Teen launches campaign highlighting all there is to offer in Gloucestershire for young people

A YOUNG man from Stroud convinced that more young people in Gloucestershire would join local activities if they knew what was on offer, has launched a campaign to point them in the right direction

Callum Coles, 17, and his team, want to motivate their peers to get involved and aim to make information on everything from sports teams to arts festivals easily accessible.

So Callum and his group have teamed up with Fixers – the national charity that supports young people aged 16-25 to tackle any issue that matters to them, however they choose – to create a website.

“I think it’s important that all young people should take part in as much as possible, to give themselves the best start in life,” said Callum

“We’ve been compiling lists of contacts for a variety of activities, trying to include everything so there is something to suit all tastes.”

Callum and his team, James Bennion and Nathan Howarth, have helped create the website to function as a directory for things to do across Gloucestershire.

They hope that by categorising the activities by type and location, young people will be able to find something relevant and of interest.

“I think the website is simple and easy to use,” said Callum.

“We want to continue to add content and we hope that young people aged 11-18 will visit the website every time they want to find something to do, so the website will become a ‘one-stop site’ for enquires, information and ideas about what’s going on in Gloucestershire.”

On the homepage, they write that they want to help prevent young people from becoming bored and restless by encouraging them to join clubs, meet new people and get outside.

They now hope to promote and share the website on social media.

“Our main goal is to increase youth participation in Gloucestershire,” said Callum.

“Even if our website helps just a few, it will have been worth it.”

Fixers works with young people across the UK. Each Fixer is supported to create the resources they need to make their chosen project a success, with creative help from media professionals to make their own promotional material, such as films, websites or print work.

Fixers has already supported more than 16,000 young people across the UK to have an authentic voice in their community.

Young people have campaigned on issues with Fixers as diverse as cyber-bullying, self-harm, suicide and the need for more random acts of kindness.

Fixers aims to work with over 70,000 young people aged 16 to 25 by 2020 to help them to take action and tackle the issues they feel strongly about.

Visit fixers.org.uk for more information.