Tyne Youth & Community Centre

Chirnside House - Mariners Lane - Tynemouth - NE30 4AT

Telephone - 0191 2578796

Registered Charity No 522148

Wednesday 24th March 2005:-

Founder and Patron Ron Chirnside, MBE died of a stroke at 10am.

I have some very sad news to pass on I 'm sorry to say.   Having returned from my game of golf there was a message waiting for me to contact Park House Nursing Home in Fawdon, Newcastle.

Ron Chirnside, MBE died at 10am this morning from a stroke.

I visited Ron just  4 weeks ago on Feb 18th and wrote about my visit in my diary.   I am sure there are many of you who know Ron but for those that don't, let me tell you a little bit about him.

He started Tyne Boys' Club in 1949 as a boxing club in the basement of Knotts Flats in Tynemouth.   When the club moved to its' present site in 1964 it was no more than an oversized gym, but it became a must join club to every self respecting young footballer living at the Coast / North Shields.

I joined in 1966 and Ron was always there.   He became a father figure to thousands of boys / young men and instilled the self discipline that I feel that every one of us has and made us into the, in some cases, pillars of society that we are now.   Bank managers, businessmen, self employed and sports mad dads and granddads that we became.

Ron never received a wage and was always a volunteer.   He received his MBE for services to the youth & community of Tynemouth / North Shields from The Queen in 1974 and was as proud as a man can be.

He retired due to ill health in the early nineties and when I secured lottery funding for the sum of £388,235 in 1999 to rebuild Tyne Boys' club as a modern youth & community centre I was proud of the fact that we named the building 'Chirnside House' in his honour.   I also know  Ron was as proud of that as he was of his MBE.

If you have been following the saga I am currently embroiled in over paid youth workers coming to Tyne Youth & Community Centre you will probably understand a little better now as to why we have had such a difficult time attracting the funding.  

The reason is simple, Ron Chirnside MBE did it for free for 40 years.

Every other club receives funding for workers simply because 'It has always been that way'.   I am proud to say it was never thus at Tyne.   I am also proud to say that I have been involved with Tyne since I was a boy of 11 and have been Chairman for the past 14 years.  

I was told that the funeral will probably be in the week commencing 4th April, but keep checking the press for details.  Obviously when I know the date, place and time I will post details on my site.

Ron would have been 86 in a couple of weeks, he has no surviving family.

You may have heard that the club is closed in the evenings for youth provision.   This is correct, but will very soon be rectified.

See below:

The Club is operating on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings for football training (football news).   This is possible because each team has a manager and a good parental volunteer base, so there is adequate supervision for the young people when they are in the Club - This is great.

Unfortunately on a Monday evening and a Friday evening I have been acting as Club Leader, chairman, general 'dogsbody' and gofer and it is simply too much for me to cope with. 

Unless and until I can get suitably qualified youth workers via the local authority or other sources, the club will, unfortunately, remain closed.   I have spoken with local MP Alan Campbell who has been very supportive and at last some action is happening.

Update March 2005:

'The Event' - Monday 25th April, 5 - 8pm

To all parents, members, helpers, football managers, volunteers and young people in Tynemouth - come along to The Event and see what the Club can offer you when we re-open.   There will be a 'Kids Club' and a 'Youth Club'.   The professional child care workers and youth workers will be on hand to chat and explain everything that will be on offer.  

Update 23 February 2005:

I had what can only be described as a very positive meeting with Ronnie Addison and Linda Butler (Home Housing) and Wendy Gill, Principal Area Youth Officer with North Tyneside Council and Karen Wark, Youth Worker with North Tyneside Council.

The outcome is that North Tyneside Council, the YMCA and Home Housing and the existing volunteers at TYCC will be providing, to start with 2 sessions per week.   We will start with Monday and Friday evenings, probably at the end of March / early April.   It is hoped that more sessions will be added as we progress.

There are two distinctive groups of young people and sessions could well be tailored accordingly, but I will give specific details a little nearer the time.

7 -12 year olds come under the 'Play group' category.
13 years and older are classed as 'Youth'.

We will either dedicate one evening per group or have time bands for each category on both nights.   I would prefer this option, but we shall see.

Whatever the system we use, it is good news all round for everyone at Tyne Youth & Community Centre and more importantly the young people of Tynemouth and the surrounding area.

Important:   All volunteers must fill in a CRB police check to be able to help out once the new project starts.   Until this has been done, and returned with a clean bill of health, we cannot accept your help.  

Only a CRB check specifically for Tyne Youth & Community Centre will be acceptable.   If you already hold one for your normal occupation or other voluntary work this unfortunately cannot be accepted.

Tyne Youth & Community Centre and the NACYP will jointly pay the cost of the CRB check.   We need your help and the sooner we can have everything checked out we look forward to seeing you again soon.

I am sure everyone will agree that this will result in a much better facility for your child, no matter what age they are.   We will have tailor made activities run by professional youth / play workers and the scope for activities will be much broader than before.

Check the press for opening details and launch date!

Update at 8th February 2005:

Things are definitely on the move.   I had another very productive meeting this afternoon with Ronnie Addison from Home Housing and Bruce Robertson of the YMCA, along with students from Sunderland University who are taking degree courses in youth work.

I have another meeting scheduled for next Thursday with Ronnie Addison (Home Housing) and Wendy Gill who is the Principal Area Youth Officer for North Tyneside Council.  I would like to think that after this meeting we will be close to or will have arrived at a solution.

Fingers crossed!

Update at 2nd February 2005:

I have had numerous meetings with various local bodies and am confident that very soon we will be re-opening for quality youth work on Monday and Friday evenings, at least.   It is possible that as soon as the football teams have finished their indoor winter training schedule that other nights may come on stream also.

This is great news for 'Tyne' and I believe that the Club will be all the better for the action I have taken.   It was a difficult decision to take but as my health was being adversely affected I could not allow this to continue.

Once I can confirm the re-opening schedule I shall be ringing those parents who have offered to resume as volunteers to work alongside the 'youth workers'.   If any other parents are reading this news for the first time and would like to offer their services, eg canteen , office or computer suite please get in touch.

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Last modified: 01-03-2005