Local children and young people from ten schools received achievement certificates and prizes at a packed presentation evening held at Baxter College , to highlight their participation in a recent series of successful citizenship and community themed activities. The activities, ranging from Junior Neighbourhood Watch Schemes, Community Games Flag and Poster Design, a Youth Citizens Challenge and a gardening project for Stonham Homelessness Centre, were coordinated by West Mercia Police in collaboration with The ContinU Trust’s Opening Doors Programme, partner agencies and several local primary and high schools. They also received support from the local council and businesses including Thomas Vale Construction, Surplus & Outdoors, Mid-counties Coop, Asda, Kier Construction and ‘Pop-Up-House’, who made and donated a cardboard home used in the junior Neighbourhood Watch project.

The Junior Neighbourhood Watch Programme was delivered to 240 local primary school students while almost 1000 primary students from across the area participated in the Wyre Forest Youth Citizens Challenge 2012 Programme, which took place at Stourport Sports Club. Yr 10 students from Baxter College are involved in an ongoing D.I.Y and land reclamation project at the Stonham Homelessness Project, and around 100 young people and parents took part in the Wyre Forest Community Games, a series of organised community based activities to promote the London 2012 Olympics.

Amongst the many guests who attended the busy presentation event were the Mayor of Kidderminster Cllr John Aston , Col. Tony Ward OBE from the West Mercia Police Authority, Mark Hellings from BBC Radio H&W, Lizzie Clarke, the regional representative from the Neighbourhood Watch, Superintendent Adrian Pass and Caroline Webster and Grant Wills from the H & W Fire and Rescue Service.

Michael Conroy Harris, from The ContinU Trust’s ‘Opening Doors’ Programme which supported the projects and helped host the event, said “there is a lot of rewarding partnership work happening locally. When you link that with young people’s energy you can bring about some really positive outcomes – like we have seen in these projects. When partnerships share contacts and goodwill we can achieve a lot together.”