space, so young people have a great sense of agency and ownership.
Your Ideas will make good use of unused land around the building, creating an outdoor ball game area and bike storage. The renovation will also create a well-resourced art room, gaming and music room, and a second-floor space will become a community sports hall, giving young people and the wider community access to sports and fitness. Accessibility is at the heart of the build, making sure everyone can join in.
The Youth Investment Fund will transform Your Ideas youth service and make a huge impact on the wider community.
Your Ideas applied to the Youth Investment Fund at one of the most pivotal times in our history. We support over 200 children and young people, with a waiting list of over 140. The Youth Investment Fund is an almost unbelievable opportunity for organisations like ours. We have felt so proud to be able to work with our community to put our application together to listen to their dreams, their wants and their needs. Now we are able to say that what we created together is now possible. It is the absolute best feeling ever. We are so excited for our future, the opportunities this funding will bring and memories we will be able to create together with our community.
Jordan Cooke
Managing Director - Your Ideas Youth and Community Project
It makes me feel happy because I can come and chill out after school. I’m happy because other kids can come.
Lexi
One of the young people supported by Your Ideas
