Adelaide School

Bibbys Farm Scout Activity Centre

Blackley Cricket Club

The words of the club Chairman, Tony Ganner, brilliantly tells the story of the impact of this VIY project on the club (with some of our photos to illustrate!)

“5 years ago, the ground and clubhouse had fallen into serious disrepair to a point where cricket could no longer be played at the ground. Membership had fallen to the extent that the club was reduced to one senior men’s team playing at a rented ground elsewhere in the city. A new committee was formed, and new lease was agreed with Manchester City Council, extensive fundraising began to address the above issues with the assistance and support of local Councillors, Manchester Cricket Development Group and Lancashire Cricket Foundation.

Extensive repairs and refurbishment to both the ground and the clubhouse which has included a new roof have taken place over the past four years. Great efforts have been made to increase membership and participation in cricket to the extent that the club now has two senior teams, a thriving women’s and girl’s section which fields a team in a Women’s Soft Ball League. The Club also now operates an All Stars Cricket Programme for 5 to 8 year old boys and girls and a Dynamos Cricket Programme for 8 to 11 year olds. The clubhouse is also now used by a local scout group.

Earlier this year the club was put in touch with VIY via Lancashire Cricket Foundation who have been instrumental in helping the club with its current development.”

5 young people from Manchester Youth Zone and the local area volunteered on a tough job removing old flaking paintwork and repairing damaged concrete panels, as well as the complete external painting of the buildings, plus two additional shipping containers which are currently used as a changing room and a ground equipment store. Five P&D (hard-earned!)and H&S Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditations were awarded through this project.

“The transformation of the exterior of building is incredible. The work has been carried out to a very high standard and the project has been completed bang on schedule. The club are delighted with the project outcome and are extremely grateful to the mentors and the young people who have carried out the work. It has been a truly worthwhile project that is of great benefit to both the club and the wider community.”

Tony Ganner

Club Chairman, Blackley Cricket Club

Blessed Trinity College

Bowlee Pavillion

Burnley Boys & Girls Club

Bury Cricket Club

Bury Cricket Club is a long-established and prominent sports club in the local area, which is one of the 20% most deprived wards in the UK. The club applied to VIY for help to construct perimeter picket fencing to improve the appearance and security of the grounds and also, at the same time, to engage more potential female members at the club.

Over the course of two project phases, 21 young female volunteers were involved: 14 referred by Lancashire County Women’s Cricket Regional Development Centre and seven from Bury College. Most of the participants were first-time volunteers and all of the college students were new to cricket. Working together with VIY trade skills mentors, all of the young volunteers had the opportunity to try their hands at a mix of jobs, covering groundwork and fence-building, and 14 of the participants successfully achieved an Entry Level 3 City & Guilds Carpentry Skills Accreditation in the process.

The club was really pleased with the results of the project and the enthusiasm and positivity that the young people brought to the club. Matthew Metcalfe, chairman at Bury Cricket Club, said the following: “Imran, the VIY Lead Mentor, and his team did a great job in enthusing the young volunteers and the very positive working relationship between the mentors and the volunteers was clear to see. It’s easy to sometimes be jaded about young people and their willingness to involve themselves in community activities, but this project was a great reminder that there are thousands of young people who, if the right button can be pressed at the right time, will metaphorically move mountains for you. The girls did a great job and hopefully we can continue to involve them with the club.”

Cheetham Hill Sports Club

After the Lionesses semi-final win in 2022’s monumental Women’s Euros campaign, Ian Wright publicly urged for the tournament to create a lasting legacy for women’s football: ‘If there’s no legacy after this, then what are we doing? Girls should be able to play [football].’ 

The project:

Our work at Cheetham Hill Sports Club brings this legacy to life, with the help of the Barclays Community Football Fund and match-funding from Sport England. Based in Greater Manchester, the club, with inclusivity at its heart, aims to promote, develop, and facilitate sports at all ages and levels within the wider community. Though the club currently have three active female football teams, prior to this project, the site had no dedicated female changing facilities. 

The young people: 16 young volunteers from organisations including Timeout Homes, Active Tameside, Navigators and Elms Bank College

The impact:

• Enabled a large programme of works to kickstart at the club, to have a huge impact on the experience for women and girls across all of the sports at the club
• We created stud walls to separate current changing and shower facilities to create safe, separate female and disabled facilities to match the male amenities, then plasterboarded and plastered 
• Cabinets for sink bases to be mounted on to were built, as well as painting and decorating the corridor and lobby area
• We also worked with local artist, Myro Doodles, to transform their flaking pitch-side storage container into a beautiful bespoke mural with the help of our young people and Dulux’s Metalshield paint – to inspire conversations and the next generation, on the tools and on the pitch
• These facilities will accommodate the club’s growing female sports teams, giving approximately 50 girls a safe space to change and a deeper sense of belonging to their local football club and community
• The programme of works to the changing rooms continues under the leadership of the club committee, a dedicated group of local volunteers supporting the club. Works will include lowering the roof and insulating the building, electrics and fitting the new disabled and female shower and toilet facilities
• Hear what this project has meant to Chris Lines, Chair of Cheetham Hill, and check out this double page spread in The Telegraph

Accreditations gained: 11 City & Guilds Entry Level 3 in Carpentry and Health & Safety

What a great day it was seeing @IanWright0 and @kelly_smith10 show us their plastering skills at Cheetham Hill Sports Club. By supporting @VIYproject with the renovation of the female changing rooms girls will have more access to football

For more visit: https://t.co/jMdrw8iyfm pic.twitter.com/cBtHMOAERg

— Barclays Football (@BarclaysFooty) February 20, 2023

Great to part of getting the girls’ changing facilities up and running at Cheetham Hill Sports Club in Manchester. It's all part of creating equal access to football with the @BarclaysFooty Community Football Fund. @IanWright0 @VIYproject #ad pic.twitter.com/QcfGhSVzgY

— Kelly Smith MBE OLY (@kelly_smith10) February 8, 2023

Claremont Park Community Centre

Colne Primet Academy

« Previous Page — Next Page »