Friday Nights at Moss Side Powerhouse

At Moss Side Powerhouse in Manchester, we've been running a six-month programme covering some of the issues and conversations relevant to the young people attending the club.

Our Friday evening sessions have covered:

· Consent, boundaries, peer pressure and influence

· Careers, pathways and aspirations

· Communication, wellbeing and confidence

· Neurodiversity and celebrating differences

· AI, deepfakes and digital respect

· Bullying, banter and online behaviour

Importantly for us, this wasn't about delivering one session and moving on.

We've been able to return throughout the programme, get to know the community and build on the conversations as we've gone.

Our friends at Hotel Football have supported the programme, providing financial donations, and food for the young people attending - another example of a partner finding a simple, practical way to support what we're doing.

Building Our Relationship with Central Youth Club

Over in Liverpool, our relationship with Central Youth Club has become one of our most important community partnerships, with our 2026 programme supported by Asda Birkenhead.

Alongside a five-part lived experience workshop series, we've started looking beyond the sessions themselves and at the wider environment young people spend their time in.

We started asking the team:

What else could make a difference here?

That conversation has opened up a completely different side to our work with the club.

Transforming the Games Room

One of the first things we identified was the games room.

It was already an important social space for the young people, particularly as many don't have access to their own gaming consoles at home, but it was in need of some TLC.

Make Life Kind worked closely with the youth club team to organise its transformation. We sourced a decorator and coordinated the new flooring, painting and finishing touches to create a brighter and more welcoming space.

We also wanted to help fund it ourselves.

Three Make Life Kind volunteers joined our Directors and two Central Youth Club youth workers to run a market stall thank to Bruntwood who hosted the event, selling Make Life Kind merchandise and putting every penny raised directly back into supporting the club and its community.

The finished room is now somewhere young people can game, socialise and spend time together safely.

And we're not stopping at one room.

Next Up: The Homework Room

Our next project at Central Youth Club is already getting underway.

Two supporters from our partner Milk Education raised an incredible £1,000, which is now going directly towards transforming the club's homework room.

The plan includes new flooring, painting and decorating, installing donated computers and creating a much better environment for homework, learning and study.

James from the youth club's fundraising team has already secured equipment and some of the furniture, so much of what's left is about getting the practical work completed and bringing everything together.

It's great to be able to show people who fundraise for us exactly where their money goes.

In this case, £1,000 becomes a room that young people can use week after week.

We're excited to get this one finished.

Another Year with Manchester United Foundation

We've also continued our relationship with Manchester United Foundation in 2026.

Following our first programme of the year in April, we were invited back to support another programme during the summer.

Across August, Make Life Kind is delivering sessions through Manchester United Foundation's community activity, covering areas including digital safety, neurodiversity, resilience and the pressures young people experience online.

Being asked back for a second programme this year means a lot to us.

It shows that the relationships we're building with organisations are continuing beyond one piece of work - which is exactly what we want.

Premier League Inspires at Everton

Another brilliant moment this year was our involvement in the Premier League Inspires event at Everton's ground, with Loti and Tilita representing Make Life Kind.

We had the opportunity to host and support an event bringing young people together through the Premier League's education and community work.

For a small charity rooted in the North West, being trusted to play a role in an event of this scale was a big milestone for us and another opportunity to give young people access to conversations, experiences and people they might not ordinarily encounter.

40+ Pairs of New Balance Trainers Are on Their Way

We've always believed that our relationships with businesses should be about more than logos and sponsorship.

If we know a business that can help and a community that could benefit, we want to connect the two.

We're therefore delighted that New Balance is due to donate more than 40 pairs of trainers, alongside clothing, for young people at one of the youth clubs we support.

It's practical support that will go directly to young people, and we're really grateful to the New Balance team for getting involved.

It's also the kind of collaboration we'd love to create more of.

What can we collectively put into the hands of young people that will genuinely make a difference?

Sometimes that's education. Sometimes it's an opportunity. And sometimes it's something practical that we know will be appreciated.

Sometimes Impact Is One Person

Not everything we've done this year fits neatly into a programme or project.

This year, we supported a young adult who had previously attended one of the youth clubs we work with as he made a significant move from Liverpool to Manchester.

With very limited support around him, the relationships he'd built through the youth club became more important than ever.

Working alongside people who already knew and supported him, Make Life Kind helped with his relocation and essential items for his new home, connected him with trusted coaches for additional guidance and continued to provide practical support as he settled into his new life.

There wasn't a Make Life Kind programme attached to it.

There wasn't a workshop or campaign.

It was simply someone who came into our path who needed some support.

So we helped.

"We can't help everyone. But we can help someone  and sometimes, that one act of kindness can change the direction of a life."

— Emma Walsh

A New Trustee Joins Make Life Kind

We've also had some change behind the scenes.

Following the departure of one of our founding Trustees to pursue new ventures, we wanted to bring someone new into Make Life Kind who could actively support the charity as we continue to develop.

This year, we welcomed Kyle Riding as a new Trustee.

We're really pleased to have Kyle around the table and supporting the next stage of Make Life Kind.

We're also always interested in hearing from people who might be able to offer their time or expertise.

As a small charity without a team of employees, volunteers make a huge difference to what we're able to achieve.

We're particularly keen to hear from volunteer bid writers, speakers, administrators and marketing professionals who might be able to give some of their time and skills to help us grow.

Coming Next: ITV News GNW Visits Central Youth Club

On 27 August, we'll be heading back to Central Youth Club alongside ITV News GNW to showcase some of the work taking place and the wider support surrounding the club.

The visit will also coincide with the donations being provided by New Balance for the young people.

We're proud to have the opportunity to share what's been happening, but we also want the spotlight to be on all the people involved.

The youth workers who are there week after week, day in and day out.

The people who fundraise.

The businesses that donate.

The volunteers who give their time.

And, most importantly, the young people themselves who keep showing up.

It's a great opportunity to show what can happen when businesses, charities and communities work together in a practical way.

Plenty More to Come in 2026

When we started Make Life Kind, our focus was on giving young people access to conversations and education around social, safety and stigmatised topics that could positively influence their lives.

That's still at the heart of what we do.

But our work with youth clubs and communities is showing us that our role can be broader than that.

Sometimes what's useful is another educational session.

Sometimes it's helping improve the room where young people spend their evenings or do their homework.

Sometimes it's connecting a business with a youth club that needs something.

And sometimes it's simply supporting one person through something difficult.

That's the Make Life Kind we're continuing to build.

Not just reaching young people.

Being useful to them.

And to everyone who has donated, fundraised, volunteered, provided products, made an introduction, shared our work or partnered with us this year - thank you.

We're a small charity and every contribution genuinely helps us do more.

There's plenty more we want to achieve before the end of 2026.

Thank you for being part of it.