Dedicated volunteers keep youth club running (From Bucks Free Press)

Dedicated volunteers keep youth club running in Stokenchurch

10:00am Wednesday 30th November 2011 in Education By Rebecca Cain

Richard Saunders, Julie Pearce and Ashley Saunders

THREE dedicated youth workers have continued to keep a club open after funding was pulled by Buckinghamshire County Council.

Stokenchurch Youth Club, which is held at the Community Centre in Bartholomew Tipping Way on Fridays, attracts about 60 youngsters each week.

Richard Saunders, his son, Ashley and Julie Pearce agreed to continue help running the club on a volunteer basis after the council pulled funding.

Chairman of the club's committee, Nigel Entwistle, said: "It is wonderful. We were so lucky that the three leaders said they would carry on."

They are now six leaders as they have managed to gather three new recruits.

The county council cut its budget by 1.6million and removed 100 youth workers from the wage bill, expecting volunteers to take over the clubs.

Stokenchurch was one which stepped up to the challenge and set up a committee to get everything into place.

Mr Entwistle said it was a hard slog.

He said Action4Youth helped a lot and the Stokenchurch Educational Charity gave £100 to get things going.

They were given a grant by BCC for the transition period, which he said should last for the next three years.

He said: "The challenge now is keep raising funds into the future."

Princes Risborough Youth Club is also run by volunteers. The centre in Merton Road is run by a community group.