Building Brighter Futures at YMCA Brunel Group
4 November 2025
“It’s like a feeling that you get the second you walk in. It just feels like a second home.” — Young person at Street Youth Club
At YMCA Brunel Group, our youth clubs are more than just after-school hangouts. They are places of possibility:
- A welcoming space for young people to explore their interests
- A chance to socialise, make friends, and just be a kid
- A warm meal
- An opportunity to try new experiences and learn new skills
- A safe place to talk to trusted, qualified adults and role models
- The tools to build a brighter future
This Youth Work Week, we celebrate our incredible youth workers and the amazing young people they support. Together, they help shape brighter futures where every young person can feel valued, capable, and connected to their community.
Our Youth & Community Work
Youth work has always been at the heart of YMCA Brunel Group. Across Somerset and beyond, our teams work tirelessly to create safe, supportive spaces for young people to thrive.
- We deliver 12 youth clubs for young people aged 10–19 (up to 25 for those with Special Educational Needs)
- Between July and September 2025, we worked with 544 individual young people
- We are proud members of the Somerset Youth Alliance
- We run 15 face-to-face sessions every week
- 4 of our 12 clubs are dedicated specifically to Young Carers
- We also carry out detached youth work across our areas — meeting young people where they are
A Message from Our Chief Executive
“Youth work has always been at the heart of what we do at YMCA Brunel Group. I started out as a youth worker more than thirty years ago, and I’ve seen first-hand how the right support and encouragement can change a young person’s life.
This year’s theme, Building Brighter Futures, captures exactly what youth work is about — helping young people to believe in themselves, discover their potential, and find their place in the world.
I’m incredibly proud of our youth teams and the twelve clubs across Somerset that provide a safe space for young people, including young carers, to be heard, to belong, and to thrive. Their dedication continues to build the foundations for brighter futures every single day.”
— Mike Fairbeard, Chief Executive, YMCA Brunel Group
The Voice of Young People
Youth work is an integral part of every community. We believe young people should always have opportunities to belong and to thrive, and that begins with being heard.
Our youth clubs are shaped around the needs and voices of the young people who attend them. When they feel ownership of their space and confidence in their voice, incredible things can happen.
“When I first came to Coleford youth club I was 10. I was looking forward to going with my friends. I like the people at youth club and the fun activities they do. I am now in secondary school and still enjoy coming. I like playing football and trying new things.
Youth club has given me something to do when I am bored. If youth club wasn’t here anymore, I would be bored as there isn’t a lot for us to do in the village. I am more confident in talking to people now than I used to be. I like coming here because there is different stuff every week, and I have the chance to learn new skills. One session I made a positivity journal to take home with me and I really enjoyed creating it and making it my own. It really helped me to understand how I can record my feelings.”
Youth work changes lives — one conversation, one safe space, one young person at a time.
