Network Ryde, Ryde Town Council’s youth service, is a vibrant youth service offering young people amazing opportunities to meet friends, have fun and learn new skills.
A new film made by Heyday UK shows how the Youth Investment Fund is opening doors to new groups of young people. The film shows a real sense of excitement about the brand-new youth hub. Talking about the youth hub, one young person says:
“I’m loving it. I like the new space; and I love the colour schemes. I love how it’s made other young people want to come here.”
Benefiting from a Youth Investment Fund grant has been game-changing and enabled Network Ryde to treble the number of young people they can reach. A Youth Investment Fund grant of £578, 577.00 has transformed their St Thomas Church building, a substantial, stone-built Grade II Listed church, into an exciting new youth hub. And it’s right in the centre of Ryde, so it is very easy to access. The new Isle of Wight youth space opened its doors in July 2024.
In the film you’ll see young people having fun and enjoying everything the colourful new space has to offer, including a silent disco!
“I started coming here in year seven, and they have been talking about the opening since I started. I was really excited. And now that I’m here, I’m just really happy.”
Another young person says:
“If you compare it to the other place, it’s got lots more space. It’s really amazing and it’s got history behind it; it’s a church. And it’s really nice that they have modernised it, with a TV, speakers and LED lights. And everyone here is so nice and supportive. That’s quite hard to find nowadays.
“I started here three years ago when I was doing my Duke of Edinburgh awards. It was an amazing feeling that I got from the staff. You feel like that if you have a problem you can talk to the team, and they’ll sort it out.”
