Club Support
Voluntary-Led Youth Clubs
Many young people do not have a safe place where they have a sense of belonging, where they have people who believe in them, or a place where they can form positive relationships with adults. Youth Work Ireland, through the clubs and projects run from out Member Youth Services, offers young people from every background a place to go, a listening ear, and support if they need it.
We have over 200 clubs in communities all over Ireland. The local youth club is often the heart of the community where young people, youth leaders, adult volunteers, and staff come together to be part of something important. The youth club encourages participation and fosters a sense of belonging for young people, as well as training and support for volunteers.
Nollaig 2023
Nollaig 2023 has been a huge success yet again. Youth Work Irelands annual “Design a Christmas Card” had over 250 entries from 13 of our Member Youth Services. We had a very high standard of entries in every category. The adjudicators had a difficult task to select the winners for Nollaig 2023 but fortunately they made their decision. This year’s overall winner was Megan Kelly from Clare Youth Service, the 5-9 category was won by Órlaith Hughes from Donegal Youth Service, the 10 – 14 category was won by Eabha Boyce from Donegal Youth Service and the 15-18 category was won by MJ Maher from Ossory Youth . They also four cards to be Highly Commended Rory Fitzgerald from Clare Youth Service, Zoja Sokal from Ossory Youth and Clara Scheiff from KYDS and Nicole Sayers from KDYS.
We would like to say a huge thank you to every young person that took the time to send in their entries and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
My Youth Club App
Ireland’s first ever App dedicated to youth clubs was launched on October 16th in Limerick. My Youth Club App was pioneered by Youth Work Ireland and Limerick Youth Service and will be rolled out through local youth services. The App provides user friendly mechanism for parents and guardians to register their child in their local youth club, learn about upcoming activities and events and consent to participate in activities.
The App will streamline how Volunteers manage registrations in their club, volunteer training and Garda Vetting. The APP will simplify many processes for clubs and for Youth Services a key issue for Youth Clubs.
You can download the app at the respective Android and Apple app stores.
Youth Wave 2023
Youth Work Ireland’s annual celebration of youth clubs will take place on Saturday November 25th in National Office, Dublin and is a chance for youth club participants, workers and volunteers to come together at a national level to take part in fun, educational and interactive workshops where they can learn new skills, be entertained and have fun. Workshops themes this year include Creative Tech, Tin Pot Podcasting, Arts, Halloween Crafts, Face Paining & Circus Skills and much more…
The Feel Good Club Pack
To coincide with Youth Work Ireland Week 2022 we developed an activity pack to support youth clubs and groups get back to working in a physical, fun and meaningful way. The need for this pack has been identified by the Youth Work Ireland Clubs Development Network. The development of the pack was guided and informed by young people and youth workers through consultations, focus groups discussion and online surveys. They identified the themes and topics of the activities pack.
This pack is divided by months, beginning with September and ending in May, which marks the traditional beginning and end of a youth club year. Each month is further divided into sessions which contain activities that are relevant and topical for each month.
We hope that the pack will engage young people in creative and fun activities around issues important to them.
Youth Work Ireland's Club Insurance
Youth Work Ireland’s insurance scheme provides an insurance facility for affiliated members. The scheme enables a youth club to provide a variety of activities which cater to the needs and wants of young people while ensuring their welfare and safety during the activities. The insurance scheme also indemnifies the youth club leaders and members in respect of their legal liability for accidents to persons or damage to their property and the policy caters for legal liability for accidents or injuries which leaders or members suffer as well as members of the general public.
Our Insurance Booklet provides more details of the Youth Work Ireland’s Insurance Scheme and includes information on the covers which apply to your club, the activities which are catered for, and indeed those which are not automatically catered for. In addition you will find Health & Safety Information which may be of use to you.
Youth Cafés
Youth Cafés are safe, alcohol-free places where young people can meet friends, have fun, and take part in a wide range of activities. Youth cafés are for young people and run by young people. The young people are supported to set up their youth café by the regional service. There is a number of youth cafés run by Youth Work Ireland services. The informality of the Youth Café offers young people a space to develop relationships outside the school and family structures, while also staying in a safe environment. Youth Cafes also offer the young people who run them, a set of skills that they would not receive anywhere else, such as entrepreneurship, leadership and management. Youth Cafés are an increasingly popular service for young people and are met with a growing demand. Investment will provide dedicated supports and training to multiply the numbers of these cost effective and much needed services throughout Ireland.
The Youth Café is great for their confidence. It gives them brilliant organisational skills and responsibility
Club Volunteers
Volunteer Led Youth Groups are the lifeblood of our communities. The local youth club is where young people go to have free, unstructured, safe spaces to be with their friends with the support of adult volunteers. If you would like to volunteer with your local club/ group, contact your Member Youth Service here.
Clubs Network
The clubs network is a space to share club information, offer support and share ideas. It is made up of club development officers from each of Youth Work Irelands Member Youth Services. The group meets approximately 4 times a year (currently online). If you would like further information, please contact Geraldine at gmoore@youthworkireland.ie
