21 Aug 2020
For over 30 years St Andrew’s Club has run a 4-week Summer Project offering a varied programme of creative, educational, recreational and sporting activities and trips out. This year, the Summer Project looked slightly different, following 4 months of lockdown and with strict Covid-19 prevention methods in place. However, the amazing team of youth workers ran this vital fun-filled provision from Monday 20 July to Friday 14 August 2020, making all the weeks of uncertainty, risk assessments and planning so very worthwhile.
“My children enjoyed the Summer Project as they had not been able to go anywhere to do anything since lockdown, it was great for them to be able to meet and spend time with their friends, the trips have been fantastic as I wouldn't have been able to afford these”. Parent.
Activities included a varied daily programme for Junior Club; we provided all members with food, courtesy of the Kitchen Social, as well as socially distanced activities inside the Club, a weekly ‘Street Play’ session along Old Pye Street outside the Club and a weekly trip to a theme park!
“Such a great place, kids have missed out on so much valuable social interaction over the last few months, being able to go to the club during the summer was amazing!” Parent.
Following the National Youth Agency’s guidelines, we welcomed small ‘bubbles’ of Middle (aged 8-12) and Senior Club (aged 13+) members at different times in different parts of the building, including our first ever Summer Project for Juniors (aged 5-9) which was held in our neighbour’s, St Matthew’s School hall. Each ‘bubble’ had 12 members and 3 staff. Sessions were strictly bookable in advance and as many sessions were oversubscribed we had to rota the young people each week. We also ran 3 external sessions in the evenings, including fitness and football for the U11s and U14s. In total nearly 150 young people benefitted from this provision.
“The staff are amazing and the work they do for the kids are brilliant, getting all children involved in activities and helping to build confidence. Especially with the current situation, youth clubs like St Andrew’s is a ‘must-have’ place to go for children”. Parent.
It was wonderful to welcome so many young people back. We finished the summer with a 'mini Presentation Night' to celebrate achievements by some of our inspiring members. Read about this here.
“It was such a lovely idea, especially for H who wasn’t able to go back to school - so was nice (for my child) to socialise and have a feeling of normality. Thanks so much to Sarah and the team.” Parent
The Summer Project Junior Club was generously funded by John Lyon's Charity and donations from many of our supporters from the Champions for Children Campaign helped support the Middle and Senior Club sessions. We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you!
“Great place for kids to socialise, interact and learn. Highly recommend the St Andrew’s Club”. Parent
If you would like to donate to our work of enriching young lives, please visit our online fundraising page here. Thank you.
