91热爆

It鈥檚 International Youth Day, and Children in Need are proud to fund Salford Lads鈥� Club. Originally set up as a way to keep young boys off the streets, a century on and 91热爆 Children in Need fund two workers at the Club. They now welcome both girls and boys to club which keeps 200 children busy with a never-ending itinerary of activities such as football, boxing, training, dance and table tennis. The annual camp is a focal point of the year, giving some youngsters their first taste of rural life away from Salford.

Billy has been part of Salford Lads鈥� Club since he was allowed through the iconic doors aged 11. He forms a part of history dating from 1904 and makes up one name out of 22,000 boys who have been kept secure with the club at the centre of their lives. It鈥檚 almost unique in being one of the only pre-war clubs to remain intact, with the historic tiled interior and its snooker rooms, sports hall, boxing ring and gym.

To most of the boys on the Ordsall Estate, the Club is there for a game of football and to hang out with their mates 鈥� but what they are learning is unquantifiable and will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Apart from making friends, keeping out of trouble and being part of a community project, the boys are having confidence and self-esteem instilled in them from a young age. They are vital qualities to go on and succeed in whatever they set their minds to.

Billy said 鈥淚 see the change in lads all the time. A lot of the lads who are just coming through the club now, I鈥檝e coached them football in the past and they were very shy 鈥� and now I see them and they鈥檙e talking to anyone. Confidence definitely helps you go further in life, like with job interviews, if you鈥檝e got one chance to talk to one person 鈥� it can change your life.鈥�

Offering local young people opportunities to take part in sports and arts with the club is a vital lifeline for families who do not have the means either with transport or finance to take them further afield. Without a safe place to socialise, some teenagers run the risk of becoming trapped in gangs. The Club provides another path for young people keen to avoid that lifestyle. 鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to make the right choices for the way I鈥檓 going. I know what I want to do, so I鈥檓 just trying to keep my head screwed on and coming to Salford Lads鈥� Club helps me do that.鈥�

In a landscape perhaps bleak to a young person鈥檚 outlook, Salford Lads鈥� Club provides much needed belief in the sometimes forgotten youth. 鈥淢y future looks positive thanks to Salford Lads鈥� Club, they鈥檝e just given me so many opportunities which I鈥檇 never have got off my own back.鈥�

(produced by Ruth McDermott)

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