Amesbury Youth Cafe celebrates ten years of activities and adventures for young people.
The cafe began ten years ago. Wiltshire Council closed its Youth Service. Fred Westmoreland, Darren Grinter, and Jonathan started it up.
Over 750 Amesbury kids joined the cafe. They saw “Wicked” in London. They paraded with giants and explored castles in Cornwall and Wales. Kids camped in Swanage and did circus acts.
The Youth Cafe lacks main funding. Amesbury Town Council supported it, and the Stonehenge Chamber helped too. So did GUL, Wessex Community Action, and Circus Wessex.
Jonathan Russell is a founder. He said it is more than a club and has positive activities, trips, and projects. Buzz Action Foundation took it on six years ago, and it became part of a larger network.
Jonathan is proud of the project. It changed his life for the better, although it was hard to keep it going at first.
Amesbury now has three youth clubs. They also have three youth camps yearly. The Youth Cafe helps with the Buzz Action Roadshow, where the kids manage exciting activities and use cool equipment.
Jonathan sees original teens grown up with careers and families. He realizes it has been ten years. The current team does an amazing job. Numbers grow as lockdowns fade and they move on to new adventures.