THE Launceston Youth Project is one of 400 community groups across the UK to receive volunteer support from Marks & Spencer as part of a nationwide week of action to support young people.

Support has made a massive difference by redecorating the main hall used by the project at The Orchard Centre

Recently, five volunteers from M&S Launceston joined the Launceston Youth Project by creating a bright new environment for them on days they use the Youth Café and hang out with their friends.

The Launceston Youth Project (LYP) works to support the local youth population in Launceston by providing a safe place to meet and mix with their friends.

They are a ‘C Card’ registered centre where youngsters can seek advice and guidance on sexual health and contraception. All youth workers are qualified youth mental health first aiders and are able to offer a high degree of support should it be needed.

LYP has been helping the community for many years and are proud to still be a place where the local young people love to come and just hang out with their friends. Youths love having a safe place to meet, have some food and do their own thing.

They also have a group doing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award which runs from the centre as well. There are activities on offer but in the main, they just want to socialise. Organisers reached out to M&S for support from their team as they really wanted to improve the area but also for the Launceston Adult Day Service who now have The Orchard as their new location.

The M&S volunteer team quite literally rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in. Sugar soaping walls, applying coats of paint and leaving the centre with a fresh bright hall.

Patricia Orridge from the centre said: “We cant thank them enough and they have been a cheerful, friendly group, working hard all day, arriving at 8am and finishing at 4pm!

“The volunteers were five of 5,000 colleagues from more than 600 M&S stores across the UK, who took part in a week-long volunteering drive, committing over 40,000 hours to projects that work tirelessly to improve the lives of children, young people and families across the UK. The volunteer projects all help young people as a group that M&S and its customers feel passionate about supporting.

“LYP is a local charity that is passionate about supporting the local youth population, they are under ever increasing pressures and to have the facilities to accommodate them is great. The support of the local community and now M&S is vital to us being able to continue our aim.”