Last updated at 17:01, Wednesday, 06 March 2013

TWELVE months ago it was a gamble that even the community’s most ardent supporters were unsure would pay off.

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But now, as the Ormsgill Youth Club celebrates its first anniversary, the venture has proved its worth.

So popular has the club become with children aged between seven and 16 that organisers are desperate to secure more funding in order to expand.

The Middlefield clubhouse’s small size means that, on occasion, youth workers have no choice but to turn away children who are eager to take part.

It is a far cry from when the Ormsgill Residents and Tenants Association (ORATA) first had the idea of creating a place for the ward’s younger residents.

“When we started off we didn’t know what was going to happen,” ORATA vice-chairman Bill McEwan said. “So we are surprised at how successful it has been.

“Actually, we could do with a bigger place because sometimes we get too many kids coming to the front door and we’re only allowed so many.”

Each Tuesday and Friday, up to 35 children take part in a range of activities organised by youth workers and volunteers, or simply mix among themselves.

The club has been credited with reducing incidents of anti-social behaviour in the area, as well as helping to instill a greater sense of community spirit among the club’s members.

Mr McEwan said the big challenges for the next 12 months included securing additional funding from both government and private sources and encouraging more adult volunteers to join in.

He said: “Before the club opened, a lot of the children were hanging around the shops because they had nothing to do, but now they’ve got somewhere to go at least two nights a week.

“What we’d like to do is open the club more nights a week, but it obviously relies on volunteers and they are a bit hard to come by at the moment, but we are working on that.”

ORATA’s efforts in setting up the youth club have seen it become a finalist in the best group or project category in the Love Barrow Awards, with the winner announced on Friday.

Anyone interested in donating their time to help the youngsters can contact youth worker Sarah Richardson on 07767 153899, or via email on ormsgillyouthclub@hotmail.co.uk

First published at 15:57, Wednesday, 06 March 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk