Leighton Buzzard Mencap’s highly successful youth club – High 5s – is urgently looking for new volunteers to help run its Thursday evening sessions in the Grovebury Road Scout Hut.

The group provides a fun, inclusive environment for young people with additional needs, aged from 8 to 18. It also gives their parents and carers a valuable opportunity to connect and support each other.

Lisa Jacobs, the High 5s Group leader, said:” We need one or more extra adults to work with me as co-leaders, to give more support to both group members and volunteer helpers, and to act as Group Leader on the occasions when I am unavailable. Some experience of additional needs would be a bonus, but we can provide training, and the main qualification for the role is enthusiasm”.

We also need teenage volunteers and are launching a new Youth Mentor initiative to help support group members and to assist them in taking part in group activities. Some of our long-standing volunteers have temporarily stepped back during the GCSE season and with a growing number of children attending each week the need for new helpers has never been greater. Several young people have already expressed an interest in helping, and our plan is to formally involve some of them as Youth Mentors.

Youth Mentors, aged 14 and above, will help with group activities, encourage participation, and bring positive energy to the sessions. They will be guided by leaders and adult volunteers and will be given appropriate training and support in their role.

Lisa Jacobs said: “my husband and daughters come along each week to help me run High 5s. It has been lovely to see how the three sisters have naturally formed connections with some of the children. They play a very valuable part, so it felt right to open the opportunity to other young people who want to get involved”.

Gaye Beattie, Chair of Leighton Buzzard Mencap said “High 5s is the highlight of the week for some of the families who attend. It depends on our local teenage volunteers, who give their time willingly, and are a wonderful asset for our town. With many of them going off to university or further education, we need to recruit more for this valuable facility to continue.”

Sophie Lunn, Designated Safeguarding Lead for Leighton Buzzard Mencap said: ”we have made sure that the Youth Mentors will be properly supervised and supported. Guided by adults, they will gain experience, develop new skills and make a significant contribution to their local community”.

Anyone interested in joining as an adult leader or Youth Mentor is encouraged to contact Leighton Buzzard Mencap by emailing [email protected]