Mahdlo Youth Zone Annual Review 2016-17

WELCOME

With each year that passes, I reflect on just how much we have achieved. Mahdlo turned 5 this year, and since our opening in 2012 we have had over 250,000 visits from the young people of Oldham!

We are now delivering sessions across the borough and partnership work has brought some incredible opportunities for our young people with organisations such as Royal Northern College of Music and The Oldham Coliseum. Our Summer of Excellence 2016 culminated in an inspiring trip to Lilleshall National Sports Centre, where Mahdlo members met double gold medal winning Paralympian Danielle Brown, who told them: “Every person in this room is capable of greatness.”

Our members are at the heart of Mahdlo and are the reason we strive so hard to ensure they have access to excellent activities, aspirational opportunities and the support to fulfil their potential. Their achievements - whether it is a personal success such as finding their voice and confidence, excelling in a sport or finding the right career path – are a constant, wonderful reminder of why we do what we do. Our young people are the future, and when I see them travelling to Whitehall to talk to MPs about their campaign to tackle Hate Crime and winning the Fair Play trophy at the President’s Cup, I am so proud that we at Mahdlo are part of their journey.

Sir Norman Stoller

CBE KStJ DL, President

OUR VISION

To be a beacon of excellence for youth-led provision in Oldham.

OUR MISSION

To deliver high quality, innovative activities and experiences for young people from Oldham aged 8-19 (25 with a disability), to provide opportunities that raise aspirations and support young people to be the best they can be.

OUR VALUES

PRIDE: Passion Respect Inclusion Dependability Excellence

PRIDE

We are tremendously proud of the achievements of the 5000 Mahdlo members who have continued to attend our sessions both at the HUB and in the Districts. During the past 12 months we have seen 60000 visits from young people who have engaged in a range of activities including climbing, lacrosse, drama, dance, weightlifting, art, and music.

Their amazing talents have amongst many other achievements resulted in 10 young people receiving the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award ;a Junior member being in the top 10 Junior climbers in the country; our Hate Crime Ambassadors presenting a Stop Hate campaign at the Houses of Parliament and performing their music to various audiences.

We are also tremendously proud that over 500 young people with disabilities are members of Mahdlo and totally engaged in all our sessions as are young people from all communities who see Mahdlo as a safe and welcoming place to be. In an era where young people face many challenges, Mahdlo is a place for them to come together in a spirit of co-operation and community. 96% of our members tell us they feel safe in Mahdlo sessions and 94% feel happy with the offer at Mahdlo.

To support all this activity we are very grateful to Team Mahdlo—that is all of you who support us financially and with your time and expertise.

With your help we will continue to grow and develop our offer over the coming years so that all of Oldham’s young

people have the chance to be the best they can be.

We want everybody to be able to say what Amanda one of our Junior Zone members told us recently “That was the best two hours of my life”. Over the coming years we intend to ensure many more young people will echo this.

Mike Doran Chief Executive

FUNDRAISING

We are working as hard as possible to raise the funds required to ensure that the young people of Oldham continue to benefit from the facilities and activities on offer. Our programme of Patrons, Supporters and Friends is crucial to this as are the Mahdlo fundraising events and donations from the business and wider community. From balls to bag packs, walking to running the ways people fundraised was many and varied!

SUMMER CHALLENGE

Several of our energetic supporters and staff raised nearly £3,000 participating in the Mahdlo Summer Challenge consisting of the Manchester 10k, Tour de Manc Cycle Challenge and the 3 Peaks Walk treble!

3 PEAKS OF SADDLEWORTH

In July, 138 people set off from Saddleworth Rangers Rugby Club on a 20 mile hike to raise money for two local charities, Mahdlo and POINT (Parents of Oldham in Touch). 3 peaks were climbed and over £13,000 was raised.

TYRESE GLASGOW

Tyrese, a Junior member who regularly attended Holiday Zone, sadly passed away last year. His aunt, Jade Glasgow, set up a fundraising page and brought together members of the family to run the Great Manchester 10K to raise money for Mahdlo in his memory. They raised over £2,500 for us and we were all extremely touched by their efforts.

WINTER BALL

Our 2016 Winter Ball took guests to Las Vegas with the casino inspired evening raising an incredible £27,000.

1-2-3 GIVE

We teamed up with Action Oldham Fund and Dr Kershaw’s Hospice for a week long event that showcased our three great causes and showed how a donation can make a difference in the borough. The total raised through bag packs, selling mince pies and raffles was a generous £6,000.

MAHDLO STAFF

Whether arranging a Great Get Together in June, an Easter egg raffle or doing a sponsored squat challenge with the young people the Mahdlo staff have raised several thousand pounds throughout the year.

ANN-MARIE

Anne-Marie Jones, 21, was one of the first Mahdlo members that joined in 2012 and has been attending ever since. She first attended Family Ability Zone sessions on Sundays and became involved with the President’s Cup, an annual competition that brings young people together from across the OnSide Youth Zone network. Through this competition she made new friends and started to regularly attend Senior Zone sessions.

As her confidence grew she began to try new activities such as writing and recording songs with Billy & Andy’s Music School, and is now a Young Leader at Mahdlo, supporting younger members with a disability or additional needs three times a week. She has recently taken part in the NCS challenge

working with other young people on an intergenerational Social Action project.

Anne-Marie plays an important role in Oldham and is one of Mahdlo’s Young Ambassadors campaigning to put a stop to Hate Crime in the local area. Through visiting Guildhall in London and giving interviews to the media whilst at Mahdlo, Anne-Marie is ensuring the message is heard beyond the borough.

Before Mahdlo I was a shy person who didn’t do much. At school I got bullied and so I didn’t want to go out or talk to anyone.

Each time I came to Mahdlo my confidence grew. Mahdlo has been a big part of my life and one day I hope to get a job here.

MEMBERSHIP

Over the 2016-17 year…

5065

ACTIVE MEMBERS

2994 VISITS TO HOLIDAY ZONE

89%

Following, source: Amion Consulting report for OnSide Youth Zones, 2015

60,467 VISITS AVERAGE 1167 VISITS PER WEEK

87% OF YOUNG PEOPLE FEEL EITHER HAPPIER OR MUCH HAPPIER WHILST AT THE YOUTH ZONE.

75%

OF YOUNG PEOPLE REPORTED FEELING MORE SELF-CONFIDENT AS A RESULT OF ATTENDING THE YOUTH ZONE.

OF LOCAL BUSINESSES COMMENTED THAT THE YOUTH ZONE IS A KEY BENEFIT FOR THE AREA.

72% ARE STAYING OUT OF TROUBLE AS A RESULT OF ATTENDING THE YOUTH ZONE.

78% OF PARENTS FEEL THAT ATTENDANCE AT MAHDLO MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO FAMILY LIFE.

BRINGING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER

As well as the hub centre on Egerton Street in the town centre, Mahdlo now delivers sessions in Chadderton, Failsworth, Holts, Royton, Saddleworth, Shaw, Sholver.

2016-17: 11,356 attendances were recorded at district sessions.

• Over 100 young people regularly attend Failsworth sessions held each Friday and are supported with issues such as personal choices, actions and consequences, health and wellbeing, sexual health, drugs and alcohol, cultural awareness plus much more.

• Failsworth session cited as best practice of partnership working by Police and Crime Commissioner.

• Awarded Chief Constable’s award for support in helping to reduce anti-social behaviour in Failsworth.

The young people in Freehold, Werneth have really benefited from the Mahdlo sessions. These sessions have been well attended and the young people inspired. They are run professionally and have encouraged the integration of children from different faiths and backgrounds to have fun and be together.

Shirley Dickson, Werneth and Freehold Community Development Project

Failsworth

Royton Chadderton

Shaw Saddleworth

BRINGING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER

A Journey Through Food Project supported 45 young people from Czech, Romanian, White British, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities to learn about each other’s cultures.

Mahdlo’s Hate Crime Ambassadors launched a ‘Make Hate History’ campaign at an event with Sylvia Lancaster (SOPHIE charity) and Stop Hate UK, where Mahdlo was also confirmed as a Hate Crime reporting centre for Oldham. Following the fantastic work they did to start the campaign, the group travelled to London for an event where they got to speak to MPs, the Lord Mayor of the City of London and representatives from Big Lottery about the campaign.

The youth provision at Failsworth was fragmented to the point of being almost non-existent, we had large groups of young people out on the streets with nowhere to go, Mahdlo came and worked hard attracting young people into the Youth Zone The Mahdlo team have gone above and beyond expectations delivering a top class youth based provision at Failsworth. Over a recent weekend at Failsworth we

had no incidents of ASB and that would have been absolutely unthinkable 12 months ago.

PC Lee Cullen

WELLBEING

Mahdlo is now an official delivery centre for Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards. These awards encourage young people to push themselves to develop and learn new skills, equipping them with invaluable experience that helps them stand out from the crowd when applying to college, university or a job.

Young people can take all levels of Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards at Mahdlo:

Mahdlo now has a dedicated Health and Wellbeing Champion who develops projects to run at Mahdlo and across the OnSide Youth Zone network. We are now able to offer members Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food courses! Lean for 2017 was a 12 week programme for young people aged 13-19 who wanted to learn more about nutrition, healthy eating, fitness and wellbeing.

Feedback from participants:

I learnt new cooking skills

I am more confident going to the gym

I loved learning how to use the gym properly and how to cook better food

I feel fitter

I feel more motivated

I am cutting down on junk food and drinking more water

I feel more focused and I have put my mind towards the whole thing.

Bronze Silver Gold

LEWIS

Lewis Lane-Saunders, 18, first got involved with Mahdlo as a member of Senior Zone four years ago. He started attending the Youth Zone to get involved with more sports and as a way of doing something active with friends.

Lewis went on to become a volunteer Young Leader at Mahdlo, helping out in Junior Zone sessions. He was also part of the President’s Cup team competing against other North West Youth Zones four years in a row! In summer 2015, Lewis was part of a group of seven young people who organised a fundraising walk along Hadrian’s Wall – they planned the trip themselves with support from the Mahdlo staff team and raised £1200 by completing the 65 mile walk over the course of a week.

Since turning 18, and inspired by his experiences as a Young Leader, Lewis has started studying Youth and Community Development at Leeds Beckett University and has joined the staff team at Mahdlo as a casual Sports Worker.

Mahdlo has been a massive help in getting me to where I am now. I can’t thank Mahdlo enough. The experience gained from two years of volunteering has allowed me to progress to where I am today!

GET ACTIVE AND GET CREATIVE

Mahdlo’s ‘Get Active Summer of Excellence’ created a lasting and meaningful impact for young people by raising aspirations, inspiring achievement, instilling and developing self-discipline and motivation, overcoming barriers to participation, and celebrating success.

Events included masterclasses with Manchester United and England footballing legend, Paul Scholes, and upcoming footballing star Angel Gomes; The Big Lift competition with British Weightlifting; a trip to Lilleshall National Sports Centre to find out ‘the true cost of Gold’ and what it takes to be an Olympian. At Lilleshall, 46 young

people met double gold medal winning Paralympic archer, Danielle Brown, who told them: There’s no such thing as failure. Find something you enjoy and use every little achievement to build your confidence. Every person in this room is capable of greatness.

Partnerships with Oldham Coliseum and Royal Northern College of Music have provided excellent opportunities for our young people to work with industry professionals, develop their skills and perform at renowned venues.

WHAT PARENTS SAY

The variety of activities at Family Zone is great, our kids are looking forward to coming again next week!

My son has ADHD and autism and loves Mahdlo. He’s well supervised and supported when needed. He gets to safely integrate with other children in his age group from around Oldham and the surrounding areas. Lots of activities to keep them occupied.

Our 8 year old has just come back from a residential and had an absolute blast. She only starting going to Mahdlo a month ago but is already loving every minute she spends there.

Seeing my son fit in for the first time is a feeling I cannot describe. Watching your child make progress, making new friends and receiving awards…it has to be one of my proudest moments.

For every isolated, misunderstood child in Oldham there is a place to be accepted and that special place is called Mahdlo.... well done on creating such a magical place for kids to learn and play.

What an amazing place for the young people of Oldham to be able to attend and realise their true potential!

INCLUSION

Mahdlo runs inclusive Ability Zone sessions alongside the mainstream offer, with activities adapted and support available for young people with additional needs or a disability. The aim of Ability Zone is to create an inclusive atmosphere, where young people can make friends with other young people breaking down barriers, creating an understanding of differences, whether it be ability, religion or culture. Young people are empowered, and confidence is built over short periods, when they access Mahdlo.

GET A JOB

22% OF MAHDLO MEMBERS HAVE A DISABILITY OR ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Mahdlo’s employability programmes support future success, and Alternative Provision enables young people who do not engage with mainstream education to learn, develop and achieve.

38% OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS, ABILITY ZONE MEMBERSHIP HAS INCREASED BY

84% OF GET A JOB PARTICIPANTS SECURE EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION OR TRAINING

109 YOUNG PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN OUR EMPLOYABILITY PROGRAMMES IN THE LAST YEAR

30 AQAS WERE OBTAINED YOUNG PEOPLE ATTENDING OUR ALTERNATIVE PROVISION EDUCATION PROGRAMME.

42 PEARL AWARDS WERE ACHIEVED

Since the start of Get A Job at Mahdlo over 70 local businesses have provided opportunities for our young people to visit workplaces, practice interview techniques, learn from industry professionals and gain employment.

MEET THE BOARD

William Lees-Jones

Terry Flanagan

Sir Norman Stoller Kashif Ashraf Dave Benstead John Ainley

Carol O’Hare Steph Bolshaw Dave Whaley Janelle Barker Lindsay Walsh Chris Wareing

Kathryn Morley Steve Hill Tony Spencer Neil Consterdine

Oldham Council Adviser

TEAM MAHDLO

The Mahdlo family is comprised of staff, volunteers and supporters who all bring skills, passion and energy to their roles, working tirelessly to ensure we are delivering excellence for our members. Volunteers – over last 12 months, 136 volunteers have clocked up over 12,000 hours!

Volunteer Mentors have worked with over 130 young people, taking referrals from partner organisations such as Oldham Social Services, MIND, GMP and CAHMS.

We would not be where we are today without the generous support of our Patrons, local businesses and members of the community. Mahdlo changes lives and it impacts Oldham as a whole. You only have to walk through the door when a session is taking place to become emotionally attached, it grabs you, and it gets you. Mahdlo is world class - the facilities, the way they are delivered and the team who work there, world class.

Ian Taylor, Founder and CEO, Team Spirit

I was born and raised in Oldham, grew up in a happy family home and had many opportunities available to me. It made me sad to think that there are some young people out there who are not as fortunate and I wanted to do something to help. I used to go to a youth club in Diggle when I was growing up but Mahdlo is a 21st century youth club that has fantastic facilities and helps all our future generations.

Robin Eglin, Owner, OMC Motor Holdings Ltd

CHAIRMAN’S COMMENT

Thank you once again for your continued support of our amazing charity. We could not do the tremendous work we do without your generous support which comes in many guises. We are making a real difference to the young people of Oldham and the borough which can only bode well for the future of the town.

We have had a year of steady growth at Mahdlo and we are now ready to kick on again with new developments and initiatives. By continuing to support us you will be contributing to our bright future.

Some of our key priorities over the next 12 months are:

• A focus on Innovation and Digital Technology working in partnership with local providers

• Enhanced employability provision with a refreshed Get a Job offer and delivery of Youth Business Breakfasts

• Further excellence in our delivery building on emerging relationships such as the Lowry Theatre and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

We are keen to ramp up our commercial activity at Mahdlo and our fundraising team are encouraging local businesses to support us through delivery of ‘in aid of’ events. There are new and exciting events such as Climb Kilimanjaro and Meet the CEO days; whilst we invite individuals and businesses to join the Mahdlo family as Friends, Supporters and Patrons.

We are open 7 days a week so if you want to visit us, see our team in action and meet some of our members who are greatly benefitting from your generosity and support, please get in touch. You will receive a warm welcome!

Terry Flanagan Chairman

FINANCES

Mahdlo is reporting a deficit for the year of £85.7k this is after charging fixed asset depreciation of £108.4k which results in a positive cash trading surplus of £22.7k for the year. We have achieved 94% of the income targets and with our continued focus on the control of our

cost base we are able to report another positive end to the year.

Fundraising continues to be a challenge although we are grateful to our many patrons and donors who have continued to support us and to all of our new and future supporters. At a time when local

authorities face considerable pressures on their budgets we are very pleased that Oldham continue to support us financially and in in many other ways.

THANK YOU

Core Patron

Oldham Council

Founding Patron

The Stoller Charitable Trust

Premier Patrons

Daivd & Janelle Barker

Big Lottery Fund

Greengate Metal Components

Hill’s Panel Products Ltd

JW Lees & Co. (Brewers) Ltd

The Oglesby Charitable Trust

OMC Motor Holdings

RBS Skills & Opportunities Fund

Sport England

Widdop & Co.

Plus one kind Anonymous Donor

Patrons

AO Smile Foundation

Children in Need

Peter & Patricia Casey

Garfield Weston Foundation

GMPCC Youth Aspiration Fund

Frank & Judith Rothwell

Swans Travel

The Accenture Foundation

The Henry Smith Charity

Wiggett Construction Group Ltd

Supporters

J Greenwood (Builders)

National Citizen Service (NCS)

Tesco Friends

ANSA Elevators

Peter Bryant

In memory of Peter Buckley

Enterprise Rent A Car

Essa Foundation

Bill & Julie Holroyd

North Ainley Solicitors

Oldham Athletic AFC

Oldham Rotary Club

Safeguard Fusion Training Ltd

Safeguard Group

Team Spirit

Terry Mc Photography

The 29th May 1961 Charity

The One Oldham Business Awards

The Treeside Trust

Web Applications UK Ltd.

Yorkshire Building Society

This year we have worked with these excellent delivery and partner organisations that contribute to our diverse programme of activities:

3StyleSports

Arbarus

Balwinder Singh

Becky Fox

Billy & Andy's Manchester School of Music

Blades Academy

Bounce Back

British Weightlifting

Brook

Cobra Kan Karate Do

Commando Joe's

Decorative Culture

Evolve Parkour Centre

Gallery Oldham

Graham Foulkes

Greater Manchester Police

Greater Manchester Police & Crime

Commissioner

Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby

Green Hill Community Sports Club

Higginshaw ARLFC

Hollinwood Hub

Jessica Pearson Dance

Kirsty Green

KOGS (Keeping Our Girls Safe)

KOOTH

Let’s Get Active

Local Safeguarding Children’s Board

Mako Media

MFYP

Mind

MH2K

NSPCC

Nusratul Islam Madrassah

Oasis Academy

Oasis

Oldham Athletic Community Trust

Oldham Boxing Club

Oldham Coliseum

Oldham College

Oldham Community Leisure

Oldham Council

Oldham Council Detached Team

Oldham Council District Teams

Oldham Interfaith Forum

Oldham RUFC

Oldham Sports Development

Oldham Sports Complex

Oldham Theatre Workshop

Oldham Volleyball Club

Oldham Youth Council

OliBo Media

POINT

Positive Steps Oldham

Proud Trust

Anne Quinlan

Right Opportunities

Royal Northern College of Music

Saddleworth Environmental Education

Square1 Studios

Shared Health Foundation

S.O.P.H.I.E Lancaster Foundation

St John Ambulance

Taqwa Institute

UK Dodgeball Association

Volleyball England

Voluntary Action Oldham (VAO)

UKEFF

Youth Focus NW