Spartans Community Foundation raising funds for Youth Work

Spartans Community Foundation (SCF): Education and Youth Work Space

Written by Jessie Colligan, UKSPF Programme Administrator

Spartans Community Foundation (SCF) is currently fundraising for a new Education and Youth Work Space in the hope they will reach their £1.3 million target.

There has been huge excitement at the football club in recent weeks as Spartans are now playing in League Two following promotion and after more than 70 years in non-league competition.  Success has also been found in the youth work carried out by the Foundation attached to the club.  The youth work offers a programme of alternative schooling for those who have struggled to engage in mainstream settings, as well as broader activities for youth in the area including health and wellbeing initiatives, and breakfast and tea clubs where local youngsters can get a warm meal after school or on weekends.

The youth work currently runs from ageing portacabins and the Foundation is being supported through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund amongst other funders to replace these with a new fit-for-purpose dedicated Education and Youth Work Space.  The current centre, made from 6 recycled portacabins, lacks the functional capacity required for quality education and youth work. With rising demand for SCF's services, especially post-Covid, maintaining the temporary portacabins is neither financially nor environmentally sustainable.

The new Education and Youth Work Space, co-designed with input from young people, promises an optimal environment for service delivery. It secures the present and future provision of SCF's services, contributing to improved social, emotional, health, and educational outcomes for North Edinburgh's young people. It also fosters a sense of belonging, giving young people a facility, they can take pride in and underscores their value in the local community.

SCF aims to help people in North Edinburgh overcome challenges and barriers to fulfilling their potential by delivering services that improve social, emotional, and physical well-being, as well as boosting educational attainment and access to positive destinations.

If you would like to find out more about the work and SCF’s live fundraising campaign, please use the links below.  There are some fantastic videos included.