West Rainton youngsters out in the open air on Durham Area Youth residential trips

Young people in a County Durham village are gaining new skills and confidence thanks to a local charity and backing from the Banks Community Fund

Durham Area Youth used a £1,600 grant from the Banks Group to fund an overnight trip to the Moor House Adventure Centre near West Rainton for a dozen local children aged from 12 to 14 years old.

The trip included a range of different activities, including high ropes, crate stacking and shelter building, while it also gave participants the chance to learn new teambuilding, cookery and fire safety skills.

Plans are now being made for a further overnight residential stay at the TCR Hub in Barnard Castle for 16 local young people, which will also be funded by the Banks grant and which will include outdoor activities such as pond dipping, canoeing, orienteering and tent building.

Durham Area Youth provides a range of services through the year to young people aged 6-18 years in the areas of Pittington, Shadforth, Sherburn Hill, Sherburn Village, West Rainton, Great Lumley and Bournmoor, and works with around 300 young people every week.

It aims to encourage them to develop social and lifelong skills, to take advantage of new opportunities and to participate in positive activities that will contribute to their personal, social and educational development, so that they’re able to develop to their full potential.

It’s the second time that the Banks Group has supported the charity’s work, with a £1,920 grant awarded last summer helping it run a series of weekly activity sessions during the school holidays which gave local 11-16 year olds the chance to try a range of new activities, including included climbing, go karting and axe throwing.

Emily Burns, chief executive at Durham Area Youth, says: “The cost of putting on residential experiences is usually well beyond our reach, so having Banks’ support in funding these trips means we can open them up to the whole of the West Rainton community.

“We’re working to empower our young people by showing them that they’re capable of much more than they might think and to give them a greater sense of self-confidence through everything they achieve.

“The residentials also allow new friendships to be formed which will continue once everyone’s back in their community and it’s brilliant to see how our young people really thrive when they’re given chances like this.

“The feedback from both participants and their families has been really positive, and we’re already well on with making plans for our next residential.”

Banks Homes is currently building 150 high specification new homes at its Cathedral Meadows development on Station Road in West Rainton, a scheme which will also include a new play area, new landscaped areas and new areas of public open space.

Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, adds: “Durham Area Youth provides opportunities for young people which might otherwise be out of their reach and the positive impact that its work has on them is plain to see.

“Banks has a long history of supporting good causes in the communities in which we’re active and we’re very pleased to be helping to give young people in West Rainton the chance to try new outdoor activities, learn new skills and make new friends.”

Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should contact the company via the enquiry form on its website (www.banksgroup.co.uk/contact-us/) to find out if their group or project is eligible.