A COMPANY has stepped in to ensure a youth club remains open for the next three years by giving volunteers a funding boost.

Clipper Teas has pledged £15,000 to support the running of The Phoenix Club in Beaminster. The youth club provides two dedicated sessions for youngsters on Wednesday evenings and the funding from the Beaminster-based firm will pay for two fully trained youth workers to run and organise the sessions alongside volunteers.

In August 2016, volunteers set up a charitable trust to keep a youth club in the town following funding cuts by Dorset County Council. The trust is headed by former town, district and county councillor Gil Streets.

Mr Streets said: "We are committed to offering all children and young people a safe place to meet, learn new skills and have fun with their friends.

"Thanks to this new funding from Clipper Teas, we can balance our budget for the next three years and keep our doors open. We are incredibly grateful for the support they have given us.”

The youth club, based at Beaminster Living and Learning Centre at Prout Bridge, hosts a range of activities to engage and stimulate teenagers in the area. While a strong demand from parents and teenagers has kept the club running with a high attendance, without the funding, and facing a shortage of volunteers, the club may have had to close its doors.

Clipper Teas, part of the Wessanen UK group, has been part of the local community in Beaminster for more than 30 years, and earlier this year received the green light to develop its site at Beaminster Business Park which will provide affordable housing for the town. The company has now paid its first instalment to the club, enabling The Phoenix to continue providing its service to young people.

Mark Bagwell, operations director at Wessanen UK, said: “We have always been deeply proud of our Dorset heritage, and we believe in giving back to a community that has been so good to us whenever possible.

"When we read about the issues facing The Phoenix, we felt compelled to offer whatever support we could so that people in Beaminster could continue to enjoy the tremendous services provided by the club.”

Founded in Dorset in 1984, Clipper manufactures a variety of organic and Fairtrade teas and coffees. Clipper’s products are made with pure ingredients from the highest-quality sources, with nothing artificial added. From its humble Dorset roots, Clipper now exports tea and coffee to countries all over the world.