Member spotlight: NE Youth

Author - Bethan McCoy

Date published:

This week we caught up with NE Youth to find out how they’re going further with Chamber membership.

Where are you based?

Blaydon on Tyne, Gateshead

How many people do you employ?

24

Give us a brief overview of your business.

NE Youth is a leading North East youth development charity, supporting young people and youth organisations directly in their communities. We do this by providing a high quality, diverse and positive youth offer across the region through our own services and by providing our member network of organisations with relevant information, support and advice. We work with all young people aged 11-25 and our vision is all young people in the North East of England have the opportunities they deserve to get involved in their communities, enjoy their lives and achieve their potential.

Tell us about a recent business success.

We host the Projects with Pride awards ceremony annually, which is an event that encapsulates exactly who NE Youth are and what we are set up to do. On Wednesday 3rd November 2021 at the Grand Hotel Gosforth Park, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the awards. Projects with Pride is something that we are all extremely proud of and reflects our ongoing commitment to providing a real opportunity to recognise and celebrate the ongoing diverse talents and achievements of young people, volunteers and staff at all levels, as well as the key contributions that our member network of over 140 organisations make in their communities across the North East with young people each day. The event was sponsored this year by Learning Curve Group, who transform lives through learning and education which also align with our own values.

Guests included young people and their youth workers, funders, sponsors and supporters. They were invited to enjoy a full fun packed evening of entertainment and awards, to celebrate all of their hard work over the last year. It was no coincidence that this year’s event also fell during National Youth Work Week which we saw no better way to celebrate the quality of work with young people across the region. Young people were central to hosting the evening, including dance performances, musical performances and young comperes across the evening.

Projects with Pride is an incredibly inspiring event and one that grows year on year, with 2021 being no exception with over 360 guests and an amazing 122 nominations across the 12 award categories, sponsored by individual businesses. It was also really exciting to have ITV with us celebrating via a live broadcast, as well as Tyne and Wear TV and our loyal friend and supporter Anna Foster from BBC Radio Newcastle.

Why are you a Chamber Member?

Membership of the North East England Chamber of Commerce opens up a range of doors to our organisation, and we are active in spreading the word about the opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing by being a member. The youth sector is a small but mighty force and is very misunderstood in what we do and the impact this has. The Chamber allows us to share our story and be a vocal champion for the challenges and barriers young people today are facing and also support us in gaining new relationships to obtain funding to support our work.

We actively attend events, particularly those involving networking with other members, as they are extremely well organised and a great opportunity to meet new people, gain new contacts and raise the profile about the work we do and how people can get involved in supporting our mission.

There is a diverse range of businesses who are Chamber members, which allows for insightful conversations and sharing of business. The people who come to events aren’t always necessarily the ‘decision makers’, which allows for us to share our impact with more people and ensure any corporate fundraising opportunities are supported by all levels within their organisation.

To read more Member Spotlights click here.

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