Funding From Orange
Aim To encourage young people to get involved in community projects
A group of young people in Salford were not only treated to tickets to watch Snoop Dogg in concert, they were also able to meet the US rap star when he visited their youth club earlier this month.
The rapper chatted to around 50 volunteers at the Ordsall Youth Centre, helped them repaint the interior and exterior of the building — including a mural on an outside wall — and joined them for a game of football with Manchester United and England footballer Rio Ferdinand.
The visit was to help promote Orange RockCorps, a scheme jointly run by production company RockCorps and mobile phone firm Orange, that encourages young people to volunteer four hours of their spare time to help their local community in return for concert tickets.
Ordsall Youth Centre, one of nine such clubs run by Salford City Council for local 13- to 19-year-olds, provides sports activities, educational support, excursions and art and music workshops. It is open on Monday and Friday nights, with Thursday afternoons reserved for local unemployed young people.
John Cilgram, a youth worker at the Ordsall centre, says: "It's not every day that young people get the chance to meet the artists they're listening to on their iPods, and it was a brilliant day for the teenagers.
"It really helped to lift their spirits and get them excited about their youth club and being part of the community, which is what we're trying to do.
"We hope the project will encourage more people to use this youth centre, and others across the city, and get involved in the activities they provide."
Orange RockCorp spokesman Nicky Hobbs adds: "The Ordsall centre provides a much-needed resource. The volunteers were fantastic and worked incredibly hard to improve the centre for everyone who uses it. We hope everyone can now enjoy the centre even more."
