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.

If you want more information about what The Factory (Manchester) Youth Zone is offering then visit its website: www.thefactoryyz.org.

We’ve put some pictures of the facility on the Manchester Youth Zone page. Take a look to see what is now on offer to young people.

CEO at OnSide North West

I am delighted, over the moon, happy as Larry, even as happy as Harry Redknapp, though not because I have escaped the grasps of the HMRC, but because like a football manager I have made an audacious double signing for OnSide. For an undisclosed fee, I can’t tell you how much, but it’s somewhere between 1 & -1, I have played a blinder and recruited a Dream Team of Warren Hegg (Lancashire & England) and Marc Studholme (Bolton!) to head up our forthcoming Charity Golf Day which will be held at Mere Golf & Country Club on 15th May.

The event will be known as The ‘Warren Hegg Golf Classic’. Warren had a glittering career playing cricket for Lancashire and had the honour of representing England on two occasions. Warren now works for Lancashire CC as a Development Officer and when asked if he would lead our Charity Golf Day he said “I am thrilled to be involved with such a worthwhile charity like OnSide, which is making a difference in the lives of our future generations. I’m looking forward to a competitive, but fun game of Golf in May and hope you can join us”.

I did warn Warren that the last time I asked someone to head up a Golf Day (Francis Lee) it turned into a bit of a life sentence, Franny is still going strong 23 years later and to date has raised over £300,000 for Bolton Lads & Girls Club through his golf day.

So we have a Leader and now we needed someone to pull everything together, a Fergie, a Barberoli, a tournament organiser. I knew just the man, step forward Marc Studholme. Marc is already a friend and supporter both of OnSide and the Factory Youth Zone.

Marc is passionate about our mission to support and invest in young people by simply giving them a safe and decent place to go in their leisure time. He is just the man to put in the “hard yards” and make the inaugural Warren Hegg Golf Classic a success.

So on behalf of everyone at OnSide a huge thank you to Warren & Marc and here’s to a great day. Keep an eye on our Events page as we will be posting details of how to enter a team.

Jerry Glover – Chief Executive

The Youth Zone came alive with activity when over 300 people from across the town filled the facility. There were tours of the building, presentations and cupcakes, performances by young people and the finale of HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO officially opening the building for young people to enjoy. It was definitely a day that won’t be forgotten for a long time.

This event was a culmination of years of hard work by many people and as Andrew Graham, Chair of Blackburn Youth Zone said: “This is not the end of the beginning, it is the start of something amazing”.

We caught up with Peter Little, Chief Executive at Blackburn Youth Zone for his thoughts on the day:

Take a look at some of the soundbites from people who attended the event yesterday:

MP Jack Straw:

Blackburn’s Young People:

David Watkinson, Lancashire Telegraph

Mark Serventi, Architect

Check out the footage from the official opening and the young people’s performances that followed:

ASC Renewables, a UK based renewable energy company specialising in the delivery of renewable energy solutions to both the private and public sectors, has pledged its support for our Charity. But why do companies decide to support an organisation like OnSide?

Rather than us telling you, we thought it would be better to hear it directly from them. Watch our interview with Stephen Critchlow, Chairman of ASC Renewables to find out first hand what inspired his company to get involved with us.

Click here to watch our interview with Stephen.

Recently he made a trip to Blackburn Youth Zone to meet Volunteer, Recruitment and Training Manager, Mubashar Khaliq to ask him about the work he does with Blackburn Youth Zone in anticipation of the official launch on Monday 6 Febraury.

What our video with Mubashar to find out what his vision for the future is in regards to volunteering at Blackburn Youth Zone, within the first year of opening and why the local community in the town are so integral to this.

Click here to watch the video interview in full.

Could you be part of our Youth Zone network? OnSide is currently advertising for several jobs across the North West find out more by Visiting our Vacancies page.

Next Monday the Youth Zone will receive its official seal of approval by Royalty, when it is unveiled to key stakeholders, local dignitaries and partners at an invitation only event. From 3pm there will be a series of dazzling performances from young people, tour of the new building and the official opening by HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO.

We will bring you all the news from the event next week so stay tuned…

For more details on the opening of Blackburn Youth Zone, visit the website.

We caught up with a couple of the guests to find out what they thought of the new Youth Zone, which will be opening its doors to young people from across North Manchester later this month…

Visitors on the night included:

• Alison & Daniel Rees – OnSide Futurebuilders
• Fiona & Andrew Tyrer – OnSide Futurebuilders & Founder Patrons
• Chris Dee, Trading Director, Booths
• Richard Bailey, Rothschild
• Hilary Bailey

If you would like to know more about any of OnSide’s Youth Zones click here or you would like more information about getting involved in OnSide please contact Janet Dunnett on T: 01204 369299 or E: janet.dunnett@onsidenorthwest.org.

Both ladies have a vested interest in ensuring the success of Mahdlo for the young people of the borough and have offered their support to make sure this is achieved.

Read the full article on Mahdlo’s website to find out how Julie and Sue will be supporting Mahdlo moving forward…

Could you get more involved in Mahdlo? There are plenty of opportunities to fundraise, volunteer or even help us spread the word, click here and visit the website to find out more.

Over 60 employees came along to the new youth facility in Harpurhey to put their creative, team and sports skills to the test, as they took part in over ten different challenges with the Youth Zone’s staff and volunteers.

The event was not only a great opportunity to test out the new facilities, which will be available to young people later this month, it also helped raise money for both of Bruntwood’s chosen charities – The Factory and OnSide, whilst giving staff a first hand experience of what their generous donations and fund raising activities have helped to achieve so far.

Take a look at some of the pictures from the event:

Bruntwood has chosen OnSide Northwest as its charity partner for 2011-13. If you would like to find out more information about supporting OnSide please visit the Get OnSide page.