Rob Carter presents Adam with his leaving gift from OnSide – a framed reminder of the iconic buildings he has helped us to create

On 3rd September, we sadly said goodbye to a member of the team who has played a huge part in establishing the four Youth Zones we’ve built and opened over the past four years.

Adam Poyner, who’s been seconded to us from Bruntwood for the past three years and has made a significant contribution to the team, returned officially to his duties at Bruntwood this week, though he’ll be continuing to help us complete business involving MyPlace grants.

The team ensured Adam would have a lasting memory of his time working at OnSide by sending him off with a framed set of prints featuring the iconic youth zones he’s helped to create over the last 36 months.

We’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Adam for all his hard work and all the best for the future.

There’s more good news for OnSide this week, as our work is recognised as an example of best practice by  United Futures, a partnership programme being delivered by Business in the Community (BITC), National Children’s Bureau and UK Youth, that aims to break down barriers between businesses and the youth sector. It’s part of the government’s Positive for Youth strategy that was announced in December 2011 and is funded by the Department for Education.

United Futures has chosen to highlight OnSide’s work in forging relationships which span the private, public and charity sectors to benefit young people over the past four years, as it reflects the focus of United Future’s work.

As one of 10 case studies now on BITC’s web site, along with more familiar names such as Sainsbury’s, O2 and the Keir Group, we’re in good company, and very proud to have been selected to illustrate how, working together, businesses and charities can make a real difference to young people’s lives, now and in the future.

The full case study is available to download here.

We hope that the information encourages more businesses/entrepreneurs who would like young people to have somewhere to go, something to do, and someone to talk to, to get in touch with us.

If you’d like to know more about OnSide, or think that your area would benefit from a Youth Zone, contact our chief executive, Jeremy Glover, on 01204 369209 or email jeremy.glover@onsidenorthwest.org

28th August 2012 update:

We’re delighted to announce that Gavin and team finished an excellent fifth in the shorter course field after a punishing 118 hour 43 minutes.  As only four professional teams finished the longer course, this represents an achievement of which WCP AR can be extremely proud, though somehow we doubt they’ll be resting on their laurels.

The total now raised for OnSide (including GiftAid) is now more than £1,500, so a big thanks not only to WCP AR but also everyone who has donated to help OnSide to continue its work.

After all the coverage of the Olympics, you may be wondering if anything could be as difficult or inspiring as the challenges undertaken by the  athletes involved in London 2012.

An intrepid team who are taking part in the Adidas Terrex Sting adventure race in Stirling between 18 and 25 August to raise money for OnSide will be facing a gruelling five days of sleepless racing that makes them worthy of a medal in our books.

WCP AR is a mixed sex four person team, lead by Gavin Garner, who has been involved with OnSide since its inception through WCP’s project management of the construction of our Youth Zones.  It seems they’re gluttons for punishment, as WCP AR’s entry in the Terrex Sting is only one of a number of races in which they’ve successfully competed and trained for over the last 18 months.

The Terrex Sting sees competitors navigate themselves across no less than 600km of wild open terrain non-stop over the four day race, aiming to beat their competitors to checkpoints dotted along the route, with a few hours of sleep snatched here and there along the way.

Teams will cover the distance using a range of methods, including running/trekking, mountain biking, canoeing, canyoneering and some rope work.

Gavin, a former member of the English kickboxing team and lifelong resident of the Peak District, explains, “ I support OnSide for two reasons.  The first is simply to raise some money for a worthwhile cause.  I’ve seen first hand what the Youth Zones mean to young people through working with them on the projects and it really has brought home to me how important facilities like this are.  Anywhere that brings them both fun and opportunities can only be a good thing, and any money given to this cause is a wise investment.

“Secondly, I’d like to inspire young people to go after things like this.  That doesn’t mean I want to grow a new generation of Adventure Racers, but just to inspire kids to have a go and not think that things are unachievable.  When you analyse what’s involved – 100hrs non-stop, 621km course, 2hrs or less sleep per night, eating over 5,000 calories a day, hallucinating when tired – it seems to put off most people,  so I’d like to get kids thinking that nothing is out of reach.”

You can find out more about Gavin’s team and sponsor them, here.  Rather them than us, but everyone at OnSide is very grateful for their endeavours and wishes them the best of luck!

Judges single out work on Youth Zones from more than 500 entries

OnSide North West is delighted to have been shortlisted for an award in the PwC Private Business Awards, now in its second year.  Judges – including the founders of LK Bennett and Talk Talk – have chosen OnSide North West along with just three other entrants, drawn from nearly 600 entries to the awards in total.

Jeremy Glover, MBE and chief executive of OnSide North West, said, “It’s fantastic that the dedication of everyone who has supported OnSide’s work over the past three years has been recognised by the Private Business Awards.  I’m particularly pleased that our innovative model of private and public sector collaboration, which has led to the successful building of four state-of-the-art Youth Zones in the past three years, has been highlighted.

“Without the vision of committed individuals from the private sector, such as our founder, Bill Holroyd, CBE, DL, it would not have been possible for OnSide to achieve our goals.”

Ruby Parmar, partner and leader of PwC’s private business practice commented, “Much has been said about the importance of private business to the recovery of the UK economy and these awards celebrate those private companies who have been leading the way in a difficult economic environment. In a year when the focus of the world is on the UK, these businesses really do represent the ‘Best of British’ and to be short‐listed from over 600 nominations is to be congratulated.

“The shortlist contains recognisable names and brands alongside some less well known, but equally successful companies across the length and breadth of the UK. I look forward to sharing all of their stories and successes, and demonstrating the talent and innovation in the private business sector.”

The winner of the award will be announced on 6^th September at an event in London.  We’re crossing our fingers!

Four employees from Coutts in Manchester scaled new heights for charity recently, when they took on the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, world’s highest freestanding mountain.

Tony Robinson, Glyn Thomas, Natalie Turner and James Voce raised almost £20,000 to undertake the six day trek in January, for four chosen charities. OnSide North West was one of the lucky charities chosen by the team to support and we would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for the efforts of Glyn and his team!

To tell us what the expedition was like and why the team decided to raise money for OnSide, we have been speaking to Glyn Thomas, Director at Coutts:

If you would like to know more about how you can support OnSide then visit our Get OnSide page for more information.

OnSide was recently joined by special visitors from across the Irish Sea, to learn a bit more about our Youth Zone model.

The Mayor of Newtownabbey Borough Council, Alderman Billy Webb and his colleagues embarked on a journey to Bolton to spend a couple of days with OnSide, to gain a more detailed understanding of how a Youth Zone works and experience the Bolton Lads and Girls Club, which our model is based on.

With two days jam packed of presentations, club visits and group discussions, the team from Newtownabbey were able to take away information about the key principles of developing a 21st Century Youth Zone and what impact it can have on a local area.

Listen to Mayor Billy Webb about why he felt it important to visit OnSide and what he will be taking away with him:

If you feel your organisation would like to know more about the work that OnSide does to support its Youth Zones please don’t hesitate to let us know. Take a look at our services pageto find out how we could support your organisation.