Windmill Youth Group

By Georgie Kulkhan Albaythani

Stuart Sykes has been the chairman of the Windmill Youth Group for 40 years. Throughout those 40 years, the group’s purpose has continued, unchanged: for all young people, regardless of academic background, to reach their full potential of future success.

The 17th of July was a celebratory day for the Windmill Youth Group. The esteemed party of Youth Group members congregated on the Keswick Hills for another stimulating volunteer opportunity. The group of nine started at the base of Grassmere and hiked to the very top of the Hills. This particular volunteer opportunity was in aid of a breathtaking adult parapenting competition: a well known, dangerous sport. The volunteers served a host of audience members food and drink and picked up litter to ensure the Keswick Hills maintained its astounding beauty.

The group then slept under the stars on the Hills from 11pm until 7am, only to continue their volunteering for the second half of the competition until 5:30. For a group of 14-16 year olds, their commitment was beyond impressive. The competitors and audience members themselves were astounded by the group’s hard work, leading to them receiving a round of applause. As a sign of appreciation, the parapenting competitors set up a tip box for the group: this led to a collection of over £200.

Stuart set his Youth Group volunteers a challenge: he constructed them to schedule a private meeting, to decide how to split up their earnings. The group communicated efficiently and arrived at the conclusion that they should donate their hard-earned tips to Bowland and Pennine Rescue and the Mountain Rescue.

After a short weekend, a young team of youngsters with little working experience became an experienced team of esteemed volunteers.

The Windmill Youth Groups strives for young people to achieve valuable experiences to boost both their life skills and CV: through expeditions, volunteering and conservation. These aims can be shown by the multitude of Duke of Edinburgh completions Stuart has overseen, but also in a simple two day volunteering experience.