Long Buckby Rugby Club

Longsight Youth Centre

Lowestoft Tennis & Pickleball Club

Lowestoft Town Tennis and Pickleball Club, based at the Denes Oval in North Lowestoft is a busy local sports site offering a range of sports, including tennis and pickleball. The club has a strong and growing community, but parts of the site had become outdated, especially the tennis pavilion, which was mostly used for storage.

This meant racquet sports users had no proper space to meet, change, or spend time together after playing. As a result, it was harder to grow participation and make the sports more accessible for everyone.

The club is focused on breaking down barriers to sport and creating a welcoming space for all users. Our project here supports that goal and helps the site better serve its growing community.

The project

The project was funded by Barclays Community Sports Fund. Over 3-week, VIY worked with local young people to improve and bring the tennis pavilion back into use.

Work included:

• Retiling an unused shower area and installing a new toilet and cistern
• Building new bench seating and a large storage cupboard
• Improving a small kitchen area for social use
• Painting and decorating the whole space to make it brighter and more welcoming

These improvements will make a real difference day to day – creating a more comfortable, functional environment where people can get changed, shower, store equipment and spend time together after sport.

The young people

• 14 young people took part
• 10 achieved an accreditation in Health & Safety in Places of Work and Introducing Site Carpentry Skills
• Referrals came from East Coast College, Skills4Life, Lowestoft and Waveney Family Support Team, and independent referrals
• 14% non-White British | 50% had a physical disability, mental health condition and/or learning difficulty or disability

Chris Wright, Suffolk County Council says: 

“I just wanted to share that I caught up with one of our social workers yesterday who had a 17-year old young person in care take part in the experience with VIY. He absolutely loved it, and it’s inspired him to look at applying for carpentry courses at college and further down the line becoming an apprentice carpenter.

The social worker is over the moon as this particular young person has been ‘stuck’ for some time so he wanted me to pass on our gratitude.”

Loxford & Clementswood Residents Association (outdoor greening)

LS-TEN Skatepark

LWS Academy

Magic Youth Club

The Magic Club project in Claremont, Blackpool (one of the poorest wards in the UK), involved the refurbishment and repurposing of an old, derelict magician’s theatre as a new youth club/youth centre.

More than 50 young people volunteered on the project, recruited via The Prince’s Trust and also, in partnership with The Careers & Enterprise Company, Merseyside Police, and local schools and colleges. Working with a team of VIY Mentors, the participants took on a variety of jobs, including stripping out old fittings and furnishings, installing a new kitchen and toilet, installing a new disabled access doorway and ramp, relaying and levelling the main hall floor, and painting and decorating throughout. In the process, participants worked towards achieving a City & Guilds Entry Level 3 employability skills qualification.

Project activities were principally funded by Blackpool Council, The Careers & Enterprise Company, Merseyside Police and Wickes, with Wickes also providing all tools and materials at no cost.

50% of the school students who took part in the project were on the brink of exclusion, or had recently returned to school having been excluded, and the schools subsequently reported that all of these students remained successfully engaged at school six months beyond the end of their VIY experience.

The centre was officially opened in March 2018 and is now a bustling youth club, the only one in Claremont. The club already has 140 members aged 8-16 regularly attending and currently runs three sessions a week, covering activities such as sports and drama, and workshops on relationships, sexual health and identity. The centre also continues to host ‘hands on’ VIY workshops to engage new cohorts of young people wanting to learn vocational trade skills.

The VIY Magic Club project was also visited and commended by Dame Julia Cleverdon, Vice President of Business In The Community and a board member at The Careers & Enterprise Company.

Manchester Enterprise Academy

Mancetter Memorial Hall

Manor Park RFC

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