A group of young people from Gasselternijveen are starting their own youth club. There is little to do in the village for young people and that is why they want a meeting place where they can organize activities or just hang out.
The young people came up with the idea after a successful project to make De Spil village hall more attractive to their peers. A well-attended ghost tour and laser tag evening leaves you wanting more. That’s why it’s time for your own hangout.
Using crowbars and hammers, the young people use two days to break everything loose and stuck in the old canteen of the De Strohalm sports hall. Just a few more months and there will be a nice couch, a nice television and a dart board, says Jordy Osnabrugge. He and a few friends from the village are the driving forces behind the youth club.
“There is not much to do for young people in Gasselternijveen,” says Osnabrugge. “Now we often just sit at someone’s home. With a youth club we can get more young people from the village here and organize activities.”
The project is supported by the board of Village Cooperative De Brug, the village interest association of Gasselternijveen. It has been a wish for some time to create their own place for young people, says project leader Corina Hessing.
“There are quite a few young people living here. We can see that in the football club and the gymnastics club, but not much else. We were often asked if we couldn’t do something for them,” says Hessing.
The eye fell on the canteen of the sports hall, which is not used very often and, according to Hessing, was also not very pleasantly furnished. “A table and some chairs, but nothing else. There will soon be a new ceiling, a new kitchen, new lighting, new paint and new furniture. Selected together with the young people.”
In January and February we are still working hard on furnishing the youth center. The intention is that young people will open the doors from the end of February or the beginning of March.