Youth Shedz community story – Steve Morgan Foundation

An organisation which was set up to help empower young people across North Wales, and received funding from the Steve Morgan Foundation, has achieved registered charitable status.

And Youth Shedz Cymru made it a double celebration by marking the occasion with the grand opening of the latest addition to their family –  the Abergele Youth Shed.

Youth Shedz is the brainchild of Scott Jenkinson, a reformed drug addict who has previously spent time both homeless and in prison, with the initial branch launched in Denbigh already prompting several more ‘Shedz’ to be formed across North Wales.

These groups ensure there are safe places for young people to proactively engage, develop new skills and further their education, with a minimum of 200 youngsters currently on the verge of anti-social behaviour set to benefit over the next three years.

The new Abergele Youth Shed is a partnership project involving Itaca Abergele, Abergele Action Group and Youth Shedz.

Many friends, funders and supporters of the new project attended the official launch which followed a three-year award of £65,000 from the Steve Morgan Foundation, and was marked with the cutting of a specially-made Youth Shed cake, by the Mayor of Abergele, Councillior Shirley Jones- Roberts, and one of the founding members of Youth Shedz Cymru, Will Royles.

The day was a great double celebration, celebrating the opening of the Abergele Youth Shed and also officially launching YouthShedz Cymru, the umbrella organisation which helps organisations like Itaca set up their own Youth Shedz space for young people,” said Scott.

Thanks to the support of the Steve Morgan Foundation, Youth Shedz has recently been awarded charitable status and the Abergele launch day was a great way to celebrate and give thanks to all involved.

The day was a resounding success with many in attendance, the food was fantastic and the young Shedderz did themselves proud on the day.

The launch was also a great opportunity for people to view some of the great work being done by other Youth Shedz from Kinmel Bay, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Denbigh and of course by the Abergele Shedderz, who went above and beyond in order to get the place ready for their big day.”

Youth Shedz prides itself on being a charity run from the ground up rather than a top-down organisational approach, helping young people set their own agendas in pursuing their dreams and aspirations.

The charity has already been commended by the Welsh Assembly, and Scott was also one of the keynote speakers at the recent Steve Morgan Foundation annual conference at which Youth Shedz were named runners-up in the Best Charity or Social Enterprise Changing Young Lives.

“We just want to say a huge thank you to the Steve Morgan Foundation because, hand on heart, we wouldn’t possibly be where we are today without them,” added Scott.

About the Steve Morgan Foundation

The Steve Morgan Foundation (previously The Morgan Foundation) was created in 2001 by Steve Morgan CBE. Since then it has committed over £300m of funding.

Visit stevemorganfoundation.org ,uk for more details

Steve Morgan CBE

• Born in Liverpool, Steve Morgan, 66, founded Redrow plc in 1974 thanks to a £5,000 loan. Since then the company has gone on to build over 100,000 new homes. Steve retired from the Redrow Board in March, 2019, but remains a major shareholder.
• Steve is also Chairman of the Bridgemere Group of Companies, which has significant land and commercial development interests and Carden Park Hotel.