'Don't let the light go out': The final push to save Salford Lads Club

  • ITV News' Tim Scott went to Salford Lads and Girls Club to speak to staff and young people as they give one last push to save the venue

Young people and organisers are calling for one last push to raise the money needed to save Salford Lads Club.

After a drop in grant funding, the 121-year-old club – housed in a red brick Grade II-listed Edwardian building in Ordsall – must raise £250,000 by the end of November to avoid closure.

Since announcing the fundraiser on 15 October, the club has raised over £230,000 thanks to donations from the public alongside the likes of Morrissey, The Courteneers, and Graham Nash.

With just a few weeks to go, the club is now just £20,000 short of the funding they need to stay open.

Children at the Youth Club say the support they have received has changed their lives.

It famously featured on the The Smiths album 'The Queen is Dead' but was founded back in 1903 by philanthropists James Grimble Groves and his brother William.

Since then it has been renamed Salford Lads and Girls Club and to this day caters for the community.

One teenager described the club as "the place that turned me into the person I am today."

Another said: "It just makes people feel welcome. It's helped me through my journey."

An artwork commissioned by the club lists all 22,000 young people who attended the club over the last century. Credit: ITV News

To show just many children the club has helped, an artwork commissioned by the club lists all 22,000 young people who attended the club over the last century.

In a final push, past and present members of Salford Lads and Girls Club featured in an advert calling for people to donate to save the venue.

Blaine Hevey is a youth worker, and has first hand experience of the impact the club can have on a young persons life.

In the advert, he said: "I grew up without a dad, so I don't know what I would have done with myself if I hadn't of come to the club when I was a kid."

Since the announcement that the club was at the risk of closure, Blaine has been working to raise funds to ensure it can continue to help young people.

He said: "When we first found out, I was pretty upset that it had come to this point because it's been such an important part of my life. We're all just a bit worried the light will go out."

In the advert youth worker Blaine shared his story of how Salford Lads Club helped him as a child. Credit: Dentsu Creative UK

The club found itself in financial trouble after a rise in energy costs and a reduction in public funding for organisations like Salford Lads Club.

The club's Head of Youth Operations, Laura Slingsby, said: "There's been a lot of grants and trusts that have closed recently, which means there's a lot more competition for the money that is available. We're not the only ones in a similar situation."

Across its 121 year history, the club has been the origins of a number of iconic musical acts including 60s band The Hollies and The Smiths.

On 1 November, The Smiths frontman and lyricist Morrissey privately donated £100,000 to the club. Elsewhere, Salford Council, The Hollies, and The Courteneers have also made large donations in an effort to save Salford Lads and Girls Club.

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