Providing holiday fun for Amble youngsters
The community of Amble are coming together to ensure that children, young people and their families in the local area can access fun and exciting provision during the school holidays.
This has come about due to The Northumberland Holiday Activity partners which include Leading Link, Northumberland Communities Together and Thriving Together. The partnership have accessed funding from the Department for Education’s Holiday Activity Fund and the National Lottery Communities Fund via North East Child Poverty Trust. The main message coming through is when a local community works together with one vision, more can be offered, and sustainability of provision will continue once the funding has ended.
Discussing holiday activities in Amble. Photo: Matthew Mahoney
The Amble Youth Project has been running holiday camps over the past two years really well, aimed primarily at the under 13’s. The offer had included a very exciting program offering a vibrant and enriching mixture of arts, physical activity, cooking, music and trips to local attractions with a hot lunch provided every day. Now with the help of many partner organisations within Amble, this can be extended to be more accessible to teenagers and families.
Many Amble and local providers came together on 10 March to talk about how they can be involved, and it quickly became very evident that there was already a lot happening in Amble but with a bit of support and co-ordination even more could be offered.
Capacity was the biggest hurdle for many and so there is going to be a call out for anyone living or working in Amble to come forward and join the team either on an hourly basis, or during Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays. Not only could you earn some extra money there is also quality training and upskilling opportunities available as well of being part of this great community development initiative.
Leading Link have already approached James Calvert Spence College in a search for young people to be involved, but there are also opportunities for adults too. There will be training, involvement in community events such as the Puffin Festival and working with others across Amble and the surrounding areas. Some fabulous experiences and learning that can be accessed for enjoyment and also to help gain employment if this is relevant.
In addition to this, local businesses, schools, and agencies are coming together to offer activity weeks or days to include water sports both on the lake and sea, arts and craft, physical activity, and cooking. The Northumberland Holiday Activity Team are still asking for other potential providers to come on board which would help with sustainability of their own provision, as well as offer a wealth of opportunities to Amble’s children and young people.
Lyn Horton from Leading Link says ‘this is such a positive initiative, which aims to ensure that the funding available stays in Amble and helps to create and build relations. There is no doubt that there is high energy and positivity from many in Amble that we have met so far, but we also know there will be more out there. We want to ensure everyone that wants to be part of it, can be. Come on board, it’s going to be great!’
For more information, please contact us on info@leadinglink.co.uk or phone 07950 763613.
