Community Heroes: Glow! Youth club

Sarah Webb was nominated as a community hero by PCSO Jonathan Flower for her work in setting up and running a youth club in Holmesfield.

The Glow! Youth Club has met weekly for the past three years at St Swithin’s Church, with between 15 – 25 young people attending the sessions.

Thanks to funding from local partners, including Holmesfield Community Market and the Community Safety Partnership, the group runs activities each week, including laser quest, science workshops and more.

PCSO Flower said “I wanted to recognise all of Sarah’s hard work and effort in setting up Glow! – there is so much benefit in having a space like this available for young people. This is exactly what a church hall should be used for – bringing people together.

“It’s all been made possible by Sarah’s determination in making this work and overcoming challenges to make this a safe, inclusive space for young people in the community.

“Having somewhere like this where we and other partners can come to chat to young people and answer any questions that they might have is so important for us too.”

Sarah Webb said “Thank you to everyone who has supported us, especially our volunteers and the staff from Extreme Wheels who are fantastic with all the young people who come along.

“We give young people the opportunities like going through the Rotary Youth Leadership Award, and it’s just a space for them to come along rather than just hanging around in the village where there’s not much for them to do.

“Children can come along from when they're at the end of year six at school, so they’ll know some older children on the bus when they go to secondary school. You really see the children gain confidence in how they’re talking to us and each other, it’s great to see that everyone who attends Glow! feels like they can get involved.”