Member Article

All Aboard For Newcastle Community Following Bus Donation

A local bus operator has given a helping hand to youth community project in Newcastle with the donation of a recently retired double decker bus.

Stagecoach North East was delighted to be able to provide the vehicle to St Anthony’s Youth Education & Support (SAYES) in Walker, to be used as a community support service for the east end of the city.

The bus will be spending the next few months being converted into a more suitable community base for the young people of the city, with a generator, kitchen, computer and full heating, before its launch into the community in the summer.

Once ready, the youth bus will visit the communities around Walker, Byker and Walkergate, providing a travelling youth service for children, young people and their families in the east end of Newcastle to enjoy, and will provide information on training, health, education and personal development.

Father Michael Conaty of St Anthony’s of Padua Church said: “We are very grateful to Stagecoach North East for offering this vehicle to the community youth project. This is a new venture for us and a new challenge and we are confident will bring added support to the younger generation and their families to benefit from for many years to come. Thank you to Stagecoach North East for their help.”

Gary Chisholm, Engineering Director for Stagecoach North East, said: “We always try our best to support projects which will benefit the local community and it feels brilliant that we are helping to make a difference. Being able to lend a helping hand to organisations such as St Anthony’s Youth Education & Support is always important, especially when it comes to youth learning and development.”

St Anthony’s Youth Services, part of St Anthony of Padua Community Association, work in health, education and development in the east end of Newcastle. Its programme of activities is helping to make local young people grow to maturity with the skills they need to become well adjusted, happy and confident adults.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kathryn Clapham .