WYTHENSHAWE YOUNGSTERS A SURE HIT WITH COMMUNITY

One thing the Wythenshawe District Youth Forum is sure about is that young people play a vital role in their community.

Over the last year eight members of Shawe Thing Youth Forum, based at Connexions in Sharston, each volunteered more than 50 hours for meetings and 30 hours each for additional events and community projects, all designed to give young people a voice and role in the area they live.

Shawe Thing began nine years ago and has gone from strength to strength, making firm links with other youth groups in the UK and abroad to promote the image of young people in both Wythenshawe and Manchester.

The group is funded by Manchester City Council and helped by staff from its Youth Services department and the Wythenshawe Regeneration team – but it is the Shawe Thing members who make the decisions about projects the group should be involved in.

Last year saw a busy schedule with a wide variety of projects, from attending the Children’s Summit in Germany, to using the group’s funds to buy bedding plants to transform the entrance to a special needs school, and even visiting a local day care centre for old people, where the panel enjoyed showing their elders how to use a Nintendo Wii.

Brooklands Labour Councillor Sue Murphy, Executive Member for Employment and Skills at Manchester City Council, with responsibility for Youth Services, said:

“These youngsters are true community champions and the perfect antidote to the negative image some people have of today’s young people. It just shows that, given a voice, youngsters can have a huge, positive impact on their community.”

CONSERVATIVES DUMP BROOKLANDS

According to their flash new website the Conservatives in Brooklands had planned a "day of action" on the 13th Feb in the area.

They were going to meet local people and listen to their views .

Well, also according to their flash new website, they have decided to cancel this "day of action" in Brooklands and go and listen to the views of people somewhere else.

The Conservative candidate and her would be helpers have been told by Tory High Command to forget about what the people of Brooklands think and go and listen to the people of Didsbury instead.

Labour Councillor Sue Murphy said

" This is typical of the Tories I'm afraid. They only appear at election times and clearly aren't really interested in what people have to say and helping them with their problems. In fact this time they have gone one better.

It seems now they aren't even going to put in an appearance at all.

You will see from this blog, and the many leaflets and letters we send and door knocking that we do, that your local Labour councillors are the only ones who work for you all year round, election or no election."

NEW YOUTH CLUB OPENS

A brand new building for Norbrook Youth Club opened in January.

The new building replaces the old Norbrook, which now the Metrolink is confirmed, will be knocked down.

Labour Councillor Sue Murphy welcomed the opening, saying:

“It’s taken a while to get here but the new club, with much better facilities for people in Northern Moor, has been worth the wait. Local people have told us that better community facilities like this and more activities for young people are among their top priorities, so I’m delighted see the club open.’

Labour Councillor Glynn Evans added: ‘I’d like to particularly pay tribute to the volunteers who worked so hard to make the new club a reality – and all the time continued to provide sessions for young people in a building that was well past it’s best.’

The Club isn’t just for young people – there are also activities such as bingo and chair-based exercise for older people.

· Sessions for Juniors (school years 4,5,6) are on Mondays at 6pm, and for Seniors (years 7,8) are on Wednesdays.