Have you always wanted to give something
back to your community? Have you noticed a lack of activities for young people
to do in your area or groups for them to get involved in? If so, then why not
set up your own youth club? It’s not as difficult as it sounds, and you can be
proactive about bringing young people together in a community and giving them a
safe space where they can be themselves and unwind from the stresses of the
week.
Decide What You Want the Club to Be About
Many youth clubs are created for a specific
purpose and feature particular activities. Before you take any steps towards
actually setting up yours, you need to decide what you want your club to
represent. If a youth asked you what your club was about, how would you answer
them? No one is going to be interested in joining unless they have an idea of
what’s going to happen when they get there. If you’re unsure of what activities
youths would like to get involved in, the easiest way to get answers is by
asking them. You might get some surprising answers! Sports activities are always
popular however, particularly something that can be started from scratch, with
no skill level, and then moving up. This teaches both teamwork and comradeship
and is a great way to let off some steam.
Contact the Authorities
There are a lot of rules and regulations
when it comes to working with children, so in order to make sure that you are
following the right procedure and doing everything by the book, you need to get
in contact with your local council and ask their advice on the best way to
proceed. You’ll probably discover that setting up a new youth club isn’t so
difficult after all! There will be differences depending on whether you are
associated with a non-profit or not, but apart from that there is the general
vetting to work with children and young people. Of course, there is also the all-important
insurance, which is a strict requirement for any youth club. Your local authority
will be able to provide you with all the information you need to get started.
Search for a Venue
Every youth club needs the perfect venue
for it to work. The type of place that you go for will of course depend on the
activities that you want to run, as well as the area that you want to set up in.
There’s no point in having a venue that’s too far away to travel when you are
advertising to youths from a particular area. This will narrow down your
options somewhat, but there should still be load of different venues available
to you. Sports halls are always popular for this type of gathering. Not only
can you play your sport of choice, but they are suitable for all times of year,
and you don’t need as much specialist outside clothing to get stuck in! There’s
a good range of sports halls for hire in London, so there’s every chance that
one will be available in your area.
Get Some Sponsorship
A youth club can’t run on air, and even if you
are already associated with a non-profit, the likelihood is that you are going
to need sponsorship in order to get your youth club off the ground. Start by
contacting local businesses. You might be surprised by how many want to be able
to give back to their local community but are unsure of the best way to do
that. By subsidising a youth club, they are improving the community and the lives
of the young people who live there. There are other grants that you can get as
well, for example National Lottery Funding, although some of these will need to
wait until you are more established, and you can fill out the application form
with more details of what you do month to month.
Get Volunteers
No youth club can be managed on its own,
you will need to establish a board as well as volunteers on the night to help
you run things. The board will consist of a secretary, chairperson and treasurer
as well as other members. It will help plan for the future as well as assess
how the club has been performing. This may seem overly formal, but it’s
important that you have this in place as you’ll soon find it to be much more
helpful than you might think at first. Volunteers on the night should have
experience in youth work. If you are focusing on a particular sport or
activity, you’ll also need to have volunteers who are experts in this so that
your young people are actually getting something out of the whole experience.
Get the Word Out
You’re not going to have much of a youth
club if no one shows up, so you’ll need to do your best to get the word out
there. Social media is going to be a big help when it comes to advertising to
young people, but never underestimate the power that a printed flyer still
holds. Having them in schools and other areas were young people might be will
help you to get the initial members coming along to your group. Once you start
to get some attendees who enjoy your club, then the word will quickly spread to
their friends and you’ll have a full house in no time at all.
Starting a youth club is a great way to
give something back, and if it is sports related then you are teaching the
young people some valuable skills that they will need later on in life. If you’ve
been considering the idea for a while, why not take the plunge and make a
difference to your community?
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