Letter: Help given at the right time
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir: I noted in Marjorie Baur's letter (26 February) that the 'good girls and boys' were going to a 'youth club'. During the Second World War, pressure was put on young people by the government to belong to a youth club. Clubs sprang up everywhere. I was interested in one belonging to a Methodist church in Greenwich. It had two full-time leaders - one for the girls and one for the boys - sponsored by the government. It was open every evening from 7pm till 10pm, and was crowded with young people. They played games, listened to music, did drama, photography and other activities, or lounged around the canteen chatting with friends. Some were there because they had been in trouble with the law and a condition of their probation was that they attended a youth club.
Fifty years later, a weekend was arranged to pay tribute to the Methodist minister who was the inspiration of the club, and the leaders who worked tirelessly, coping with the motley crowd. More than 50 mature people turned up to renew acquaintances and express their gratitude to the club leaders.
It wasn't so much what they said, but the quality of their lives that showed the long-lasting benefit of help given to young people at a vulnerable age.
Yours sincerely,
GLADYS SALES
Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex
26 February
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