SPRING 2008 NEWSLETTER

East Hendred Youth Club is fast approaching the end of its second year and continues to grow in support.  Still meeting once a week, we now have a membership of around 60 young people, and a regular attendance of more than 30.  We are delighted to welcome new young people on an almost weekly basis which is most encouraging, and it’s great to see some of our original members having passed through, coming back as ‘seniors’ to help with activities! 

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

In house entertainment, expertly organized as always by Val Prior has seen:

• A Dodge Ball Competition.
• An (hilarious) Horse Racing Competition (remember Space Hoppers?!) - Mitchell Valentine received the trophy as the Winning Jockey. 
• On Bonfire Night, our young people gathered near Snells for a Bonfire (made from lots of rubbish and undergrowth that they had cleared and tidied themselves), and BBQ – plenty of hot potatoes and bangers, but no bangs!
• A ‘Smelling’ Competition – interesting!
• A ‘Feely’ Competition – which included a pigs trotter and pigs liver(?) - yuk!
• An ‘Identify the Vegetable’ Competition – some still a mystery to us.
• A ‘Name the Celebrity’ Competition.
• Make-Up and Hair Styling Evenings, which were not well attended by the boys!
• Various evening championships for Pool and Table-tennis, and of course lots of Footie – both at the new kick-around in Snells and at the Sports Club.
• Charades, which went down very well all round.

We have also enjoyed some activity outings including Archery at the Dolphin Centre, Newbury.  

TUCK SHOP

Thanks to Vanessa Prior who continues to provide a vast choice of edible treats.  Everyone seems to especially appreciate the Pizza, Panini and Hot-dogs and so we will try and make these a regular option.

FUTURE EVENTS

Active Ten20 will be joining us again on 7th May – this time with their latest giant inflatable – a Bungee Run!  Further information soon. 

Song and Dance Competition – rap stylie!  An opportunity for all to develop their rapping skills – MC’d by our very own Grant Smith!

Development of our own Youth Club Website – A big thank you to Downs Golden Age on this one, for their extremely generous donation of a Digital Camera and a Laptop, and to Snells Hall Management Committee for providing us with Internet access.  We hope to start on this in the near future.

Five-a-Side Football – We aim to start a team which will enable us to interact with other Youth Clubs in the area.  If you’d like to join in, please add your name to Bruno’s list! 

Youth Council – we still need more input from you, and we will be arranging a meeting for all those who have something to say about the future of our Club very soon.  Have a think about what you would like us to organize and do let us know!

URGENT APPEAL

We are still desperately short of adult helpers during Youth Club sessions, and whilst those of us who attend regularly are happy to continue, it is vital that we have more support to cover holidays/sickness etc. 

Please let Elaine or Val know if you are able to help - no experience is necessary, eyes and ears (and good humour!) are all that’s required. 

	We are planning to hold an 'Open Evening' for parents/carers and those with a general interest in voluteering in the near future, but of course you would be most welcome to drop in for a taster (complimentary tea of coffee)during any regular Youth Club session (Wednesdays, 7-9pm at Snells Hall.
Val with regular helper Ann Cousins. Ann used to run a village Girls Club which Val and Ness used to attend, many moons ago! Ann is still parial to liquorice boot laces!	During April, two of our regular helpers will be away, and we shall have to cancel Youth Club on the evenings of 9, 16 & 23 April if we are unable to gain some extra volunteers.

ROAD SAFETY

It’s great to see so many of you riding bikes to Youth Club but please make sure they are adequately lit during these dark evenings.

FIRST AID

We now have three qualified First Aiders.  Thanks to Active Ten20 for organizing the course.

SPORTS CLUB

A big thank you to Ivan Mulford for his recent help in providing us with the use of Sports Club’s facilities.  The boys very much enjoyed being able to play footie on the floodlit pitch and Ivan’s coaching skills were greatly appreciated - we hope he has his voice back now!

SAINSBURY’S VOUCHERS

In case you hadn’t noticed, Sainsbury’s are doing their Active Kids vouchers again.  Please let us have them!  Last time we were able to collect enough for two sets of team tabards, Giant Jenga (a big smash!), and some portable indoor goals.

FUND RAISING

We, once again, would like to say a big thanks to Alan and Lorraine at The Plough for hosting a “Race Night” in aid of The Youth Club.

EAST HENDRED YOUTH CLUB                     Elaine St John-Mosse (01235 834545), Val Prior (01235 833973)