Ambition (charity)
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| Motto | Believing in young people |
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| Formation | 1925 |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Headquarters | London |
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Chief Executive
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Helen Marshall |
| Website | http://www.ambitionuk.org |
Ambition (formerly known as Clubs for Young People) is a registered charity whose members are a network of umbrella youth organisations in cities, counties and countries throughout the UK. Through its network Ambition works with more than 3,500 voluntary youth clubs, youth groups and projects across the United Kingdom, supporting over 350,000 young people.
Ambition works directly with its member organisations to help facilitate the delivery of quality of youth services and also influences national and local government to support youth clubs.
The current Chief Executive is Helen Marshall.
Ambition is the leading voluntary youth organisation in the UK, promoting the importance of quality youth clubs and inspiring and encouraging young people to achieve.
Ambition helps young people through:
Ambition was founded on 24 October 1925 as the National Association of Boys' Clubs (NABC) in order to consolidate the Boys' and Lads' Club movement which had been growing steadily since the latter quarter of the 19th century. At the time the vast majority of boys left formal education at the age of 14 and began life in employment. To many boys the street was the only place available to socialise once they had finished work, which became seen as a social problem. The boys' club movement therefore aimed to provide these working class boys with a place to socialise and have access to positive activities in their leisure time.
Once founded the NABC grew rapidly, within a year five local federations were affiliated bringing 262 Boys' clubs with them while an additional thirty-three clubs were affiliated directly with the NABC. By 1928 fifteen local federations with 715 clubs had affiliated with 71 further clubs joining directly and by 1930 17 federations were affiliated and 944 clubs, 107 of which were directly. More than half of the federations which were affiliated by 1930 had not previously existed, showing the growing realisation that it was beneficial for Boys' clubs to form links and possess a central administrative body.
At the 1930 NABC conference the Principles and Aims of the Boys Club Movement was accepted by the organisation as the official doctrine of the Boys' Club movement and popularly became known as "the NABC Bible". The document was significant as it set out the purpose, programme, policy and philosophy of the National Association, the movement now possessed a distinct national objective.
Despite numerous obstacles the National Association of Boys' Club continued strongly through the Second World War and contributed towards the war effort. The undoubted difficulties faced by boys' Clubs during the war meant that many had to alter the practices and the activities which they provided. Many took the opportunity to help the war effort with new activities such as cultivating fallow ground, providing canteens for local soldiers, digging shelters and helping evacuated school children. Many youth clubs opened their premises as makeshift schools during the day. Boys Clubs' also helped children evacuated from the cities during the war to settle into their new homes and make friends, playing a vital role in moral on the home front.
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Wikipedia