Who We Are
Boys & Girls Clubs (NI) was founded in 1940 as an independent, voluntary association of six local organisations that were dedicated to bringing communities together and enriching the lives of children & young people. Today, we have transformed into a leading Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation (RVYO), a registered charity and limited company that supports a membership of 147 local youth organisations. This membership is diverse and includes part-time & full-time youth organisations, community associations, schools, and sports clubs. The foundations and purpose of the charity remains strong and our mission is to support the personal development and social education of children & young people and to promote good relations and community development.
What We Do
Each year our professional youth work team engages directly with 3000 children, young people, volunteers & youth workers. Indirectly, we support a wider network of 48000 stakeholders on an annual basis. We work in partnership with local organisations and provide wraparound support through membership services, compliance and regulation, accredited training, networking opportunities, intervention projects, policy guidance, governance advice and an extensive programme of youth programmes. Despite having two offices in Belfast, we operate in both rural and urban areas across Northern Ireland through our professional team of area-based youth workers.
TESTIMONIAL
“Youth work is very relational, for many young people, we are that one adult they are comfortable to confide in. We are constantly having to deal with acute mental health issues as they arise in the club and truth be told, we do not have the skills and knowledge on how to deal with these. We are often powerless, having to do what we can and signpost them to oversubscribed services. This resource is transformational as it gives us the know-how to deliver lessons based on the needs of young people. The self-assessment tool is amazing – really looking forward to having our staff trained up in this resource and putting it to use.”
Sarah – Youth Worker in Charge
TESTIMONIAL
Radius Northern Ireland
TESTIMONIAL
“I got involved with Boys & Girls Clubs when I completed my OCN Level 1 in Youth Work in 2019 and this really give me a pathway into youth work. Since then I have been on international trips to Italy to compete in a boxing event, been involved in regional sports activities and met some great friends along the way. If you are on the fence about getting involved, don’t think twice and just do it”.
Darren Boys & Girls Clubs National Youth Committee
TESTIMONIAL
“We want to say a massive thank you to the staff of Boys & Girls Clubs for all their support over the past couple of months and helping us to get back up and running again, with confidence! Staff have been fantastic. The team have helped us with policy development, governance and safeguarding, and have completed all AccessNI checks for our staff and volunteers. We are now successfully registered with the Education Authority and have even secured some funding to help us become more sustainable. Thank you for the continued support.”
Chairperson Seven Derrys Youth Club
TESTIMONIAL
“The youth club we had in our area unfortunately closed and as parents and members of the community, we decided to get it back up and running. We’re all volunteers and were a bit lost about what to do and how to go about it, so we contacted Boys & Girls Clubs and received instant support. They arrived up, put together a club development plan for us and helped us with governance training, safeguarding, insurance, provided us with programme templates, resources for delivery and got us involved on their Do Something Active project. Without their guidance we would not be supporting 120 children on a weekly basis.”
Paul – committee member at a part-time voluntary run organisation in Belfast