Chapeltown Young Peoples Club

The following short-term opportunity summarises the core development plan for the Club and its associated projects, programmes and activities over the next 10-month period to March 31st 2007:

1) In the short-term period 2006/7, the Club proposes maintaining its office base, facility venues and programming in-situ while negotiating with the Area Management Team to relocate Club management, administration, programmes, activities and associated projects including YesCyberCafé  to the Mandela Centre, Chapeltown Road, Leeds 7.

2) Within the 1st five months of this interim period, and at the very latest in early November, the Club will have negotiated to secure a written in-principal agreement from the NE Area Manager’s office, confirming, or otherwise, the NE Area Management’s agreement to support the Club’s proposal along with a draft timeline to progress the development.

3) At the end of the 1st five months of this interim period, and at the very latest in early November, and on the strength of written communication from the Area Manager’s office, the Club will update its development planning and commence the necessary fundraising for the 2007/8 period and beyond, or, exercise one of it exit strategy options.

The main development opportunities presenting themselves in the short-term to the Club and benefiting young people in the general Chapeltown area through its associated projects are:

1. Opportunity to consolidate, capacity build and develop the Club’s administration, services, projects and activities at one site: improving access, raising effectiveness and reducing real overheads

2. Opportunity to consolidate, capacity build and develop the Club’s management, partnerships, project managements and staff and volunteers on one site: sharing good practice, creating efficiencies and cost savings

3. Opportunity to consolidate, develop and capacity build the Club’s activities and programming for young people and in particular, its premier project YesCyberCafé on one site: generating increased varied quality accredited outcomes in response to real need, and improved income in return for these outcomes

4. Opportunity to consolidate, develop and capacity build the Club’s weekday AfterSchool and to seamlessly merge this provision with the Chapeltown Independent AfterSchool’s Saturday provision on one site: sharing good practice, improving outcomes and creating efficiencies and cost savings

5. Opportunity to consolidate, develop and capacity build the Club’s 135 member PROJECT7 with mentoring and resources on one site: facilitating, enabling and empowering independence and responsibility

6. Opportunity to develop and capacity build new contributory partners and to access funding opportunities to support the Club’s real and potential annual running costs: developing longterm sustainability

7. Opportunity to replicate the YesCyberCafé concept to other parts of the City with similar needs: sharing good practice and contributing to the City’s youth work area plans/programmes
 

These opportunities also translate into main opportunities for the Mandela Centre:

8. Opportunity to raise the profile of the Mandela Centre as a designated young people’s centre and a focal point for young people in the general Chapeltown area: regenerating an under used centre building, creating access, improving value-for-money in youth work, helping to reduce crime

9. Opportunity potential for a young-people-centred modernisation of the Mandela Centre: meeting the needs of today’s young people, improving local infrastructure

10. Opportunity to develop a local youth hub / one-stop-shop at the Mandela Centre in partnership with local authority youth services, training and careers departments, Connexions, colleges and universities and other relevant statutory and voluntary sector agencies: accessing young people to quality opportunities, signposting, referrals and referral support

11. Opportunity for the Mandela Centre to host, share and create programming for over 300 young people registered with the Club, its AfterSchool and PROJECT7, and over 4,000 young people registered through YesCyberCafé: creating usage at an underused centre

A further opportunity accruing to both the local Community and the City is the:

12. Opportunity to consult young people more effectively on one site at the Mandela Centre which is traditionally associated with young people: consulting and establishing need and creating peer led solutions and delivery