Local Youth Charity to celebrate 30th Anniversary at Annual Awards Night
Thi
rty years ago two youthworkers from a church in Minchinhampton had a vision to set up a youth café in Stroud. After recruiting a small team of volunteers they opened The Door Youth Project at the bottom of Gloucester Street on Friday evenings and Saturdays.
30 years later and The Door is still open and going from strength to strength.
With 35 staff and over 120 volunteers, the charity runs community youthwork across Stroud District in youth centres, schools and out and about in the community.
As well as youthwork the team continue to provide an expanding range of mentoring and support services for both young people and their families, some of which now extend across the county and beyond.
On Tuesday 30th November, The Door will be hosting its Annual Celebration and Awards Night at Stroud Subscription Rooms, celebrating both the achievements of young people and parents over the last year and its 30th anniversary, and culminating in the prestigious Golden Hinge Awards. Doors open at 18:45 for a 19:00 start.
“This is a great opportunity to celebrate the really good work this charity does, and to tell a bit of the story of where we came from and where we’re going” said Graham Gill, Chief Operating Officer of The Door.
All are welcome to join the celebrations whether you have been connected with The Door during the last 30 years or are interested in being part of the next 30. Please RSVP to Anne on info@thedoor.org.uk or call 01453 756745 to book a space.
I’m sorry, but I feel the need to correct you about a line on your website regarding your history and this is important. Your line states: ‘After recruiting a small team of volunteers they opened The Door Youth Project at the bottom of Gloucester Street on Friday evenings and Saturdays.’ Firstly, to state that it was a ‘small’ team of volunteers is an understatement, as it was actually a very substantial team. It had to be because our actual original opening hours were not as you state. We were open on Mon, Wed & Fri afternoons from 3-5pm. Fri & Sat evenings, we opened from 7.30pm – 10.30pm, plus on Saturdays, we opened from 11.00am – 5.00pm. This was a total of 18 delivery hours each week, which required a huge team. These were all volunteers for the first five years and without this level of dedication, the foundations would not have been laid. Your current line doesn’t do justice to the hard work and dedication of so many. I do hope that you don’t mind me correcting you on this and I am available if you have any further questions about the history of The Door.