Derry & Strabane Mayor’s chosen charity enjoys a fun-filled launch at the Guildhall

Mayor Barr selected the group, which supports young people with disabilities and specific/complex needs, as her chosen charity for the year, and has planned a series of events to help raise funds for the club.

Speaking at the event, Colr. Barr said it was an honour to be able to raise awareness on behalf of young people with special needs, which is a cause very close to her heart. “I am so excited to have this opportunity to work with the members of the BUD Club over the coming months.”

She continued: “I’ve been working on a programme of events including a Charity Concert called Inclusion Fest at the end of November as part of my Christmas programme, youth events and other activities throughout the year. More will be revealed in the coming weeks. I want to shine a light on the wonderful contribution young people with special needs make to our society and the many reasons we should celebrate their important role in our community.

“And it’s not just about raising money! As the mother of a child with Autism, I want to create opportunities for members to get involved in a range of activities, and to play a very active role in raising awareness and lobbying for all local young people with disabilities and complex needs. I hope everyone shows their support for this campaign, and I look forward to all the fun it will bring throughout the year.”

Gavin Melly, the Senior Youth Worker of the BUD Club, believes the campaign this year will present a wealth of exciting opportunities for the members.

“BUD Club is extremely excited to be the Mayor’s Chosen Charity and we look forward to working with the Mayor and Council in order to raise funds for BUD Club and continue to break down barriers to inclusion for our young people.

“The funding raised will enable us at BUD Club to provide so many opportunities and new experiences for children and young people with disabilities, which will include stimulus activities that engage and support our members, hire specialised facilitators that help promote our young people’s overall mental health and wellbeing, whilst providing some of our members the opportunities to experience events/activities with their peers for the very first time. This will include attending their ‘first’ concert with their friends, going away on a residential weekend with their friends at BUD Club, and for many this will be the first time they have ever been away from home or get the opportunity to share a room with their friends. We will also enhance our members’ social calendars by providing fun and youth led activities at evening and weekends of their choosing.”

Speaking before the launch, Gavin explained how the BUD club became Colr. Barr’s chosen charity. He said: “Some of the parents arranged to meet the new Mayor, to discuss access and support for children with disabilities. Two of the parents shared with the Mayor that their lifeline is BUD Club, their child thrives in BUD Club and they shared this.”

From the Mayor’s discussion with parents, she arranged to have a chat with Gavin. “I'll be honest it wasn't a hard sell, the Mayor was very keen,” said Gavin.

Continuing, Gavin said: “For the next year we will be working with the Mayor to devise fundraising activities which will then generate income for the BUD Club to do more stuff. And when we get that income next year, It will be down to the young people what to do with it. If you look around this room everything in here was picked by a young person. They came to IKEA with me to pick out the furniture, they came with me to Smyths to pick board games; when they want new PlayStation games they tell me what they want.

“The Mayor had decided that this year she wanted to raise money for children and young people with disabilities and try to promote inclusion.

“Outside of a lot of our young people's lives, their community is the BUD Club, their community is when they come here. We want to expand that, provide our young people with the opportunities to become active citizens in the city. And now hopefully over the next year working with the Mayor we will be able to do that. To provide a lot more opportunities for children and young people with disabilities.

“It's about providing young people with disabilities social opportunities to come together, meet friends, and develop a sense of belonging in a safe environment.

"But also about targeted programmes, enhancing their skills around topics they need support in if that's about physical health, mental health, internet safety. Our role is to provide them with knowledge and skills to make informed decisions in life."

BUD is the largest disability youth provision in the North-West, acting as a key link for statutory agencies and engaging with a variety of stakeholders. It currently has over 300 registered members aged 11-25 years old from all across the Derry City and Strabane District Council Area. Throughout her term in office, Mayor Barr will work closely with the members in developing a bespoke programme of events and activities to fundraise and raise awareness.

You can find out more about BUD and donate to the Mayor’s charity online at www.derrystrabane.com/about-council/mayor/mayor-s-charity