Chorley McDonald’s and Inspire Youth Zone team up to give young people a chance and a free meal

Local children’s charity, Inspire Youth Zone and Chorley McDonald’s are partnering up to support young people across the local community.

To mark the official launch of their partnership, the two organisations hosted a restaurant takeover this week during the half term holidays.

Many young people and families visited Chorley McDonald’s to meet youth workers and find out more about how they can get involved with activities and supporting the charity.

Located just across the road from the restaurant, Inspire Youth Zone is a purpose-built space for young people living within the Chorley borough and beyond, supporting ages from school Year 3 right up until they’re 19, and 25 with additional needs.

They give local young people somewhere fun and safe to go, people they can trust and opportunities that help them grow in confidence, build skills and believe in their future.

From sports and creative arts to employability support, mentoring, well-being and hot meals, Inspire is a place where young people can belong.

More than just a building, Inspire also operates detached and outreach work out in the community.

The partnership between them and McDonalds is a key player here with vouchers being provided to use as a youth work tool alongside their Scran Van.

Franchisee Alex Thompson teamed up with Inspire to help fundraise for them earlier this year, and the two are now embarking on a wider partnership to not only fundraise but also support additional youth services and work experience programmes at the restaurant.

The Youth Zone receives a small funding contribution from the council, and everything else is funded through fundraising – making the partnership with Chorley McDonald’s invaluable to continuing their work.

Fundraising from customers in the restaurant will help the charity to continue its offer which not only provides activities and youth work, but that also provides £1 meals for all their members.

If their £1 hot meals would be a barrier to eating, young people can have one for free, and last year alone they provided over 13,500 free meals.

Being located so close to the Inspire Youth Zone’s centre, we’ve been aware of the charity and the brilliant work they do for young people here for some time.

Alex Thompson, Franchisee of McDonald’s in Chorley said: “We’re proud to be formalising this partnership and working more closely with Janine and the team on fundraising and youth initiatives.

“Ultimately any support McDonald’s provides wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our restaurant team, as well as our valued customers.

“We hope this partnership will serve as inspiration for other businesses locally to get involved, and together bring real positivity for the community in Chorley.”

Janine Blythe, CEO of Inspire Youth Zone added: “We’re excited to be partnering with Alex Thompson and his Chorley restaurant – as a charity it costs us £1.6 million each year where last year alone we clocked over 62,000 engagements with young people.

“The need for our service has never been greater, but the fundraising landscape has never been tougher. The passion, commitment and support of local businesses like McDonald’s Chorley is what allows Inspire to continue to exist and give every young person the chance to become their best selves.”

Up and coming events

Looking ahead, the two organisations will be collaborating to connect local young people to jobs, work experience and mentoring opportunities within the restaurant, with aspirations to get five local young people placed in roles as part of McDonald’s new work experience programme.

The next part of the partnership kicks off over the weekend, with the restaurant hosting an end of season football lunch for the Astley & Buckshaw JFC U8 Blues football team.

The team’s new kit features both the Inspire logo and the Golden Arches – in recognition of the two organisations working together.

Alex will also be volunteering his time to work as a mentor for members at the Youth Zone, while the restaurant crew will be also volunteering at an upcoming evening. with plans to run recruitment events, talks and overall, use the restaurant as an extension of the Youth Zone’s own space.