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Talking Hands Youth Club

Talking Hands is a youth club based in Swansea who help young people who are deaf or hard of hearing, run by the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS) – the independent representative body for the voluntary youth work sector in Wales.

In 2012, in one of VIY’s very first projects after setting up in 2011, 14 young people who were supported by the centre and as many adult volunteers took part in a VIY project to decorate and repair the building Talking Hands were based in, which is still going strong today.

Over 14 weeks, young people, who were all deaf or with hearing impairments, volunteered 3 days per week, supported by our VIY trade volunteers. They picked up skills in plumbing, painting and woodwork, and gained an Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditation each during the project, all whilst renovating an important space that they used and benefitted from regularly. Our mentors and volunteers were extremely well looked after with Talking Hands providing food and refreshments to keep the teams going!

Mae Talking Hands yn glwb ieuenctid wedi’i leoli yn Abertawe sy’n helpu pobl ifanc sy’n fyddar neu’n drwm eu clyw, sy’n cael ei redeg gan Gyngor Gwasanaethau Ieuenctid Gwirfoddol Cymru (CWVYS) – y corff cynrychioli annibynnol ar gyfer y sector gwaith ieuenctid gwirfoddol yng Nghymru.

Yn 2012, yn un o brosiectau cyntaf un VIY ar ôl ei sefydlu yn 2011, cymerodd 14 o bobl ifanc a gefnogwyd gan y ganolfan, a chymaint â hynny o oedolion gwirfoddol, ran mewn prosiect VIY i addurno ac atgyweirio’r adeilad y mae Talking Hands wedi’i leoli ynddo, sy’n dal i fynd yn ei flaen heddiw. Roedd y prosiect yn un o’n rhai cyntaf a gefnogwyd gan y Loteri Fawr, sydd bellach yn Bartner Cenedlaethol VIY, gyda deunyddiau a roddwyd gan Wickes, ein partner brand cenedlaethol am x mlynedd.

Dros 14 wythnos, bu pobl ifanc, a oedd i gyd yn fyddar neu ag amhariad ar eu clyw, yn gwirfoddoli 3 diwrnod yr wythnos, gyda chefnogaeth ein gwirfoddolwyr masnach VIY. Dysgon nhw sgiliau mewn plymio, peintio a gwaith coed, gan ennill achrediad City & Guilds Lefel Mynediad 3 yr un yn ystod y prosiect, i gyd wrth adnewyddu gofod pwysig roedden nhw’n ei ddefnyddio ac yn elwa ohono’n rheolaidd. Roedd ein mentoriaid a’n gwirfoddolwyr yn cael gofal arbennig o dda gyda Talking Hands yn darparu bwyd a lluniaeth i gadw’r timau i fynd!

Wrth fyfyrio ar y prosiect 12 mlynedd yn ddiweddarach, dywedodd Helen Robins-Talbot, Rheolwr Datblygu Adeiladau a Phrosiect Talking Hands:

“Fe wnaeth wahaniaeth enfawr i ni ar adeg pan oedd arian yn anodd iawn i’r ganolfan gael mynediad ato ar ôl i ni ei brynu yn 2007. Cawsom lawer o hwyl a dysgodd y bobl ifanc lawer o sgiliau gwerthfawr, gan ddysgu sut i weithio gyda’i gilydd, cyfathrebu, a gwrando. Roedd yn brofiad gwych ac yn un y byddwn yn argymell unrhyw sefydliad i gymryd rhan ynddo.”

Rydyn ni nawr yn edrych i ddychwelyd i ganolfan Talking Hands i helpu i drawsnewid eu gardd ddirywiedig yn rhywbeth arbennig eleni yn 2024.

Tameside College

Tanyard Youth Centre

Telford Hornets Rugby Club

This project was a VIY project supported through the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Gen22 programme, providing employability-boosting volunteering opportunities, match-funded by Sport England.

The project:

We converted one of the existing changing rooms into this self-contained unit by creating a new doorway into one of the shower spaces. We also decorated all of the changing rooms in the club’s colours. The club also had a vandalism issue with motorcyclists able to get access to their pitch from a public footpath, damaging it in the process – so we constructed a fence and kissing gate to prevent this.

The young people: 9 young people from Telford Priory School, The Really NEET Project – Telford and Future Focus

The impact:

• 7 City & Guilds Entry Level 3 accreditations gained in Carpentry and Painting & Decorating
• “One student with previously poor attendance is now 100% so far this term since the project. Two others are now back in the mainstream school. They said that the project had a really good impact on their self-confidence. Another is doing really well since, with improved attendance and engagement with work.” Teacher, Telford Priory School
• A doorway created between changing rooms to allow for private shower space for females, which didn’t exist previously at the club
• The amount of young people and females becoming active at the club has increased significantly since our renovations
• 70% extra usable floor space created by the VIY project
• John Barclay, Club Chair, told us: “Safer shower space is now available for our increased number of female players and we are now offering rugby sessions to vulnerable adults with support from local police…. This project has provided the club with a super platform to build a bright future… we’ve been offered a new site lease for 50 years. Our members feel invested in and are taking interest in keeping the facility in a good state.” 

See more of our work in grassroots rugby here

Temple Grafton Village Hall

This village hall was in complete disrepair, we didn’t think we could save it. A previously much-loved place for the community, in a village with a high proportion of elderly people at risk of social isolation. A real old building with shoddy walls, no heating (big reason for lack of use by the community), poor kitchen, no safe outdoor space, especially for those with mobility issues, of which there are many in the local community.

Our first project funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with Stratford-upon-Avon District Council, match-funded by Sport England and supported by Dulux.

The project:

• Co-funded heating through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund*
• Repaired and repainted all of their interior walls and rooms
• Fitted a new kitchen
• Constructed a safe, outdoor accessible decking area where previously the area was inaccessible to people with mobility issues
• Project supported by local young people and volunteers from the village

Impact since the project:

• Dance group who use the hall twice per week now returning, providing good regular income
• Seated exercise group well established since the renovations and will continue after the funded sessions end due to popularity (facilitated via introduction to Think Active through VIY) 
• Fundraising events and plans in full swing, the renovations attracting more to both hire the hall and attend events, keeping the space financially secure, open & local people active in many different ways
• Opened to rave reviews and feedback from the community – particularly heating and overall welcoming appearance
• Outdoor physical activity planned for the summer on the decking
• “Revitalising the hall has guaranteed a financially secure future with a regular income stream enabling the hall to serve as an active village centre for decades ahead.” Temple Grafton Village Hall Committee, Stratford-upon-Avon, May 2023

Young people involved: 12 young people from Catch-22 and Think Forward

Accreditations gained: 7 Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditations in Carpentry

About the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus

Thanet Wanderers

Theatre Peckham

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