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Kilfinane Youth Club members Lorraine Young and Emily McMahon participating in a make-up demonstration at the club – a call has been issued for volunteers to keep the club open.

Since it was started over 2 years ago, Kilfinane Youth Club has been a resounding success and a regular feature for 13 to 18 year olds on a Friday night, except for a break taken over the summer holiday period.

It is due to resume again in September, but there is a danger this may not happen due to the current shortage the club are experiencing in recruiting adult volunteers. Speaking to The Avondhu, Joan O’Dea who has been a member of the youth leader programme since its foundation, said would be very unfortunate as it plays an important function in bringing the local youth together at the end of each week.

“I can honestly say it’s been a great experience. Every week 50 to 60 teenagers come to the youth club held in Scoil Pol and are involved in activities such as quizzes, art & craft, sport, meeting with friends, as well as the occasional outing.

“We currently have 60 teenage members. That’s not the problem. We only have 4 adult leaders at the moment and they are compulsory for the club to keep going. We are required to have a ratio of one adult for every six teenagers. Therefore we need another 8 leaders”.

VOLUNTEERS NOW VITAL

She continued, “Kilfinane Youth Club is very important to teenagers. I would go so far as to say that there is nothing else for them to do in the town. Not a lot of the members are that interested in sport and a lot of the activities associated with the area involve having to have money in your pocket, which many teenagers simply don’t have.

“Our adult volunteers have been brilliant, but we have experienced a drop off in numbers recently for various reasons. Actually, while the amount of teenagers joining our club has continued to rise, the number of volunteers has decreased. Believe it or not we have had no increase in volunteers since the club was started over 2 years ago. The reality is that if we don’t get at least 8-10 volunteers, the club will not be able to continue in September,” She said.

The club meets every Friday night in Scoil Pol from 8-10pm from September, but any new volunteers would only be required to attend once a month due to a rotation system. If anyone over the age of 18 would like to volunteer with Kilfinane Youth Club, they can e-mail contact Joan by e-mailing joanodea@yahoo.ie or phoning 087 3549453. They can also contact Lisa on 083 4003138.

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