CEO’s Thoughts (May Newsletter)

27 May 2021

Welcome to our May newsletter.

As things begin to open up again, I have been thinking a lot about the upcoming school holidays and how best to engage local young people over this time. I have also been considering the surprising number of young people across our county who are entitled to free school meals, an issue highlighted in recent months by footballer Marcus Rashford. Even though Berkshire is generally viewed as an affluent county, it is important to remember the significant number of young people in our communities who may potentially miss out as they are living in poverty, with families defined as working poor (parents and carers working in low-income jobs, below the poverty line).

I hope you will enjoy the articles in this newsletter. It’s been a very busy month for us, including the publication of our 2021 Youth Survey, written for young people by young people. More than 750 young people across Berkshire completed our survey and I am sincerely grateful to each and every one of them for trusting us with their views and feelings about a range of topics and issues. It’s so important to listen to the young people in our communities and act upon their concerns and worries. I hope you will take the time to read this insightful survey. Also in this newsletter, you can meet our new Charity Ambassador, learn more about how 1-fix support us and a day in the life of youth worker, Jessica.

We are still on schedule to see the building works at the Waterside Centre finish mid-June. It’s been a mammoth task and I’d like to thank the Calco team and everyone involved for all their hard work. It will be such a great youth and community centre for Newbury and West Berkshire. There are lots of ways for organisations and individuals to support this excellent project. Please follow this link to see how you can help.

Have a good month, take care!