A Croydon youth charity once backed by Hollywood superstar John Boyega has celebrated its 5th birthday with a spectacular community event that saw over 500 young people, families, and supporters from across the Borough come together.
Since opening its doors in 2019, Legacy Youth Zone has grown to become Croydon’s largest youth club, and one of the largest centres providing youth worker support to young people in South London. Over 14,000 young people from Croydon and beyond have been impacted by over 150 youth workers, who between them have delivered over 235,000 hours of youth work support.
The charity is well regarded for the vital services it provides, including over 6,000 hours of 1:1 mental health support for young people like Bailee aged 15 who said “becoming a member at Legacy has helped me build a solid foundation. The youth workers have helped me to have a better understanding of how to deal with my anxiety”.
On a visit to the youth centre in December 2022, John Boyega said “We didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up so I know how important it is to have free spaces and activities outside of the home. Places like Legacy Youth Zone in Croydon are so important for the next generation – we just need more of them, all across the country so young people have a safe space to be themselves and the opportunity to discover their passions in life, just as I did.”
More recently, newly elected Croydon East MP Natasha Irons, who recently became chair of the APPG for Youth Affairs said: “Visiting Legacy was a real eye opener. It’s an example of what is possible when we take young people and the services they deserve seriously. I’m looking forward to working together and making our young people a priority.”
Speaking at the 5th birthday community event, Legacy Youth Zone’s Chief Executive Gavin Evans expressed his gratitude to current supporters and funders and urged more businesses to step up for Croydon’s young people saying: “Croydon has more young people aged 8-19 than any other London borough, which means we have high levels of need for the sort of vital support we provide. I am incredibly proud of the hundreds of youth workers we have worked with to support thousands of young people in Croydon over the past 5 years. And we don’t do this alone. None of our impactful work would have been possible without the commitment and dedication of so many businesses, organisations and volunteers.”
Looking ahead to the next 5 years he said “ Our aspiration for the next 5 years is to create a Lasting Legacy as set out in our new strategy to equip many thousands more young people with a trusted youth worker and a safe space to grow. I urge organisations and individuals that believe in Croydon’s young people and want to ensure that they are given opportunities to become the best version of themselves to please get in touch.”.
Legacy offers over 20 different activities to young people aged 8-19 and up to 25 with additional needs, 6 days a week. Membership costs young people just £5 a year, pus 50p per visit, with hot meals available for £1.
Its funding model relies on donations from corporate funders, partners, trusts and the public – vital against a backdrop of reduced government funding for youth provisions that has seen annual government funding to the youth sector fall by 75% – £1.1b in real terms with 750 youth clubs closing.
For further information about Legacy Youth Zone or to find out more about how to volunteer or donate visit www.legacyyouthzone.org
