The Princes Trust have teamed up with John Cattle’s Skate Club C.I.C to run a Get Started programme.
The week long initiative gives people aged 16-30, who are not in education, training or employment, an opportunity to Get Started in skateboarding, and other related activities.
Where and when
Sessions will be based at the skate club’s main base in Wootton, starting Monday 14th February and running until Friday 18th February.
There’ll be a taster session to meet the team on Tuesday 8th February.
Not just skateboarding
John Cattle was supported by the Princes Trust nearly 20 years ago, through part of a business scheme which offered a small grant, which went into starting up Wight Trash. He said,
“It is great to be working with the Princes Trust, they helped me when I was starting up, and they continue to have a huge range of opportunities and support for younger people.
“We hope to see some Islanders taking up this programme, it’s absolutely free, even lunch is provided every day. It will be a chilled out week, which we hope people will find fun.
“Sometimes if you have been struggling a bit, then just having a few days to put your mind to something new, can be a real help.
“We will be doing plenty of skating, but also we will be incorporating some more creative stuff through skate art-based activities.”
Thompson: Emphasis is on turning up and having fun
Participants need no previous skating experience, Skate Club Manager, Zoe Thompson, said,
“Sometimes if you are not working or in education/training it can be easy to get into a rut, experience boredom or lose confidence, this can then be a barrier to taking part in longer programmes or actually taking steps to get to job interviews etc.
“With the Get Started programme only being a week, we hope people will find it a manageable time scale, and the emphasis really is on turning up and having fun in a relaxed, supportive environment.
“We know from all those who attend skateclub that people get a real buzz from learning to skate, even if they have never previously stood on a board before, so by the end of a week we would like those taking part to have had a good time, tried some new things, and made some new connections which can help them take the next step.”
Get on board
For more information anyone interested can contact Joe from the Princes Trust Direct on 07943511218 or freephone 0800 842 842.
Alternatively people can book a space via the Eventbrite – this does not confirm your place on the programme, but will allow for a Prince’s Trust staff member to contact you with further information.
News shared by Zoe on behalf of Wight Trash. Ed
Image: Ryland Dean under CC BY 2.0
