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Youth centre faces shutdown

Tom Rowley
30/ 4/2008

A YOUTH drop-in centre which opened at the dawn of the millennium fears it may not see its second decade unless more volunteers come forward to help out.

By the end of its first six months, The Millennium Cellar — so-called because it opened back in January 2000 — had 200 members and by the end of its first year 4,169 youngsters had come through its doors.

But now a shortage of volunteers is casting a cloud over the future of the centre, which is housed in the basement of Victoria Hall on Talbot Street and caters for 11 to 17-year-olds. It currently has around 60 members and opens one or two evenings a week, depending on the number of youngsters who turn up, but numbers have been falling.

Treasurer Neil Manchee said: "If we had more volunteers we could open more evenings during the week. But it’s catch 22 — unless we open more evenings the young people find other things to do and membership drops off again. But our existing volunteers cannot offer to come every night and we can only keep open one of two nights for so long."

Youngsters can play pool, air hockey, X Box games and coffee and snacks are available.

Prize

In its prime the Millennium Cellar won a joint third prize of £500 in the National Crimebeat Awards at the end of its first year, and down the years members have raised cash for fire alarms for elderly folk in Glossop.

Anyone interested in helping out is invited to a ‘relaunch’ meeting of the cellar at Glossop Police Station on Ellison Street, beginning at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 7 May.