WYZ Bulletin

WYZBULLETIN >>>Edition. 2, Nov 2017<<<

It’s a Rap for Wigan WarriorsCharity SingleIn August, we worked collaboratively with Wigan Warriors torelease a charity single in anticipation of the Warriors facingHull FC in the Challenge Cup Final.The song ‘Marching onto Wembley’, was written by Warriorssuper-fan Paul Holden and reworked from the classic Wigantune, ‘Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls’.The single was produced by the Youth Zone’s in-houserecording label, Reet Good Records with the video includingappearances from the Warriors squad, young people from theYouth Zone and an exclusive rap written and performed byWarriors player, Anthony Gelling.Well-received by all the Warriors fans, the song was playedin the run up to the big match, with over 130,000 views of thevideo on youtube and shares all over Facebook and Twitter.As the single gathered momentum ahead of the cup final, italso gained press and media attention with coverage in localpress including BBC North West, Granada Reports and anumber of national online channels. Young members of theYouth Zone were treated to a live rendition of Gelling’s rap inthe Youth Zone’s Music Room and enjoyed their fifteen minutesof fame when BBC and ITV came to cover the story.Unfortunately, Wigan Warriors narrowly missed out on theChallenge Cup but the single raised a great amount for WiganYouth Zone and Joining Jack, with over 1,000 online sales oniTunes and 2,000 spotify streams. Girls-Only Football Sessions Launched for Seniors Recently the Youth Zone have launched girls-only football sessions every Thursday. The sessions are on 5-6pm on Thursday at the Youth Zone, for all senior girls (WYZ members of High School age) and ran by Wigan Athletic Community Trust. We hope the sessions will grow in popularity over the coming weeks and potentially lead to the launch of a girls Senior League. Watch this space to find out more on the girl’s progress!

Wigan Youth Zone hosts Veteran Celebration EDs and Wigan Youth Zone hosted a fantastic evening of music and entertainment in November with a headline performance from none other than X Factor star, Olivia Garcia. The event organised by EDs, sponsored by Ainscough Hughes and hosted at The Venue in the Youth Zone, welcomed a 100-strong audience including many of the town’s veterans and their families.Attendees were treated to an array of entertainment with a headline performance from OliviaGarcia, the teenage singing sensation who narrowly missed out on last year’s X Factor finals.Also on the night, guests enjoyed fantastic performances from talented Wigan Youth Zonemembers, who showcased the skills they have honed right here in the Youth Zone’s MusicRoom.Ahead of Remembrance Day, the event was a great opportunity to celebrate the veterans thatare still here and their sacrifice and commitment to their country.Darryl Picton, Team Projects Co-Ordinator at EDs said of the event;“The concert was a huge success and hopefully achieved its objective – raising awareness ofthe support EDs and Wigan Youth Zone offer to our ex-forces community.”“These men and women are heroes, fit, healthy and a huge asset to our community – soevents like this are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate their contribution.” EDS help ex-forces who are struggling to reintegrate into society, offering practical and compassionate support during the transition back into civilian life. The organisation also works with homeless ex-service personnel, this year successfully getting seven veterans off the streets, right here in Wigan. EDs have been collaborating with Wigan Youth Zone as part of the Youth Zone’s LIBOR project – a commitment to supporting Armed Forces families locally with recreational activities and access to community engagement.

Andy Burnham and 10k runners go the distance for WiganYouth ZoneRunners joined Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham to tackle the Wigan 10k on Sunday 3rdSeptember all in aid of our charity.Almost 100 supporters of Wigan Youth Zone took to the streets of Wigan for the 10k includingGreater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Chairman of Wigan Youth Zone, Martin Ainscough CBEand board member, Bernard Edmunds.Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:“I’m passionate about making sure Greater Manchester’s young people are given opportunities tomake something of their lives and reach their full potential. When I stood for mayor, I promised Iwould put young people at the heart of all I do, and I’m determined to see that through.“Wigan Youth Zone does so much to support and inspire young people in the borough where I live;changing lives and providing access to new experiences and skills in a safe and fun environment. AsMP for nearby Leigh for 16 years, I know just how important facilities like Wigan Youth Zone are tochildren in the area, and I am so proud to be able to run this race for them.”Our team of runners also welcomed support from Wigan business including runners from localcompanies such as Geetees, Wigan Job Centre and Santander.The 10k was another fantastic fundraising event, reflecting the commitment of our local supporters.We’re still collecting sponsorship from runners but so far have raised almost £6,000 - A huge thankyou to all those who took part and went the distance for Wigan Youth Zone!

October’s Halloween Holiday Club Promotion inTakeover! SchoolsEvery Halloween, the Youth Zone works Our Junior Club Leader has started a schoolshard to bring the very best thrills and lunchtime project to try and promote the Youthscares to our members - and 2017 was Zone further afield and build closer relationshipsno exception. with local schools.Juniors enjoyed a week of Halloweenfun in the October Holiday Club with The junior team run 45-minute games sessionsthemed activities such as mask-making with the children at each school and offer freeand baking ghost biscuits, whilst senior entry passes for the Youth Zone, encouraging kidsmembers loved the ‘Wigan’s Horror to give the Youth Zone sessions a try if they’re notStory’ theme night with halloween already a member.games and a fiendish assault course.Seniors also enjoyed a Monster So far the project has been a great success withRaveathon where members got over 22 schools booked in for a visit, with 6 visits ininvolved in dancing and exercising with the calendar before Christmas.glowsticks! Did you know? Young people can now book onto Holiday Club Online A new development in the Holiday Club process has been the launch of our online booking form on the website. The form has now been succesfully tested by parents with almost 180 individual sessions booked for October Holiday Club. Book now for December 2017 Holiday Club Booking is now open for our December Holiday Club (21st - 29th December, 8am-6pm) for all 8 -12 year old members (membership registration can also be done online). Holiday Club costs just £5 for a half day and £8 for a full day if booked in advance. Book now at http://www.wiganyouthzone.org/ holiday-club/

WYZ’s Dance Troupe win BIG Project Impact, Wigan Youth Zone’s street dance crew, did an amazing job at the Dance Star Championships in October. The team’s dedication and practice paid off at the competition as our team came away with a total of twelve trophies!Youth Zone Members Hit the Big SmokeResidential trips are a fanstastic opportunity we can offer to some of our deserving youngmembers, a great chance for them to see new places, build independence, confidence and team-building skills.In late August, we took ten young members on a residential trip to London, staying for 3 nightsand showing them the sights and sounds of the Big Smoke. Most of the members had never beento London before so the staff team ensured they saw as much of the city as possible, taking theyoung people on trips to the Houses of Parliament, Sea Life Centre, Royal Museum at Greenwichto name just a few.All the young people thoroughly enjoyed their trip and the staff, well the staff were exhausted!

Wigan’s Got Talent!Over September and October, we were on the hunt forhidden talents in the Wigan’s Got Talent Competition.The competition was a month-long search for the verybest of our talented Youth Zone members, the winnerof which would be treated to tickets to ITV’s Britain’sGot Talent filming and meet the celebrity judges!The competition saw over 60 young members attendthe auditions throughout September and October butonly 20 were selected by our judges at the Semi-Finals.Each of the 20 performers were then filmed singingand videos posted onto Facebook for a public vote.The Grand Final, held on Saturday 28th October,saw the 10 finalists with the most Facebook ‘likes’perform in front of some special guest industry judgesincluding Barney Addison, Head Of Talent from SYCOEntertainment and Anne Hurcombe from Wigan PierPromotions.The winner of the competition was announced on thenight of the Grand Final as 12-year-old Gracie O’Brienwho wowed the judges with a rendition of ‘On My Own’from Les Miserables. Gracie is now looking forward toseeing the Britain’s Got Talent live show and meetingsome of the BGT judges!

Youth Worker Takeson the Rugby WorldCupWigan Youth Zone Playworker,Rachel Thompson was selected toplay in the Women’s Rugby WorldCup in Australia.England made it all the way to theSemi-Finals of the Rugby LeagueWorld Cup where they were beatenby New Zealand. An amazing job!

Bake Off - Themed Annual Ball Raisesover £80,000Our Annual Ball in November was hailed a huge success, raisingalmost £84,000 on the night.Over 300 people attended the glitzy event, hosted by ITV’s PaulCrone at The DW Stadium on Saturday 11th November.The fundraising dinner followed the theme of ‘The Great Wigan BakeOff’; the baking competition ran in the Youth Zone over the past3 months to find the best young baker from its members. Guestsenjoyed videos celebrating the various stages of the competition atthe ball and even judged the final.Attendees of the event were presented with two starters – Pie Aand Pie B – inspired by recipes from the two final teams of the BakeOff Competition and asked to vote for their favourite. The voteswere counted throughout the evening and the winning team wasannounced as ‘Pie B’, a fantastic creation of chicken, bacon andpistachio devised by youth zone members, Bradley Harrison andJakub Lawrynowicz.Guests attending the event enjoyed a fantastic four-course dinnerand took part in the charity auction offering luxury prizes includingan elegant Boodles earrings set and a one week stay in Barbados.Guests bid generously and donated a significant amount throughoutthe evening, all of which will go towards the life-changing work at theYouth Zone.Wigan Youth Zone members also entertained the crowds with someexclusive performances put together in dance sessions especially forthe Ball. The headline performance came from Diane Shaw, top UKsoul singer, topped off with DJ and dancing late into the morning.We’d like to thank all those who attended the event, donated auctionitems and particularly to the Santander and Barclays teams whomatch-funded this year’s Annual Ball.

WYZ Engaging with More Young People with DisabilitiesThrough New ProjectIn collaboration with Wigan Council and Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles,Wigan Youth Zone is one of three hubs in Wigan running the new GetOut Get Active (GOGA) programme.The programme is designed to engage young people with disabilitiesin sport and break down the barriers of mainstream and disabledyoung people to be supported from sports staff in any activities theywish with Wigan Youth Zone.Keep an eye out for updates on how the project is developing ... Christmas Toy Drive 2017 Every Christmas the Youth Zone hosts a special family dinner, for young people from the Youth Zone and referred from our local partner organisations. These young people are thoroughly deserving of a Christmas to remember. All those who attend enjoy a Christmas meal with all the trimmings and some entertainment. To ensure they have something to open at Christmas and to lessen the load somewhat, we also give all the families that attend a small Christmas hamper with toys, presents for young people and household essentials. We’re looking for donations from local organisations and families, in particular gifts for teenage boys and girls but also kids toys and household items and Christmas treats - anything suitable for a family at Christmas. It takes an awful lot to put the Christmas event on each year so we are also looking for cash donations to help with the running of the event, from local organisations and individuals. If you would like to donate to the event - drop any items off at Wigan Youth Zone Reception on Parsons Walk (across from Wigan & Leigh College). To find out more, please contact the event organiser at Wigan Youth Zone, Genna Banks by email [email protected] or call 01942 612 061.