The countdown to Space 2019 has officially begun with two months to go before its launch.
Blasting off on 22 July, Space aims to provide fun, positive activities throughout the school summer holiday and gives young people from across the county the opportunity to build their confidence, develop life skills, improve their health and general wellbeing.
Space 2019 is now in its fifth year since its relaunch by Matthew Ellis, Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire and Rescue and Crime. Space was originally an activities scheme led by police in Staffordshire aimed at engaging young people before it stopped in the 1990s. The new version of Space, coordinated by the Staffordshire Commissioner’s office, is planned and delivered by a wider collaboration of public and voluntary organisations, including the Police.
A recent blast from the past found Cheadle resident, Dorothy Dolphin rediscovering a selection of past Space t-shirts dating back to 1985. After having a clear out, Dorothy uncovered her late husband Peter’s old t-shirts from his volunteering days where he regularly used to provide food for the young people attending. Dorothy kindly has passed them over to the new Space programme.
The Commissioner said: ‘I am so grateful Dorothy got in touch to showcase the old Space t-shirts. It was fantastic to see a throwback to the original days of Space and to consider how far the programme has come since re-launching in 2015.
‘I am already excited to get out and see young people across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent enjoying the Space 2019 activities. Last year Space saw more than 30,000 attendances by young people at over 1,500 activities and it was great to see such positive activities taking place.
‘Since its relaunch, the Space programme has gone from strength to strength with year on year attendances increasing each time and levels of anti-social behaviour dipping during these weeks. Each year we receive very positive feedback from young people and I’d encourage anyone between 8 and 17 to get involved.’
Activities will be added to the Space website over the coming month so keep checking www.staffordshirespace.uk for updates in your area.
