The Trustees of the Friends of the Rose Bowl hosted receptions on the 3rd and 10th July. Oswin Baker, FORB Chair, thanked our donors for their ongoing support. They were joined by Clive Tachie, Youth Work Manager; Dawn Jarrett, Lead Youth Worker; Stacey Jeakins, Youth Worker, and several of the young people who regularly participate in activities at the Rose Bowl Youth Centre.

Clive and Dawn shared updates on the activities and initiatives provided at the centre and the improvements to the facilities, including a renovated kitchen to complement the fridge and freezer funded by donors last year. The Rose Bowl partners with the Felix Project to provide food to families, in the local area, struggling with the rising cost of living.

From October 2022 to May 2023, the Rose Bowl youth workers, in partnership with Yes Outdoors, worked with a group of vulnerable young people on an extended project. It included several weeks of classes to teach them rock climbing, a bicycle maintenance course and culminated with a 5-day residential adventure in Wales.

Prior to this trip, many of the young people had never travelled outside of London. The project challenged them to go beyond their comfort zones in order to realise their potential.  As part of the project, participants learnt to work together collectively as a team, meet new people, gain new skills and make healthy choices.

Yes Outdoors filmed the adventure, which can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/Jj8MHXv2jms

Guests who had visited the centre last year commented favourably on the continued development of the facilities. And those who had not been to the centre before, were impressed with the breadth of services offered, including counselling for the children and their parents, and the positive impact on the local community.

“Thank you for the invite to see the excellent work being done at the Rose Bowl.  As a Governor of a local secondary school I understand the need for provision of such places and it was good to see excellent work being done. Talking to the Youth Workers and the children highlights the benefits of such a place.   Excellent work – keep going and looking forward to helping fundraising further.”

Julie Whittaker

“It was great to see the facilities. We were really impressed, especially with the music room. It was also good to hear from Dawn and Clive and how much they genuinely care and provide support to the young people.”

Longstanding donor

If you would like to make a contribution to help fund the centre and its activities go to https://friendsoftherosebowl.org.uk/donate/