VIY brings Dulux Colour of the Year 2026 to life across three community projects

The work has seen young people work alongside VIY mentors and Dulux volunteers to transform community spaces in West Ham, Newcastle and Pontyclun, with all three projects now complete.

The first project completed was at West Ham Boxing Club, where we helped transform a much loved East London community club, which has been supporting local people for more than 100 years.

Over two weeks, the team completely redecorated the club, from the exterior and reception area to the staff office and parent waiting room. The main boxing hall, home to three rings, became the centrepiece of the transformation, bringing together Dulux’s Colour of the Year with the club’s iconic colours.

The result is a brighter, more welcoming space for members, volunteers and visitors, giving the club a renewed sense of energy and pride as it continues its work in the community. Watch the transformation here.

The West Ham project also attracted some brilliant attention, with former world champion boxer George Groves joining the young people on site to get involved in the makeover and see first-hand the difference the project was making. The project and partnership were subsequently featured across Sky Sports News, TalkSPORT, BBC London Live, Fix Radio and Gateway 97.8 Radio.

But the impact went far beyond the paintwork.

Across the three projects, 39 young people aged 14–21 took part, with 87% of them achieving at least one City & Guilds Entry Level 3 accreditation in Painting & Decorating or Health & Safety. A total of 425 litres of paint was donated, helping to improve spaces that collectively impact around 1,200 people.

The young people involved also reported a positive impact on their confidence, wellbeing and future aspirations. 93% said they felt more confident about getting a job in the future, while 93% reported an increased feeling of happiness or wellbeing.

The work continued at Newcastle Deaf Centre, where key areas including the main room, reception and basement were refurbished to create a brighter, safer and more welcoming environment for staff, service users and visitors. More on this project here. 

At Café 50 in Pontyclun, a community hub welcoming more than 700 over-50s every month, young people helped deliver a full redecoration, creating a warmer and more inviting space for socialising, activities and support.

We’re proud to have worked with Dulux to bring Rhythm of Blues to communities across the country, creating lasting improvements to valued community spaces while supporting young people to build skills, confidence and accredited qualifications. Together, these experiences help equip young people with the tools they need to progress into positive education, employment and training outcomes.

VIY to deliver Youth Guarantee Trailblazer programme with Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority

Delivered over the next 8 months, the programme will provide young people with the opportunity to gain hands-on construction skills, accredited qualifications, mentoring and real-life work experience while renovating valuable community spaces across the region.

This new local authority partnership builds on VIY’s success delivering the UK Government’s Youth Guarantee Trailblazer programme with 5 other local authority areas across Birmingham, Dudley, Liverpool, Walsall and South Bristol.

Across these programmes, more than 100 young people have already taken part,  with over 80% of them achieving City & Guilds accreditations while making a lasting difference to their local communities.

Along the way, many have gone on to take important next steps. Brandon, 21, who first joined VIY as a learner on our Trailblazer project at Hartcliffe City Farm in Bristol, is now employed by VIY as a Peer Mentor, supporting other young people on projects across the South West and Wales. Hear directly from Brandon about his experience with VIY and the Trailblazer programme here.

Meanwhile, Scott, who joined a Trailblazer project at the Joseph Lappin Centre in Liverpool after struggling to find work without experience, has continued volunteering at the centre and is now exploring opportunities to progress into paid employment.

You can explore more stories from our Youth Guarantee Trailblazer projects, meet the young people involved and see the impact being made across the country on our Youth Trailblazer programme page.

If you’re interested in collaborating with VIY on the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer programme across Cambridge and Peterborough – whether by referring young people, providing community project opportunities or supporting delivery – we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Alice, our Programme Manager in the East of England, at alice@teamviy.com.

VIY become delivery partner with the Sweaty Betty Foundation on ‘Change Starts in the Changing Room’ campaign

We’re proud to be working with the Sweaty Betty Foundation’s Change Starts in the Changing Room campaign, helping transform school changing rooms across London and the West Midlands while creating valuable skills and training opportunities for young people.

Delivered in partnership with the Sweaty Betty Foundation and supported by £89,000 of new funding from the London Marathon Foundation, the campaign aims to remove one of the barriers preventing girls from participating in PE and physical activity.

Research by the Sweaty Betty Foundation found that one in three girls has missed a PE lesson because of their changing room experience. By putting girls at the heart of the design process, the campaign empowers them to reimagine their changing rooms as spaces where they feel comfortable, confident and ready to be active.

Building on a successful pilot in London, schools across London and the West Midlands will now be invited to take part, with teams of girls developing their own changing room designs. Ten schools – five in each region – will receive funding to bring their ideas to life – just like this school in Bermondsey, one of the winning designs from 2025.

As delivery partner, VIY will then work with the winning schools to transform their designs into reality through hands-on refurbishment projects. Working alongside our trade supplier partners, including Dulux, our programmes will also provide practical construction experience, mentoring and Entry Level 3 City & Guilds qualifications for young people who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET (including the girls who will co-design these changing rooms), helping them build confidence, skills and pathways into employment.

This partnership builds on our strong track record of helping to make grassroots sports clubs and active community spaces more inclusive, to help more local people and communities become and keep active, whilst also working with local young people who may use or benefit from these spaces. This includes our programme renovating 200 such spaces with Sport England, making clubs more inclusive for women and girls with the Barclays Community Sports Fund and for grassroots rugby clubs with Continental Tyres and Kwik Fit.

Sarah Drake-Pullin, Fundraising Manager at the Sweaty Betty Foundation, said:

“Change doesn’t stop with the changing room. Girls’ voices are at the heart of this work, helping us identify and break down the barriers that stop girls getting active. Our recommendations from the pilot year, cited in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Game On report, are now shaping what changing facilities look like for girls across the country. Now, in collaboration with the London Marathon Foundation, we can take that same model to more schools and ensure more girls have the tools, confidence and platform to influence the decisions that affect them.”

The announcement comes during National School Sports Week (6–12 July 2026) and marks an exciting new chapter for the campaign. By combining youth voice, practical refurbishment and vocational skills development, the partnership will help create more inclusive school environments while opening up new opportunities for the young people delivering the transformations.

We’re excited to be working alongside the Sweaty Betty Foundation and London Marathon Foundation to create spaces where more girls can thrive and to inspire the next generation of young people through meaningful, hands-on learning.