Long Buckby Rugby Club
Toolstation and Travis Perkins were principal trade partners on a clubhouse project run by VIY as part of a competition prize from Northampton Saints Rugby Club.
The project at Long Buckby Rugby Club involved painting and decorating changing rooms and adding individual changing slots at the club to make them more attractive for players. It also enabled 19 young volunteers to gain Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditations in Painting & Decorating and Carpentry.
Wembdon Village Hall
Funding from Toolstation helped VIY to manage the construction of a new space at Wembdon Village Hall for young local people to engage in social activities and gatherings. The project involved volunteers from local community groups erecting new walls, installing storage, laying floors, and plastering and decorating, with materials donated by Travis Perkins Bridgwater
In turn, the project also resulted in 41 Entry Level 3 City and Guilds Accreditations being awarded in carpentry, health and safety, and decorating to young volunteers.
The Old Library
As part of VIY’s effort to provide work experience opportunities on projects across 23 local community spaces in Nottingham, Travis Perkins provided mentoring and careers talks to volunteers at The Old Library in Mansfield. This project involved the renovation of a Grade II listed building used by the Inspire Youth Arts team for community arts activities to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Volunteer Employability Mentors from Travis Perkins helped the young volunteers earn Entry Level 3 construction skills whilst working on The Old Library, along with support to help them to progress into further education, training or employment following their work on site.
Flo Skatepark
In August 2021, VIY worked on a refurbishment project at Flo Skatepark in Nottingham in partnership with Skateboard GB to improve the quality and accessibility of skateboarding in the area. Alongside other trades partners, Travis Perkins donated timber to renovate training spaces at the spaces at the skatepark, and the Assistant Branch Manager for Nottingham popped down to say hello too.
The project enabled 30 young volunteers to take part in renovating the indoor ramp area and develop employment opportunities based on their new skills. It also helped them work towards Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditations in practical trades such as joinery.
Redditch Youth Hub
Young Solutions is a youth training provider in Worcestershire, and previously had no central location to meet and help young people. Toolstation partnered with VIY for the sixth time over a 14-day period in 2022 and helped convert two disused units, formerly used as a foodbank, into one space to run training activities and support groups, to benefit the learning, development and next steps for their young people. The whole space was repainted and refurbished, with a new kitchen donated by Benchmarx, and storage facilities added for future communal events and physical activity classes.
With this project, VIY were able to make a huge impact locally by creating a dedicated, safe space for one-to-one support for at-risk young people, outside of a formal school setting. It also enabled Young Solutions to increase its staffing capacity to support 10 to 15 young people, up from 2 to 3.
