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Wednesday evening saw a group of Northstowe’s young people make a stand. They voted to adopt the formal wording proposed by the charity commission (see below, if legal language is your thing!), allowing the Northstowe Youth Hive to complete our registration as a charity. And, most importantly,  they also made it very clear what was (and wasn’t) a good use of time.

Youth ideas to help make meetings fun and usefulThey:

  • decided to have a meeting every term where all the members would be invited. In between those, to work on specific projects with some members and anyone else interested.
  • recognized that not everyone at youth club would want to go to a meeting, so those who come will try to represent the views of others too.
  • talked about what would make these meetings fun and useful, and what would make them boring or a waste of time. Everyone agreed that the meetings need to have real outcomes—not just talking for the sake of it. They also thought food and good listening were important at meetings. Meetings should start and end on time, but if a big project is being discussed, there should be enough time to really dive into it.
  • were excited to be involved in local decisions at every level. Whether making sure the youth club has a good mix of toppings for toasties or getting involved in bigger things, like a youth centre or other facilities.

Next Steps:

We’ve now submitted the Charity Commission Application. Hopefully, they will get back to us soon with a Charity Number, and then we can apply for grants to do the things you are already starting to dream about. Meanwhile, the trustees will have a chat with Emma and others in the youthwork team to find a good opportunity for a not-boring get-together to start to work on some of the ideas you were mentioning: so watch this space! Rest assured, we’ve heard that there needs to be food!

Legal wording:

  • “The Object of the charity is: To advance in life and relieve the needs of young people in Northstowe, South Cambridgeshire and the surrounding area through: (a) The provision of recreational and leisure time activities provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to improve their conditions of life. (b) Providing support and activities which develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals.

In other words… we’re here to bring together young people from different backgrounds, cultures, and identities so they can have fun, grow, and make a positive impact.

Read more about the Youth Hive in our previous post… Preparing to make a difference