Today certainly felt like the first day of Autumn. With a chilly start to the morning, it seemed like the perfect time to pause, look back and reflect on everything that made Summer 2026 such a brilliant one for NE Youth. Over the past few months, we’ve seen communities come together, young people take on new challenges, supporters raise vital funds, and young people themselves play an increasingly important role in shaping the work that affects them. 

From football tournaments and fundraising events to residential adventures, award-winning social action, youth-led campaigns and opportunities to influence regional decision-making, this summer has been about much more than a busy calendar of events. It’s been about creating opportunities, building confidence, strengthening communities and making sure young people’s voices are heard. 

Bringing people together

One of the best examples of this was Bringing Throckley Together, which returned for another fantastic year and was bigger than ever!

More than 450 people came along to enjoy a brilliant range of activities, meet others and celebrate everything that makes the Throckley community special. Events like this are reminders of the importance of creating space where people can connect. They give communities an opportunity to come together, have fun and build relationships and this year’s incredible turnout showed just how much these opportunities mean to local people. 

Jackson also took the opportunity to speak to members of the Throckley community and hear what the event means to them. Their experiences capture why bring g people together matters. Watch his interviews here!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the event happen! 

Creating opportunities for young people

While community connection was a big part of the summer, creating opportunities for young people to experience something new was equally important to us!

Our residential at Ford Castle gave young people the chance to step outside their comfort zones, take on challenges and create memories together, from zip lining and raft building to laser tag and archery, there was plenty to get involved with. 

But the real value of a residential goes beyond the activities themselves. It is about having the opportunity to try something different, supporting one another, building confidence and discovering what you are capable of. Seeing young people encourage each other, work as a team and take on new challenges was a fantastic reminder of why these experiences are so important. And…of course…there was plenty of laughter along the way!

Turning support into impact 

Behind every opportunity we create for young people is a network of supporters, partners, businesses, volunteers and funders who help make our work possible. This summer, our fundraising events once again brought people together in support of NE Youth’s work. 

On 12th June, we were proud to be charity partner for Golf in the City, alongside the Teesside Charity. Twenty teams took to the course before coming together for dinner at Ramside Hall, raising a fantastic £11,000. 

Then, on 16th July, businesses from across the North East came together at GOALS Newcastle for our Corporate Charity Football Tournament. Teams from Cheesy Waffles, Mincoffs Solicitors, First Mortgage, Open Works, Progressive Legal Solutions and NE Youth competed in a day of friendly competition, teamwork and networking. Congratulations to Progressive Legal Solutions, this year’s champions!

The summer also saw the return of our Annual Clay Pigeon Shoot, with supporters coming together across two fundraising days. The corporate Clay Pigeon Shoot raised an incredible £55,000 followed by the John Shallcross Memorial Shoot, where 25 teams raised a further £15,000. Together, the events generated a total profit of £69,000. 

The funds raised helps us continue creating opportunities, supporting young people and delivering work that makes a difference across the North East. 

Celebrating what young people can achieve

Summer was also a time to celebrate the achievements of young people and recognise the difference they are already making. 

In July, some of our Peer Ambassadors attended The Key Awards, celebrating the outstanding achievements of young people from across the North East. We were incredibly proud to see NE Youth receive the Social Action KEY+ Superstars 2026 Award for The Other Direction. 

The project was created by young people who were concerned about the rise in vaping among their peers. Rather than relying on lectures or scare tactics, the group wanted to start an honest conversation and given young people the opportunity to share real experiences.

They created a powerful film that puts young people’s voices at the centre of conversation – demonstrating exactly what can happen when young people are trusted to lead. Watch their film here!

We also celebrate the achievements of our Wallsend group at the Resilient Futures Awards at Howdon Hub. The group proudly took home the Outstanding Group Award, recognising their work over the past year, including community projects, Christmas hampers and campaigns promoting inclusion and wellbeing. 

These moments of recognition are important because they shine a light on the dedication, creativity and positive impact of young people across our region. 

Making sure young people have a say

For NE Youth, creating opportunities isn’t only about what young people can do – it is also about making sure they have a say in the decisions that affect their lives. 

This summer, our Peer Ambassadors attended the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority Child Poverty Summit, hosted by Mayor Kim McGuinness. The summit brought together organisations and regional leaders to discuss tackling child poverty and creating positive change for young people. 

Our Peer Ambassadors had the opportunity to network, hear from guest speakers and , most importantly, share their own experiences. They highlighted the impact of projects supporting youth employment, education, youth voice and the Youth Trust Fund, ensuring that young people were part of an important regional conversation. And this conversation and commitment to youth voice continued throughout the summer. 

Putting young people in the driving seat

August saw the launch of our Youth Trust Fund (YTF) campaign, delivered in partnership with The Share Foundation and Youth Focus North East. 

The campaign is helping young people across the UK find out whether they have a Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA waiting to be claimed and crucially, helping them understand how they can access it. 

Following the launch at the Metrocentre, our Peer Ambassadors have been taking the campaign directly to young people through information stations across the North East, answering questions and making financial information easier to understand. It is another example of what can happen when young people are given the knowledge, support and platform to take greater control of their futures. 

That same principle was at the heart of our work with the ACT Grant Givers this August. Across two sessions, young people helped shape the criteria for a brand-new funding opportunity for NE Youth members across Tyne and Wear. Rather than just being told what the fund would support, the young people involved help decide. Together, they develop criteria around the four NE Youth outcomes: Healthy, Safe, Involved and Achieve. They next challenge is to create a promotional video explaining the new funding opportunity and what they want it to support. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next and filming is currently underway!

…and moving forward 

As summer comes to an end, we want to say a huge thank you to every young person, staff member, volunteer, supporter, business, partner and funder who has helped make it such a brilliant few months.

Looking back, what stands out most is the people behind everything we do. Whether that’s young people trying new things, communities coming together, supporters creating opportunities and young people having their voices heard.

Summer may be coming to an end, but our work continues. We’re looking forward to creating more opportunities, listening to more young people and supporting communities across the North East to thrive.

Here’s to everything that comes next!