Prince’s Trust Catterick Team members have been out in the community discovering how they can make a real difference close to home.
Rolling up their sleeves, the young people offered a helping hand to Colburn Community Sports Centre, painting the foyer and sprucing up the outdoor entrance space.
The youngsters are currently taking part in the charity’s Team programme, a 12-week personal development course, delivered locally by the Education Training Collective, that helps to build employability skills.
Course leader, Seveci Navelinikoro, said: “The community project is an essential part of the Team programme as it shows the young people the positive impact they can have in their community.”
For the team, who are aged 16 to 25 and not currently in employment, education, or training, it is a chance to try something new, develop confidence, teamwork skills, and often go on to discover previously untapped leadership qualities.
Encouraging the young people to take responsibility for the two-week community project, Nav said: “We appointed a project lead, a health and safety officer, and then we had different team leads every day. The leads come up with a plan of what they wanted to achieve and directed the others.”
Paint and materials for The Prince’s Trust community project were purchased with a £250 grant from The Key Fund.
Pete Glasby, vice chair of the board of trustees at Colburn Community Sports Centre, said: “The work that the young people have done is invaluable to us. They had a great work ethic and just cracked on.”
A community enterprise organisation, the centre relies on its team of trustees and the kindness of its surrounding communities.
With a community gym, sensory room, boxing, football and gymnastics academies, as well as classes, the centre’s services are accessed by hundreds of children and adults every week.
Pete said: “We really appreciate the hard work of the Etc. Prince’s Trust team. It was good experience for the young people, but for us this was vital work that we otherwise would have had to undertake ourselves.”
The Prince’s Trust Catterick Team programme is delivered at Risedale Sports & Community College in Hipswell. The next course starts in September, for details or to find out more visit www.stockton.ac.uk/princes-trust/ or call Nav on 07436 795882.
