YOUNG people and families attended a day of free activities and events held at Whitby Park.
Youth Fed brought the sunshine, fun and games to Ellesmere Port communities on 30th April through the successful event.
The North-West based charity provided a wealth of activities for the day including zorb football, inflatable assault course, drone flying, archery, quidditch, rap and graffiti workshops.
The activities were designed carefully to build resilience and self-assurance amongst the young people attending, introducing them to different activities and ultimately developing their confidence and showcasing the work of the charity and other community partners and services available.
Chris Hindley, Chief Executive of Youth Fed, said: “We were delighted by the success of our inaugural El Porto Festival. As the name suggests, we wanted an opportunity to give Ellesmere Port’s young people a real festival experience, but with the added twist of confidence building activities and workshops.
“It was important to deliver it on the doorstep, where it was the most accessible to our communities and this paid off with over 500 in attendance. We aim for our events to help foster relationships - and we feel the day was a great success in bringing support and joyful moments to young people.”
Organisations who supported the festival included Chester Sexual Abuse Support Service (CSASS), Rugby Juniors Ellesmere Port, Streetwise Soccer, Mako Create, Girlguiding 2nd Great Sutton Rangers, James Taylor Lyons Art, Cheshire police, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, National Citizen Service (NCS), Ellesmere Port Scouts and Activity 4 All.
Sam, 15 years old, from Whitby High School said: “I have really enjoyed today, especially the drone flying. I think there should be more events like this, it is good to get you off the streets and doing something that is not dull and boring.”
The Police and Crime Commissioner granted £4,655 towards the festival through the Community Action Fund.
The Community Action Fund has been developed to enable residents and communities to address the issues which matter most to them. The fund enables ideas to be brought to life and gives the community the opportunity to be part of the solution.
PCC John Dwyer said: “I’m delighted to have supported Youth Fed’s El Porto Festival and to see it has been a success.
“I want to encourage residents and communities to come together to improve community safety and community confidence within policing. Together we can make our communities safer.”
Youth Fed matched the Police and Crime Commissioner funding of £4,655. UK Youth and Sport England contributed £570 through Active Youth Funding to support the project and Arnold Clark Community Fund granted £1000 to help their mission to support activities for young people.
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