A year at UK Youth: 1m young people benefit from power of youth work

National charity UK Youth is celebrating another successful year – helping support more than one million young people to benefit from the power of youth work. 

UK Youth has a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. It is working to create a society that understands, champions and delivers effective youth work for all. 

Highlights over the last financial year include seeing more than 150,000 young people benefit from the organisation’s programmes and grants, and engaging with more than 50 MPs to highlight the importance of youth work. It also welcomed 17,000 young people to its Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity Centre in the New Forest, promoting the benefits of outdoor learning, including building confidence and improved mental wellbeing.  

Ndidi Okezie OBE, UK Youth chief executive, and David Thomlinson, UK Youth chair of trustees, said: “Last year saw us make real progress in many ways, with meaningful and strategic interactions with Government, employers, and other sectors. We have made great strides in building a greater understanding of youth work across sectors and statutory bodies, as well as forging valuable strategic partnerships.” 

UK Youth’s 2022-23 in numbers… 

UK Youth’s funds and programmes include Adventures Away from Home, enabling disadvantaged young people to enjoy the benefits of outdoor living, and Thriving Minds, which supports youth mental health. Another programme is Building Connections, which enables youth organisations to establish partnerships with local businesses in a bid to boost youth employability. 

Going forward, the charity wants to link youth professionals with business leaders, teachers, doctors, therapists, and others, creating joined-up collaboration to enable a greater, more profound impact on young people. It aims to convene 10,000 professionals and young people to work together to solve key issues.  

It has also set itself a target of impacting one million young lives through its direct delivery and Avon Tyrrell. 

Ms Okezie and Mr Thomlinson said: “The future of any country lies with its young, yet the cost-of-living and mental health crises are having a brutal impact on this generation. Lack of sustainable funding means 10 million young people are currently unable to access the support they need. This makes the work of UK Youth ever more vital, as we fight for systems change to improve services and transform lives all over the country.” 

“Being young right now may feel overwhelming to many, but at UK Youth we want to join in with the voices of hope. We hold ourselves to account for delivering true systems change for young people. Every significant historical evolution has seen young people playing their role, making an unmistakable impact. We continue to be hopeful and expectant for change. We walk with them, side by side, confident that together we can not only handle, but shape what the year ahead will bring.” 

To read the report in full, click here.

UK Youth is a leading charity with a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. With an open network of more than 8,000 youth organisations and nation partners, UK Youth reaches more than four million young people across the UK and is focused on unlocking youth work as the catalyst of change that is needed now more than ever. To find out more, visit ukyouth.org 

As well as mental health, UK Youth is involved in a range of programmes designed to help young people thrive, such as outdoor learning, physical literacy, social action and employability, including Hatch, a youth employability programme run in partnership with KFC. For more on UK Youth’s programmes, see ukyouth.org/what-we-do/programmes.