YoungStars Community Hub is a youth and community centre based in the heart of Castle Vale in Birmingham. Founded in 2004, the aim of the organisation is to bring children in the local community together to improve wellbeing and provide a safe, fun and inclusive space for play and learning.
They deliver packed programmes of fun activities during half term holidays, run youth club sessions twice a week and host weekly stay and play sessions for pre-school children. The community space is also used for free adult wellbeing sessions, a weekly ‘nourish and natter’ soup kitchen and a community kitchen at the weekend.
The Pioneer Group, the housing association based in Castle Vale which provides more than 2,500 homes and supports local people to access support, skills and opportunities, approached Nationwide for support with upgrading the community centre.
After many years of use by the community, the carpet in the primary activity space had become very worn, was difficult to keep clean and was beginning to pose a safety concern. The YoungStars Community Hub was lacking the funds required to replace it, and faced the challenge of potentially cutting services or finding another space to host their activities.
Now, thanks to support from Nationwide, new safety flooring has been fitted in the space, creating a safer, cleaner and more durable space where children and families can enjoy their community activities for years to come.
Kevin Caveney, Director of Commercial Sales at Nationwide Windows & Doors said: “The YoungStars Community Hub is a vital part of the Castle Vale neighbourhood, offering crucial services for local families to support education, wellbeing and play. We’re so proud that our Social Value Fund can help organisations like Youngstars to survive and thrive.”
Rachel Beard from YoungStars said: “The new flooring has completely transformed our space. The old carpet was rough and scratchy, which just wasn’t fit-for-purpose for our activities—especially the youth group, community cafe, and baby ‘stay and play’ sessions—and it was becoming really expensive to keep clean. This new flooring is a perfect fit. It’s made the room so much more welcoming and user-friendly, and it’s much easier to manoeuvre furniture and change the room layout to suit different activities. Most importantly, it’s cleaner and safer for everyone who visits.”
