Member Article

Young Leader Becomes the Leader

A Northumberland charity that maximises the potential in young people has appointed one of its first Young Leaders as its Chair of Trustees and celebrated an important anniversary at an emotional and motivational event at Alnwick Gardens. Bedlington charity Leading Link is celebrating 15 years of providing young people with confidence, resilience and the drive to do well in life and supporting them to identify and achieve their aspirations regardless of their background or location within the North East. Now an established youth provider in the community, they link families, schools and communities through a variety of innovative and diverse projects which are accessible to everyone. One of their major successes has been the Young Leader Programme where participants can take ownership of events, planning activities and community work. The programme helps to develop young people’s social skills as well as giving them practical experiences that can be used in job and university entrance interviews. One of the first young leaders from 2007 was Richard Crulley, who now works as a marketing manager. Richard has recently been appointed as Chair of the Trustees for the charity, a role that he is looking forward to taking part in. “Some of the skills that I gained from being a Young Leader with Leading Link have helped me in my chosen career path. It’s given me a lot of confidence in my abilities and provided skills that I use everyday including decision making and prioritising. I’m delighted to have come full circle by now being the Chair of this wonderful organisation.” To celebrate the successes of the last 15 years, Leading Link held a glittering black tie event at Alnwick Garden. Some of the thousands of young people who were part of the charity attended as did trustees, community leaders and local businesses. Lyn Horton, CEO of the charity said: “It was a remarkable evening where we were able to hear fantastic stories about some of our Young Leaders who are now working in the medical and legal professions or studying at university. Then there were those who weren’t academic but still found their strengths and now have a job where their passion has been learned from Leading Link. It was very humbling to think that our charity has changed the lives of so many people for the better. I’m confident that under Richard’s guidance we will go above and beyond expectations for the next 15 years too.”
Ends email info@leadinglink.co.uk or contact Leading Link direct on 01670 820088. Photo: The Leading link Event (Paul Lowder) Photo: Lyn and Richard (Highlights PR) Media Keith@highlightspr.co.uk 07814 397951

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Keith Newman .