Croyden Youth Centre gets grant increase
A youth hub has received a cash boost from a developer which has increased its grant by £50,000 a year for three years.
Legacy Youth Zone will get the extra cash from Ruskin Square, which has supported the project since before it was built.
The hub is a £6.5 million purpose-built youth centre with an indoor climbing wall, sports hall, gym, arts & crafts studio, music room with recording studio, training kitchen, 3G kick pitch and dance & drama studio.
It costs members £5 a year and 50p per visit. The Youth Zone also works with partner organisations to deliver enterprise and employability workshops to help get young people into education, employment or training.
Legacy has also supplied more than 2,000 meals so far to local families and created engaging online content for their members.
It has delivered activity resources, online gaming, competitions, challenges and quizzes.
Its staff have also made one-on-one calls to members to check on their well-being.
Legacy Youth Zone is delivered in partnership with OnSide Youth Zones and Croydon council and supported by several local businesses and philanthropists.
Already, 5,500 members have signed up. It is the third OnSide Youth Zone that opened last year in London and the first in South London.
Legacy chief executive Barnabas Shelbourne said: “We are so thankful for the enormous amount of support Ruskin Square have given Legacy Youth Zone over the last three years as part of our Founder Patron Family. As you can imagine we are extremely delighted that they have made the decision to continue supporting us in Croydon to further grow and develop Legacy, especially during this difficult time. The support of our Founder Patrons enables us to help raise young people’s aspirations, inspiring them to become confident, happy, and able to fulfil their potential.”
Jessica Berney, fund manager of Schroder UK Real Estate Fund, owner of Ruskin Square, said: “Legacy Youth Zone’s objectives are closely aligned with our own aspirations for Croydon and we hope that through continued investment from ourselves and other businesses that it can continue to provide exciting new opportunities for young people in the town.”
To find out more about how you can support Legacy Youth Zone please visit www.legacyyouthzone.org or contact Milena Clamp at milena.clamp@onsideyouthzones.