Heart of the community

NO ONE can deny that the Bolton Lads and Girls Club (BLGC) is at the heart of the community — and has been so since it was founded in 1889.

A registered charity, the organisation has grown from humble beginnings to a huge, nationally recognised deliverer of a wide range of highly regarded youth services — and the 2,500 young people who stream through the doors every week are testament to that.

Based at its Spa Road premises, the club is open early ‘till late and is a haven for young people seeking to burn off energy in a variety of sports and activities, or to get help with personal and family problems.

There’s a one-to-one mentoring scheme that has proved successful and the club has now moved into local schools with its pioneering Not in Education, Employment or training (Neet) programme, helping young people in danger of dropping out of education and training.

The club needs more than £2.5 million a year to offer its wide range of complex services and has traditionally looked to the generosity of local businesses to fund most of its work.

And that is exactly what has happened over the years as small and large companies alongside altruistic individuals, have got involved either in fundraising, mentoring or becoming long-term patrons of the club.

Philip Burke, enterprise co-ordinator at BLGC, said: “We are excited to be nominated for this prestigious award which recognises the dedication, commitment and hard work of the young people who have had the strength and focus to realise their own potential.

“We hope this will reinforce how important our work is in the community and hopefully promote our services to other young people that need support, enabling us to continue to create further leading citizens.”