The Sycamore Project

A Brief History
The Sycamore Project which runs Zac's Youth Bars is an independent Christian Charity. Established in 1995 it took four years of planning and vigorous fundraising before the Project were able to purchase and refurbish a dilapidated wine bar near Farnworth town centre. They named it Zac's Youth Bar.

Farnworth is statistically one of the poorest towns in the UK. There are plenty of pubs, but very few venues for teenagers. Each year there seemed to be an ever increasing number of youths simply 'hanging around' on street corners. Many of the children were suffering from problems at home and had become easily lured into alcohol and drug abuse, anti social behavior and petty crime. It was and still is the desire of the Projects founders to provide a meeting place free from alcohol and other harmful influnces, as well as promoting a safe and healthy lifestyle. The plan devised by the Sycamore Project was to create a 'cool' venue where young people could spend their leisure time AND get help and advice in dealing with youth problems, if they needed it.

Making the bar's 'non-alcoholic' evenings appealing for street-wise youths was a challenge, but it proved to be a great success. Over the years the Sycamore team have built on that success to create an invaluable local resource which is appreciated by both children and parents alike. Learning workshops were gradually introduced to help teens understand and manage the issues of drinking, drugs, anger and sex. A facility for entertaining children of pre-school age was set up, as were Holiday Clubs and specialist After-School Clubs. There is now a diverse agenda of 'Special Needs' activities for children with physical and/or learning disabilities and we provide support, help and guidance on a wide variety of youth concerns.

In 2007 work began on establishing a second venue in nearby Little Lever as well as purchasing a mobile bar to aid with street work. Youth Work in Little Lever has been taking place with a dedicated youth team who are along with the young people in the area working on developing a venue. The mobile bar has been used in schools, at events and in training for our young people as well as helping to facilitate our work on the streets.


Our Aim
Our aim is to have a long-term impact on the lives of young people, equipping them to make positive life choices and to be full valued members of their community. We offer care and support to children and young people, whatever their background or ability.

In addition to the provision of recreational opportunities and a venue to socialise in, our focus is upon engaging young people in constructive activities, encouraging positive and lasting changes in attitude, behaviour, self esteem, confidence, spiritiuality and aspiration. This we do through a wide range of activities and a relationship based approach to working.


How We Work
As a charity, all our work is funded through the generous donations of individuals, churches, businesses and grant-making organisations and trusts. In addition to this we employ a Community fundraiser who organises local events to raise money for the work we undertake and the youth team assist the young people to organise and run their own fundraising events.

Although we employ a number of full-time and part-time staff, the majority of our staffing is in the form of dedicated volunteers. Our volunteers work in all areas of the Project, alongside young people, in the office and behind the scenes, they vary in age from 14 years through to those in retirement. Our volunteers provide a wealth of talents, life experience and skills, AND are invaluable.

We currently have four operating centres:

Zac's Youth Bar - Farnworth

Our head offices are located in Farnworth, an area which has been named as one of the poorest towns in the country. Open since 1999, the majority of our activities are based here, including a large programme of activities for young people, all our special needs activities, as well as our work with the Asian community.

Zac's Little Lever

Also on the outskirts of bolton, Little Lever is a more affluent area than Farnworth and therefore has missed out on a large amount of funding resulting in little provision for young people. Our work in Little Lever began in 2008.

Zac's Kearsley

Work began in the Stoneclough area of Kearsley at the start of 2010, we are currently in the process of establishing a venue in order to offer more activities for the young people we work with. Currently the youth team undertakes street work in this area.

Zac's Mobile Bar 

Our mobile bar is unique! Shaped like a giant drinks can the bar can be transported from area to area and is used as a valuable resource in getting to know young people, promoting the work of Zac's and delivering lessons.