Volunteers at Dartmouth Youth club have been hard at work ensuring that every young person in Dartmouth has access to fun and rewarding experiences, free of charge. 

The club, which has been operating for around 14 months, has been running various events for the youth of Dartmouth, and the community has rallied around the initiative, with both local people and businesses owners showcasing their support. 

Cllr Ben Cooper is a volunteer at the club. He explained that the club was born after the council discussed the lack of activities for youngsters in Dartmouth: “Post pandemic, Liz Moseley (Chair of Dart youth Club) mentioned to a group of us that there’s not much to do in town for younger people.”

Since then, the club has hosted numerous events for children in Dartmouth, and it has grown substantially since it was first conceived. For their original sessions, six or seven young people turned up, but over winter their monthly roller discos saw 80-100 children joining in each month. 

Other events they’ve hosted range from summer trips to coronation park, paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing and skateboarding to outdoor games nights, silent discos and Christmas trips on the Train of lights, all of which are free of charge. 

Ben expressed why this is so important: “Even if we put a two pound donation in you’ll have families that can’t afford it… we prefer to keep it free.”

Last Wednesday the club took 25 children to see Shrek The Musical in Plymouth. Out of the 25, 19 had never been to a theatre, which shows just how important it is that local children are getting these opportunities. 

Knead Pizza provided food for the children and Tally Ho Coaches drove them there, which is just one example of how local businesses have supported the scheme.

If you would like to donate, visit: https://www.dartmouthyouthgroup.org/donate