The organisation, which describes itself as ‘the pioneer of venture philanthropy in the UK’ will not only provide a financial contribution worth £75,000 to OnSide in 2013, but also support the charity’s growth as it moves towards the next stage of its vision:  to build and sustain youth zones wherever they are needed in England.

Experts from Impetus will support OnSide in reviewing several key areas of its work, including theory of change, impact measurement processes, strategic and business planning as well as helping to develop  senior personnel at both executive and board level.

Kathryn Morley, chief executive of OnSide said, “Now that we have fulfilled our original dream of building five youth zones in five years, we face a new set of challenges.  Although we have learnt a great deal from our experience to date, the scale of our ambition is significant and I’m delighted to have the support of Impetus Trust to help us move forward, delivering  somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to for all young people.

Commenting on the investment, Impetus Chief Executive Daniela Barone Soares said: “Youth unemployment is at a high and many young people today, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, have little hope or ambition for the future. OnSide is a dynamic organisation that is enthusing young people with activities that genuinely inspire them. We are excited by the opportunity to help it scale up so that more young people are engaged in their education and community and crucially, their own future.”

Named after the tournament’s sponsor, an OnSide founder patron and President of Mahdlo, Norman Stoller, the day saw a raft of games and activities, giving a selection from each youth zone’s junior and senior members a chance to pit their wits against each other to see who would come out on top – and take on the role of host youth zone for next year.

The games were also a chance to celebrate the fact that more than £50m has been raised in the past five years to build and run youth zones, which now have more than 10,000 members – and give members from hundreds of miles apart a chance to meet each other.

Six teams participated in total, including a team from Wigan Youth Zone, despite the fact it won’t open until June.  We were extremely pleased to welcome Bolton Lads and Girls Club too, the inspiration for our Youth Zones.

The Factory Youth Zone‘s Dance  guru, Danny Price, who has choreographed and worked with celebrities including Prince and Madonna, led all the participants in a huge warm-up in the sports hall, after which the youth zones got down to some serious competition.  You can see videos of the warm up on OnSide’s Youtube page.

After hard-fought battles in unihock, boccia, hoopball, dodgeball, tug-o-war, fitness and endurance tests, and a Gangnam Style dance-off, Blackburn Youth Zone pipped Mahdlo to the post right at the last minute to take the trophy as overall winners.  Each youth zone won at least one of the events in which they participated, demonstrating the breadth of talent and skill that is being developed in young people across the network.

Carlisle Youth Zone was awarded the Bill Holroyd Trophy for Fair Play, an award which was judged by two representatives of Young Advisors.  They complimented Carlisle, who had set off for Mahdlo at around 6.30am, on their respect for other players, good communications skills and determination in the face of adversity.  They placed fourth overall in the tournament.

Greg Stalker, Senior Youth Worker at Carlisle said, “I’m absolutely delighted with how the team performed.  It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s one of, if not the proudest moment of my youth work career so far when I heard CYZ’s name announced.  I’m really, really proud of them all.”

The event also gave OnSide an opportunity to raise awareness of its work more widely.  The outgoing chief executive, Jerry Glover gave an interview about OnSide and the tournament on BBC Radio Manchester on Saturday morning, whilst local media in Oldham, Carlisle and Blackburn look set to cover the story as well – so look out for pictures of your local team!

We have included just a few shots from the day here, and you can see a full selection on our Facebook page.

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Member of Fac-9, and Temiah (centre, in mauve dress), celebrate the official opening of The Factory with Sir Howard Bernstein, and chair of The Factory Youth Zone, Kate Vokes

On 29^th November, 150 guests came down to The Factory Youth Zone in Harpurhey, North Manchester, to mark the official opening of the state-of-the-art building by Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council.

The charity’s founder patrons, supporters and champions were joined by key members of Manchester’s business, public and third sector community including Tony Lloyd, Manchester’s new Police Commissioner.

Guests were given tours of the building by young members so they could see some of the 20 activities on offer every night in the Youth Zone to its 2,500 members – including trampolining, DJing, skateboarding, climbing and recycled fashion art.

They were treated to the ‘best of Manchester’ as they tucked into a Mancunian supper of hot-pot and Manchester tart, created by The Factory’s chef and served by a team of volunteers and young people.

Later, they enjoyed a surprise performance from The Factory’s resident dance group, FAC-9. Made up of 16 of The Factory’s members, FAC-9 performed a dance sequence whose narrative reflected how The Factory aims to change the lives of children from across Manchester, improving their futures.  It segued from the traditional image of Mancunian Factory workers, as portrayed by Lowry, to a more modern image of Manchester featuring vibrant street dance and hip-hop.

There was also a bewitching performance from nine year old Temiah Deans-Welch, a member from Blackley who sang ‘Listen’, a hit for Beyonce and more recently for Jahmene Douglas from the X-Factor.

The performances elicited a standing ovation from the crowd, who were visibly moved by the talent and effort on show.

Speaking about performing in front of an audience of over 150, Temiah, said: ‘I enjoyed performing on stage tonight – it was excellent, good fun.  I feel very happy and proud to have performed tonight.’

Kate Vokes, Chair of The Factory Youth Zone, said: “The evening has been a wonderful celebration of the achievements and hard work of everyone who supports The Factory, and has shown what the best of Manchester has to offer.

“The Factory is a place where young people aged eight to 21 are supported to fulfil their potential and make positive choices so they can lead happy, healthy lives – and this event shows that The Factory is achieving what it set out to do, and more.’

Bill Holroyd, Founder and Chair of OnSide, spoke of his excitement.  “The opening at FYZ was the first time in five years that I’ve really sat back and taken it all in.  I was staggered by the amount of work that the whole team has devoted to the project, and it made me realise what a wonderful facility we’ve created, and appreciate the way it’s making a difference to so many young people after just twelve months.  I’ll never forget the evening, as long as I live.”

Gary Tipper, Palatine PE, meets young members of The Factory Youth Zone

OnSide North West has announced that it will receive a substantial donation towards its core running costs from Palatine Private Equity for the next three years.

OnSide has set up four Youth Zones in four years, which receive nearly 10,000 visits from young people each week, with two more in progress.  The charity has historically been funded through a mixture of central government, Big Lottery Fund and private sector investors and relies on investment of this nature to continue its work.  The charity employs nine people and has annual running costs of £500,000.

Bill Holroyd, founder and chair of OnSide North West, said, “We’re absolutely delighted that Palatine PE has decided to invest in the OnSide vision.  With more than one in six young people in England not in education, training or employment, it’s clear that we need to give young people as many opportunities as possible to learn new skills and build their confidence, and that’s what Youth Zones do.  With support from forward thinking organisations like Palatine PE, OnSide can continue to make a difference to the lives of thousands of young people in the North West and beyond.”

Gary Tipper, Managing Partner, Palatine Private Equity, said: “After visiting the Oldham Youth Zone we saw first hand the fantastic work that Bill and the rest of the OnSide team are doing to enhance the lives of young people living in the North West. Palatine is delighted to be able to support OnSide so that they can continue to build Youth Zones and change the lives of many more young people.”

In it you can see clips of each of the open Youth Zones and find out more about why we’re working hard to build more.

In case you’re wondering, the soundtrack is by Amy MacDonald, and is called Youth of Today.

Massive congratulations to all the young people, staff and volunteers who made this happen. From what we hear, we can look forward to more of the same in the near future, so watch this space!

It’s official – Mahdlo is open, thanks to HRH and chair Terry Flanagan

On October 2nd, Mahdlo Youth Zone in Oldham was officially opened by HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

The prince spent more than an hour touring the Youth Zone in Egerton Street, meeting patrons, supporters, local dignitaries, and many of its members, all of whom were delighted to chat to the royal visitor.

Claire Crossfield, Development Manager, at Mahdlo, said, “He was engaging and funny, and most of all, fascinated by what goes on in a Youth Zone.  His visit has meant a lot to us all.”

The royal visit was not the first within the youth zone network.   In February 2012, HRH also visited Blackburn Youth Zone to officially open its doors.

HRH spoke at length with the young people, including members of the Ability Group, Juniors and Seniors, and nearly got involved in some  sparring training before security guards stepped in to prevent any personal injury, either to the trainer or the prince.

His level of interest is perhaps best reflected by his probing questions to the young people, in particular the Young People’s Development Group.  He asked about the Youth Zone’s history, and where the name came from. Step forward a very proud Charlotte Kilroy, who explained the branding process and how Oldham came to be turned on its head.

All in all, it was an afternoon for Mahdlo to be proud of, demonstrating the impact that the Youth Zone has made on its community in the short time since it opened its doors earlier in 2012.

Prince Edward finds out more about the wheelchair football initiative

Prince Edward spent over an hour chatting with members at Mahdlo

HRH chats with members of the Ability Group

The prince learns how Mahdlo got its name from the Young People’s Development Group

HRH meets (from l to r) Jeremy Glover, OnSide, Bill Holroyd, founder of OnSide, Will Lees-Jones, chair of Mahdlo, and Normal Stoller, President of Mahdlo

Members perform for HRH in the state-of-the-art dance studio

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.

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!