Chair’s Report 2010/11

Twenty Five Years! What a wonderful achievement.  The Youthwise project has been an outstanding success and leads the way in detached youth work.  I speak for my fellow Trustees when I say how proud we are of the work and achievements over the last twenty five years.  It hasn’t always been an easy journey and we still struggle with our finances, however, our youth workers are still out on the streets of our community meeting and talking to young people and listening to their story as they face the many problems of growing up in our modern world.

The Project Leader and his team are at the very sharp end of the work that we do. The places they encounter young people are many and varied and sometimes can seem hostile and uncomfortable.  The team are well trained to deal with these situations.  Many of the problems we face today are different to the ones we faced on our streets twenty five years ago, but Youthwise is extremely professional and well equipped to face the new challenges of today.

The first Chairman of Youthwise (the late Trudy Livingstone), wrote in her annual report of 1985:-
“We are fortunate in having a team of workers whose professionalism, awareness and sensitivity, enthusiasm and dedication, together with a sense of humour, enable them to win the confidence of young people”

Those were wise and true words in 1985 and I would like to endorse them in 2010.

Money is always a concern for us and the priority for the Management Committee is making sure that we get real value for money.  The major funding comes from Birmingham City Council and from the generous Mary Kinross Charitable Trust.  Without their continued contributions to Youthwise we would not be able to function.  We are also grateful to the many other Charitable Trusts who support us and enable us to do special projects throughout the year.

The enormous changes in legislation over the last twenty five years have led to the employment of a full time administrator and this has greatly improved our document management.

I hope you enjoy reading this report, and if you would like to know more about the marvellous work of Youthwise, or are interested in joining the Management Committee, please make contact with us.  I would like to finish on a personal note by thanking the Youthwise staff for their hard work and loyalty.  My thanks go also to my colleagues on the Management Committee and fellow Trustees for their time, their commitment, and their friendship.

We celebrate 25 years of serving the community and making a difference to the lives of our young people. I hope we are able to continue this valuable work for at least another 25 years.

Revd John Richards