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Since 2018, Five Lamps have been delivering breakfast clubs throughout the school holidays, however, due to the unprecedented circumstances; the club had to be delivered a little differently this summer.

Each year, the number of families in Thornaby and surrounding areas attending the clubs has increased and it has become a well enjoyed part of the community.

It gives families a space to come together, enjoy a free breakfast and activities including, arts and crafts, dance lessons and cooking sessions.

The club has become an important part of many families’ lives and it allows them a space to meet new people, socialise with their friends and neighbours and also for many families helps relieve financial pressures of the school holidays.

To ensure the club could still open this summer, Five Lamps opted for a virtual delivery, it meant that each Monday the families would collect a bag of breakfast materials and also activities for the week. Each family then joined a secure Facebook group, where they could take part in live Bingo, Quizzes, planting sunflowers, cooking sessions and virtual dance lessons delivered by Urban Kaos.

The virtual club was a huge success and in total, 138 breakfast packs were collected, with just under 60 young people taking part in the activities.

Amy Richardson, Five Lamps Marketing and Campaigns Manager said;

“It’s great that we can continue to deliver this brilliant service, especially as we have seen first hand the positive impact it has on many families lives during the school holidays. We want the clubs to be more than just a holiday provision, we want to ensure that young people and their families can experience new fun activities, whilst coming together as a community”

Five Lamps were able to deliver the clubs after being successful in a bid to Stockton on Tees Borough Council Public Health’s holiday enrichment grant which was managed by Catalyst and by also receiving donations from Tesco Ingleby Barwick and ASDA Thornaby.

The next virtual club will take place in October half term, for more information, please contact amyrichardson@fivelamps.org.uk

Five Lamps reach the finals of the Responsible Finance awards

Five Lamps are a “responsible finance” provider which operates across the United Kingdom and has recently been praised by business experts and an international foundation for its positive impact on the lives of people it supports.

Five Lamps, originally established 30 years ago to support people who became unemployed, provides a wide range of services across the United Kingdom, with the main office based in Stockton on Tees.

In the past year it has provided free breakfasts throughout the school holidays to over 200 young people; helped elderly people to remain independent in their own homes by delivering 1,000 hours of domiciliary care each week; tackled social isolation by running youth clubs including for young people with disabilities, and lunch clubs for elderly people; and provided over 7,000 loans to customers who may have previously relied on door step lenders or loan sharks, saving them hundreds of pounds each in interest.

At the beginning of the year, Five Lamps was named one of the community development finance providers making the most impact in the whole of the UK in the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards, funded by the Citi Foundation.

Although Five Lamps were not crowned winners at the online award ceremony on 9 July 2020, they were awarded with a £1200 grant to enable them to continue the great work they deliver.

Judges including journalist James Pickford of the Financial Times, were impressed with Five Lamps’ positive impact in communities including many facing high levels of deprivation. They noted how the organisation’s work to measure its impact has also helped to identify areas where its service users may need additional support or help.

Lisa Pickard, Five Lamps’ Group Chief Executive said;

“We are so proud to be a finalist in the Impact category. All of our work is underpinned by our vision at Five Lamps ‘Creating Possibilities: Improving Lives’ – we create possibilities by being locally focused, innovative, on the front foot, determined & resilient. By delivering positive actions and interventions we improve lives – the two go hand in hand together to create an impact for the people who access our services each day and it’s great to be recognised!”

Bob Annibale, Global Director, Citi Inclusive Finance and Community Development, said:

“Responsible finance providers like Five Lamps provide a lifeline and I’ve seen first-hand the difference community-based lending can make to people’s lives and local communities. The economic activity generated can tackle inequality and promote inclusive growth in communities.”

To find out more about Responsible Finance, please click here.

A four-figure grant from a regional employer has supported Five Lamps to enhance the home care services it provides and improve the health and well-being of its home care colleagues.

In response to the increased pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Five Lamps is bringing in two new electric bikes to help its team of domiciliary carers reach the 90 people they currently look after across the Stockton area more quickly.

It is also giving its 53 carers new branded backpacks and water bottles, while some of them will receive solar mobile phone chargers to both help with the lack of facilities during social distancing and to recognise the brilliant job they are doing in supporting vulnerable people who currently need home care service more than ever.

The project is being funded with support from a £1,500 grant from the community benefits fund linked to Banks Renewables’ Lambs Hill wind farm near Stillington.

The family-owned firm agreed with the Lambs Hill Wind Farm community fund committee members to temporarily relax the fund’s eligibility criteria in response to the impact of the pandemic and extend the area within which grants can be made.

Nicola Garrett, Five Lamps Director of Corporate Services said “The last few weeks has showcased the importance of domiciliary care and the pressures home care providers and carers face. Our home care team is doing an amazing job in continuing to safely look after local people who often need a great deal of support.

“Many of our clients have a wide range of complex needs, so are shielding from the virus, and their visits from our carers are often one of very few social interactions they’re having with other people.

“Some of our carers walk, some drive and some already use bikes to travel between visits and to collect prescriptions and shopping which has been a challenge during lockdown.

“We wanted to find a way that our carers could get around safely and quickly, so that they can spend as much of their valuable time as possible in people’s homes providing care. Creating a pool of electric bikes will really make a difference, not just during the pandemic but as lockdown is lifted.

“The backpacks provide recognition for the essential job that our carers are doing, while their need to both stay hydrated and keep in touch during the days means that the new water bottles and solar mobile chargers will come in very handy.

“We couldn’t have made these plans happen without Banks Renewables’ generous support and our carers can’t wait to take our new bikes out on the road.”

Sue Bell, chair of the Lambs Hill Wind Farm community fund committee, adds: “In normal times, this kind of work is important to our community, but at present, it provides so much more in terms of support for our vulnerable people and their families.

“This care and service is invaluable and this funding committee, set up and financed by the Banks Group, has been able to help in making it easier to reach the people that need it.

“It is also right that those putting others first should be given recognition for that and deserves equipment that makes their task easier. This is a very worthwhile project to be able to help and a pleasure to support.”

The Lambs Hill wind farm will generate more than £250,000 of local community funding over its 25-year lifespan and has been operational since the beginning of 2017.

It generates over 23,500 MW of green electricity every year, which is enough to meet the annual energy requirements of more than 5,700 homes, and by doing so, displaces almost 7,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the electricity supply network per annum.

Lewis Stokes, Community Relations Manager at the Banks Group, adds: “Our wind farm benefits funds are designed to support good causes in the closest surrounding communities which make a tangible difference to the lives of people living there.

“In this unprecedented time of need, we felt it was right to step up and do as much as we can to support the local community where it’s most needed, and we’re grateful for the support of the support of the members of the funding panel in enabling us to do so.

“The Five Lamps team is doing a great job in supporting vulnerable people in the community and we’re keen to hear from other groups who could make a similar impact with the help of a grant from the Lambs Hill fund.”

The Banks Community Fund supports local environmental and community improvement projects in the areas surrounding the Banks Group’s operations.

The Banks Group was founded in 1976 in County Durham. Banks’ development with care approach ensures sites are developed in close consultation with the community as well as carrying out extensive environmental assessments. More information can be found at www.banksgroup.co.uk

Thanks to a donation of food and supplies from Holy Rosary Church in Billingham and also Morrison’s in Teesside Park, Five Lamps have today delivered 26 food parcels to their customers who live in Thornaby and surrounding areas.

During these difficult and unprecedented times, Five Lamps have received a number of requests from customers who are in need of food or essential items.

Many of the requests are from individuals and families who have had a significant drop in their income, due to losing work or who are self-employed and unable to trade at the moment.

Five Lamps Home Care, Care Assistants have also reported that a number of Service Users who are being shielded due to their age or underlying health conditions are also unable to access essential food supplies.

Thanks to the donation of food and also thanks to Five Lamps staff who have volunteered their time to collect the donations and prepare the parcels, Five Lamps were able to provide a parcel of fresh and tinned foods as well as sanitary products to 26 households, in Thornaby and Stockton on Tees.

Amy Richardson, Five Lamps Marketing and Campaigns Manager said,

“Thank you so much to Holy Rosary Church and Morrison’s who have donated food and supplies. Our frontline workers have been able to see first-hand the rising need for food parcels during this time. We have been able to reach 26 households today; however, we are aware of many others who would also benefit from a food parcel. We hope that we can continue to provide food parcels on a weekly basis and donations are key to enable us to do this.”

If any organisations would like to make a donation, please contact Amy Richardson at amyrichardson@fivelamps.org.uk

Five Lamps are celebrating after winning the Outstanding Social Enterprise award at this year’s North East Charity Awards.

The Awards are its fifth year, staged by The Journal and The Gazette in association with associate sponsors Brewin Dolphin. More than 400 attended the night of celebration of the region’s voluntary sector at the Hilton Hotel in Gateshead.

Lisa Pickard, Group Chief Executive of Five Lamps said “We set our sights high to re-energize the work we do in the Charity and make our voices known again in the North East to make sure we are a leading player in the voluntary and charity sector especially across Teesside. And boy have we gone and done it!

“Entering the awards gave us an opportunity to showcase what we do and raise awareness of and influence the issues that we are passionate about and trying to address including, holiday hunger, lack of opportunity for young people, social isolation and loneliness, poverty and financial exclusion and lack of support to set up a small business. This is a special award for us, and what makes an ‘outstanding social enterprise’ is our colleagues, Trustees and volunteers”

Pat Chambers, Chair of Five Lamps Board of Trustee’s accepted the award on behalf of the organisation and paid tribute to the staff and volunteers of the organisation, who work tireless to make a difference to the lives of their customers, make of whom are socially, economically and financially excluded.

Helen Dalby, senior editor at Journal and Gazette publishers Reach North East, said: “ChronicleLive, Teesside Live, The Journal and The Gazette are extremely proud to recognise the value and importance of the amazing charities and social enterprises in this part of the world, which is so widely known and loved for its generosity of spirit.

“The awards also recognise the important work of individual fundraisers and local businesses who support and help raise vital funds for our charities.

“We have been inundated with entries, with almost 250 received – and our judges commented on the quality once more being exceptionally high.

“These are tough awards to judge – all those nominated are exceptional organisations and individuals, who make a real difference with the work that they do.”

The Outstanding Social Enterprise award celebrates the excellent work of a local social enterprise or a trading arm within a charity that delivers significant social impact by trading to achieve their social purpose.

Five Lamps delivers an integrated range of social, economic and financial inclusion services within which they seek to transform lives, raise aspirations, remove barriers and offer choice. Five Lamps Trading Limited is a responsible lender offering fair and affordable personal loans as an alternative solution to high cost credit providers including pay day and door step lenders. Trading as Conduit and Conduit Scotland, they are much more than a loan provider. Loans enable people, many of whom are excluded from mainstream banking, to access credit and over time improve their credit score and history. Conduit’s affordable loans are also making a positive social impact by reducing outgoings and increasing people’s disposable income.

As Five Lamps Trading Limited is wholly owned by Five Lamps Charity, any profits made are gifted back to the Charity to support their brilliant charitable activities. The Charity provides services and support from young people through to older age; with our youth clubs and dedicated youth centre; employment and enterprise specialist, supporting local people into self-employment and home care services. We are passionate about tackling poverty and responding to social issues and run breakfast clubs during school holidays, worked with local supermarkets to support food redistribution, as well as providing facilities for people to meet, socialise and participate in health and wellbeing activities.

Five Lamps were also runners up at this year’s Tees Business Women Awards which took place on Thursday 24 October 2019.

Last week, 14 young people aged 16-18 years old from Stockton Wave 3 NCS – Flying Futures Project volunteered their time at South Thornaby Community Centre.

The three days of volunteering included the young people, improving the garden area at the community centre, volunteering on the breakfast club and presenting their efforts to staff and customers within the centre.

The young people approached Five Lamps to deliver the project as one of the young people at NCS; Poppy Wray also attends one of Five Lamps Youth clubs and was extremely keen to support Five Lamps and their work.

To help fund their project, two young men from Stockton Wave 3 NCS raised a fantastic amount of sponsorship as a consequence of one having their head shaved and another having his legs waxed. The money from the sponsorship was used to buy tools and equipment for the gardening project, presents for the young people who attend Five Lamps breakfast club and indoor plants to brighten up the community centre.

The garden area of the community centre was beginning to look a little overgrown and there was lots of unwanted shrubbery, which made the garden area look unappealing and it was also unsafe for the young people who attend breakfast club to play outside.

However, due to the hard work and determination of the NCS group, the garden area has been transformed into a safe, appealing area for people to enjoy. They also erected a hedgehog hotel and a bird feeder, to protect the wildlife in the community garden.

Amy Baker, Five Lamps Marketing and Campaigns Manager said,

“We are extremely grateful for the help and support of the young people from NCS. The hard work and dedication they have put into the project was really admirable. We have been working hard to bring the community centre back to life, by delivering free breakfast clubs in the school holidays and by reopening the café at South Thornaby Community Centre. The work delivered by the young people has helped support our vision and plans and has made the community centre garden more accessible and appealing.”

If you require any further information regarding Five Lamps, please visit www.fivelamps.org.uk

About NCS

NCS is a government backed programme established in 2011 to help build a more cohesive, mobile and engaged society. By bringing together young people from different backgrounds for a unique shared experience, NCS helps them to become better individuals, and in turn better citizens.

NCS is open to 16 and 17 year-olds across England and Northern Ireland. The two to four-week programme, which takes place in school holidays, includes outdoor team-building exercises, a residential for participants to learn ‘life skills’, a community-based social action project and an end of programme celebration event.

To date:

Over 500,000 young people have taken part
Twelve and a half million hours of community action have been completed
For every £1 spent, NCS’ 2016 summer programme delivered between £1.15 and £2.42 of benefits back to society.

It costs participants just £50 or less to take part in NCS and bursaries are available on a case by case basis. Support is provided for young people with additional needs.

To find out more visit NCSyes.co.uk

On 08 April 2019, 9 young people from Five Lamps Youthy joined 21 other young people from across Stockton on Tees on an overnight residential at the Kingsway Centre which is based in Middleton on Teasdale.

The young people, who attend the Thursday night Youth United Stockton evening, were taken out of their usual environment and comfort zones and were embarking on two days’ worth of fun challenges.

The trip was funded by the Early Intervention Youth Fund – Targeted Youth Outreach and was delivered by Youth United Stockton, to help provide early intervention services to young people that will prevent them from participating in ASB and other unruly activities.

On the residential the young people undertook a number of challenges and activities to help build up their emotional resilience, their confidence, communication skills and also their team work skills.

The challenges began as soon as they arrived at the centre, as they were tasked to make up their own beds! They then went on to take part in Gorge walking, which ended in a cliff jump. Raft building, where they learnt how to build a raft which they then used on the river, a high ropes course, with the leap of faith at the end and finally crate stacking, which was a physical and mental challenge to get them working as a team and thinking about the actions they chose.

Overall the trip was a success and 100% of young people attending the residential said they enjoyed the trip and would like to take part in other trips with other young people across the Borough.

One of the young people said;

“I really enjoyed the trip and I learnt to work as a team and to be yourself, socialise because most of the kids are like you”

Five Lamps and Corner House Youth Project are the accountable bodies for Youth United Stockton (YUS) which is the Open Access Youth Provision in Stockton-On-Tees. Youth United Stockton is delivering free youth sessions across the Borough for young people aged 10-19 years old.

£5m investment to deliver 100,000 affordable loans to vulnerable households

Responsible lender Five Lamps has today secured a £5 million investment to help vulnerable households across the UK break out of the cycle of high-cost debt. The funding will mobilise over £60 million of lending, enabling Five Lamps to offer over 100,000 affordable loans, under their Conduit brand. It is being funded by nine social investors, including four charitable trusts and five social investment funds over six years, and represents the largest-ever single investment in a UK community lender.

Financial exclusion remains a pressing issue in the UK, and high-cost credit is widespread. 3.1 million UK adults have one or more high-cost loans or have had one in the past year. Potentially vulnerable people are twice as likely to have used high-cost credit as other UK adults; younger single parents are three times as likely. 6.5 million UK adults have no cash savings, leaving them particularly vulnerable to financial shocks and more likely to turn to high-cost credit in times of financial need[1].

Five Lamps is a responsible finance provider, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, offering fair and affordable personal loans as an alternative solution to high-cost credit. It is based in Stockton on Tees, and has to date provided close to £40 million of affordable personal loans primarily in the North East of England, but more recently in Scotland and, following considerable investment in systems and infrastructure, throughout England and Wales.The new investment will allow Five Lamps to grow the scale and impact of affordable credit to vulnerable individuals nationally.

Graeme Oram, Chief Executive of Five Lamps, says:

“This is a truly transformational investment which will enable us to help up to 100,000 financially excluded people break the cycle of high-cost debt which blights the lives of so many in our communities.  The Financial Conduct Authority ‘High Cost Credit Review’ published recently highlighted the need for more alternatives to high-cost credit and we at Five Lamps are delighted to be that different kind of lender. We are driven to make a difference to people’s lives. Too many people have little or no financial resilience and at times of crisis have little choice but to go to high-cost or, sometimes, unregulated lenders. We want these people to come to us.”

The investors include specialist social investment funds Big Issue Invest, FSE, North East Social Investment Fund, Social Investment Scotland and Social and Sustainable Capital, as well as charitable trusts the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Barrow Cadbury Trust and Harpur Trust.

Lars Hagelmann and Peter Morris, Investment Directors at Big Issue Invest and Social and Sustainable Capital, said:

“We are pleased to be playing a lead role in financing the next phase of growth of Five Lamps’ affordable personal lending. Five Lamps has been building its lending operation’s reach. Along with the other investors, we look forward to increasing Five Lamps’ capacity to support individuals who can benefit from access to fair and responsible credit.”

Recent measures by the FCA to address the failures in the high cost credit market and a new £55 million government fund to improve financial inclusion highlight the gaps in the affordable finance market. Social investment is allowing leading responsible lenders such as Five Lamps to meet the increasing demand for personal loans at affordable rates.

Social Finance advised Five Lamps in structuring and coordinating the investment, funded in part by a Big Lottery Fund grant as part of its Big Potential programme. Legal firms Simmons & Simmons and Allen & Overy provided pro-bono legal support for this investment.

Notes

The Five Lamps Organisation is an FCA-regulated charity based in Stockton on Tees, which was established in 1985 and has grown to be a recognised and highly regarded social enterprise providing essential services to the local and national community. All lending is delivered by a wholly owned trading subsidiary, under the Conduit/ Conduit Scotland brands.

The organisation’s vision is to transform lives, raise aspirations and remove barriers to social, economic and financial inclusion. Five Lamps’ range of services includes domiciliary home care, youth clubs, enterprise coaching, energy and home debt products and personal loans. Five Lamps’ personal lending customers are looking to break out of the high-cost debt cycle. Five Lamps’ lending allows these customers to develop and build positive credit histories through flexible loans with APRs much lower than those of competitors.

Five Lamp’s lending services, as well as its other activities are consistently praised by service users, and have resulted in national awards such as the CDFI New Horizon Award, National Enterprise Network Communicator of the Year, RBS SE100 Impact Champion and the Investors in People Gold standard. Five Lamps is a member of the ‘End High Cost Credit’ Alliance launched by the actor and campaigner Michael Sheen earlier this year.

fivelamps.org.uk

conduit.org.uk

Social Finance is a not-for-profit organisation that partners with government, the social sector and the financial community to find better ways of tackling social problems in the UK and beyond.

Social Finance has mobilised over £100 million of investment to support both existing charities and new social enterprises since its inception in 2007. It pioneered the Social Impact Bond model, a private-public partnership, and it continues to create new ways of helping vulnerable communities.

Social Finance is an FCA-authorised intermediary, providing advisory and capital raising services to social enterprises, charities and socially motivated investors to help them become investment ready. This work spans across a range of sectors including financial inclusion, education, housing, homelessness and unemployment.

Big Potential, was a £20m Big Lottery Fund grant fund that provided grants and support to charities and social enterprises to help them work out how social investment could help them become more sustainable, build their capacity and scale up to deliver greater social impact.

Big Potential is administered by the Social Investment Business for the Big Lottery Fund, in partnership with Locality, Charity Bank, Social Enterprise UK, and the University of Northampton

Bigpotential.org.uk

Big Lottery Fund, the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.

The Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.

The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.

In the year ending 31 March 2013, 28% of total National Lottery revenue was returned to the Good Causes. Since the National Lottery began in 1994, over £30 billion has now been raised and more than 400,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment,

Biglotteryfund.org.uk

The Social Investment Business is one of the UK’s leading social investors and has invested over £375 million in 1100 charities and social enterprises since 2002. We provide simple finance to help them grow and transform the communities in which they work. We pioneer new finance solutions to increase the funds available for social investment

Sibgroup.org.uk        @TheSocialInvest

About Big Issue Invest: Big Issue Invest extends The Big Issue’s mission by financing the growth of sustainable social enterprises and charities across the UK. Big Issue Invest offers loans and investment from £20,000 to £3 million. Since launching in 2005, we have invested in over 330 organisations, all of which have positively influenced the lives of people across the UK. We currently manage or advise £170 million of social funds.

Created by social entrepreneurs, for social entrepreneurs, Big Issue Invest is the world’s first ‘Social Merchant Bank’ and a stead-fast champion of social enterprise.

For more information go to: www.bigissueinvest.com

[1] FCA Financial Lives Survey, 2017

North Star Quilting which is based in Hartlepool began when Luke Forster and his partner Bryony welcomed their daughter Emma into the world. Bryony was inspired by the birth of their daughter to recycle her baby grows and turn them into baby quilts which the family would cherish.

When it came to looking for a professional service to quilt her quilts, she noticed this service wasn’t available within a hundred miles, let alone a service that was affordable.

As her love for quilting grew and grew, so did an idea for a business. They wanted a business that is something more, which would be sustainable for the future and one the family could all be involved in.

Luke had been working in publishing, doing freelance portrait commissions and supply teaching. Bryony worked as an activity co-ordinator for a care home working with dementia patients. Whilst she was on maternity leave, the care home closed down. Work was also becoming harder for Luke to find. It became clear that a new beginning was needed.

Tired of struggling and worrying about the future they decided to create a business providing an important service to fellow quilters as well as building up a family business for the security of their daughter. They decided to launch ‘North Star Quilting’ utilising Bryony’s passion and talents, with Luke managing things including the social media side of the business.

Luke applied for a Start Up Loan via Five Lamps for the purchase of a ‘Long Arm’ quilting machine, and after developing his Business Plan and sales forecasts with support from Five Lamps funding approval was obtained. Long Arm quilting is the process by which a longarm sewing machine is used to sew together a quilt top, quilt batting and quilt backing into a finished quilt. Quilting using a longarm machine can take significantly less time than hand quilting or more traditional machine quilting.

Five Lamps Enterprise Loan Officer Vince Rogers said;

“Luke & Bryony are obviously passionate about their venture and worked diligently in putting the business case to ourselves. The website developed by Luke is user friendly, whilst Bryony’s creativity is very impressive.”

Luke said of the service received from Five Lamps;

“After struggling to get funding or any organisation to believe in our business concept, contacting Five Lamps was our best decision. Vince Rogers at Five Lamps supported us all the way through the application process to get us where we needed to be, but importantly for us, he believed in our idea”

‘Luke Forster’ can be contacted on; 07446102171 or via http://www.nsquilting.com/

Five Lamps is a Delivery Partner for Start Up Loans Company which offers government-backed personal loans for business purposes. The loans are available to businesses yet to launch or those that have already started trading. The Start Up Loans Company works with a network of Delivery Partner organisations. The partners support loan applicants in all regions and industries throughout the UK.

Celebrating the Positive achievements of Thornaby Young People

Five Lamps Youth Workers have been working in partnership with Youth Direction and other agencies, to develop a coordinated approach to engage young people involved in anti-social behaviour and low level criminal behaviour into more meaningful positive activities.

The POSBO Project was introduced in March 2014 and explores ways of reducing young people’s involvement in Anti-Social Behaviour. To which the project aims to recognise their positive achievements and offers them time and support to overcome their problems and issues.

To celebrate the success of the Young People who have overcome barriers and made exceptional achievements over the POSBO project, a celebration event and award ceremony was organised for Thursday 7 April 2016.

The event was organised in three sessions a morning session, afternoon session and an evening celebration for the Young People.

The morning session included; guest speakers and awards. The guest speakers included; Police crime commissioner Barry Coppinger, Jess Hugill Member of Youth Parliament for Stockton and Graeme Oram Five Lamps Chief Executive.

20 Young People from the Thornaby Area were nominated for their achievements and were presented with awards by Middlesbrough FC Legend Bernie Slaven.

The afternoon session included many activities for the Young People and their families to be involved in but to also raise awareness such as; Beer goggle challenge, where young people were given the opportunity to test their skills on the climbing wall and also drive a stimulator car which gave them the effect of being under the influence of alcohol.

They were also shown road safety films by Cleveland Fire Brigade and were then involved in a Crash Scene Exercise where the Fire Brigade showed the young people how their team work together in a short space of time to release casualty’s from road traffic accidents using hydraulic cutters to dismantle the car to get their casualty’s out without causing anymore injuries.

There was also various workshops for the young people to be involved in such as; Budgeting for a better tomorrow which was delivered by Jenny Donaldson Business and Enterprise Officer at Stockton Council, Recycling old bicycles by Kevin McCabe from Youth Direction and Cleveland Police on Cycle Safety.

To conclude the day 40 Young People all came together on the evening where an MC night was organised with performances by MC Banksy and MC Maestro. It was a great night with some of the young people getting involved in the Karaoke and also a duet of fantastic MC music by one of the young people; Reece Rogers and MC Banksy.

Sue Westerman, Five Lamps Director of Corporate Services said;

“This was a brilliant day celebrating young people’s achievements and all of them should feel really proud of themselves. Working in partnership with Youth Direction, Police and the Anti-Social Behaviour Team has proved a real success and the young people have been able to get involved in lots of projects to move them away from anti-social behaviour into doing something really positive.”

If you would like any information about our POSBO Project you can contact Darren Iveson Senior Youth Participation Worker at Five Lamps on; 01642 673793/ 07894567938.