Youth club for disabled saved by student

**Courtney Giles, a second-year Childhood, Education and Society Studies student, has saved a Surrey youth club for disabled children from closure.**

Epsom Phab, which has provided a place for disabled children and their friends to socialise for more than thirty years, was in danger of being forced to close, with Surrey County Council planning to sell the lease to their building.

Though the club had been due to shut this December, volunteers and supporters had been campaigning for an extension on the lease and, more importantly, a new venue for the club to meet.

Courtney, a long time volunteer, decided to take the campaign to a national level. Entering into the National Union of Students (NUS)’s ‘I am the change’ programme, she tried to garner support from across the country to save the club.

The project, launched in February 2012, allows students to promote their own causes through the NUS website, where the cause with the most votes is championed by the NUS and given campaign support and promotional materials.

Courtney’s ‘Save Epsom Phab’ campaign quickly gained over 5,000 votes, guaranteeing support from the NUS, which joined the campaign in April. After six months of campaigning, Surrey County Council has agreed to extend the lease to the centre until December 2013, and granted Epsom Phab the lease on a new building, as well as £500,000 for improvements.

Courtney says she has been overwhelmed by the support that the club has received. She said: “I’ve never campaigned before, but this has really opened my eyes to what I can do.”

The new centre will be housed at a local college, and the club is planning to use the funding to build a multi-purpose games area. The NUS continues to support Courtney in campaigning for more funding.

For Courtney, the centre is very much a family affair. It was founded in 1978 by Courtney’s grandmother, a nurse at the local hospital. The centre is currently run by Courtney’s parents, who met while volunteering there.

Courtney had been volunteering at the centre for many years, and was recently awarded the Louis Goldberg award from Phab UK for her work in saving the centre. She continues to volunteer at the Kenilworth branch of the club.