Supporters of a Shropshire youth charity have come together to celebrate the opening of a new £1.5 million headquarters in Shrewsbury.

SYA - All About Youth’s new purpose-built base in Upton Lane was opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner, at a special event attended by more than a hundred sponsors and businesses.

The celebration included presentations from members of Shropshire Youth Parliament who explained why youth organisations were so important for empowering young people.

Donna Leading, Chair of Trustees at SYA, said the event marked a significant milestone for the charity.

She said: “The new building is absolutely wonderful and provides a fantastic space for young people to meet and enjoy a range of activities.

“A key element of the design is that it enables flexibility, so young people who need a quieter environment can take some time out when they need to, as well as providing some outdoor space for more energetic activities.

“We hope having this facility will help encourage more young people to come along to our youth sessions, and help SYA grow as we can provide far more opportunities, such as training for youth workers, from our new base.”

Attendees of the celebration event on September 17 included representatives of the businesses who have sponsored the new building: Penguin MEP, Fiveways Insurance Group, Morris & Co, West Bromwich Building Society, CQS Solutions and DecoStitch.

Claire Purcell, Community Engagement and Fundraising Manager at SYA, said it was great to see so many businesses and supporters at the opening event.

She said: “We were very grateful to have Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner, formally opening our new headquarters, and it was great to see the Mayor of Shrewsbury David Vasner and the Mayor of Telford and Wrekin Ian Preece come along too.

“There must have been well over 100 people here from businesses showing their support for the charity, and everyone was really impressed with the speeches from our members of Shropshire Youth Parliament.

“They explained why they decided to get involved with the Youth Parliament and spoke passionately about how the opportunities provided by organisations like SYA have helped them, which was inspiring to hear.”

SYA - All About Youth’s new building has been made possible with a £1.5 million Youth Investment Fund grant, funded by the Government and delivered by Social Investment Business in partnership with National Youth Agency, Resonance, and the Key Fund.

PSG - a subsidiary of Shropshire Council - was commissioned as independent construction consultants to manage the new HQ building work with Shrewsbury-based R1 Construction contracted to carry out the project.

To learn more about the valuable work SYA is doing in the community, visit www.sya.org.uk