Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, visited KOSSMIC at Ounsdale High School, an activity programme run by volunteers during the summer holidays.
The Wombourne KOSSMIC (Kids of South Staffordshire Making It Count) project runs for four weeks and hosts a range of activities such as kick boxing, table tennis and music and drama sessions for 9 to 15 year olds during the summer holidays. As well as a wide variety of activities on site the group organise excursions such as to Drayton Manor.
During his visit Gavin joined the group for a game of table tennis as well as talking to them about the activities that are coming up over the coming weeks.
The scheme takes place throughout the summer on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Ounsdale High School. The charity offers drop-in sessions where youngsters can socialise, play games and sporting activities. Teenagers also have the opportunity to train to act as mentors to younger children in the group.
The group is also partially funded by a grant from “Local Community Fund,” through Councillor Mike Davies who is allocated £7,500 to use on local initiative. Speaking on his contribution to KOSSMIC, Councillor Davies said: “I try to use it on activities for children run by volunteer and KOSSMIC is one such local organisation. I have also given awards to the Scouts, local children’s football teams and children and young adults with disabilities such as the Wings and High Fliers groups. I have had an involvement with KOSSMIC for many years and applaud the work they do in providing interesting and sporting activities for children through the summer holiday.”
Commenting on his visit Gavin said: "I had a brilliant time visiting KOSSMIC at Ounsdale once again. This is a brilliant charity and it is always great to see all the hard work and the community coming together once again to support this project and to see young people enjoying themselves enjoying the wide variety of activities.
“It was great to hear how Councillor Davies has supported KOSSMIC and other community groups local to the area. Organisations such as KOSSMIC are brilliant in promoting the role played by young people our communities and giving them opportunities to learn new skills and build their confidence, teamwork and interpersonal skills. I was particularly pleased to see that KOSSMIC has volunteers of a variety of ages working with young people, especially the mentoring scheme, which I believe is especially valuable for the whole community.”