The Squad

Meet Keeley who runs The Squad Juniors club. She works tirelessly to ensure that our members’ needs are met, manages a busy programme of activities and a team of volunteers. Each club night takes meticulous planning and co-ordination to ensure that it runs smoothly and that we have met the correct staff /member ratios. This takes a lot of forward-planning and resourcefulness on Keeley’s part. Club nights can also be quite noisy at times, but Keeley always remains zen and keeps things in order. She is also great at motivating her team of volunteers.

Keeley began volunteering at The Squad in 2011. She was really interested in working with people with learning disabilities and joined us to gain experience in this area. She remembers thinking ‘wow it’s loud’ when she first arrived, but really enjoyed the club night. In fact she stayed on as a volunteer until 2016 when she became our Deputy Club Leader and was appointed as Juniors Club Leader in early 2017.

Keeley brings a wealth of experience. She’s a JNC- qualified Youth Worker and has a degree in Youth and Community Studies. She works part-time for The Squad on Thursday evenings and as a Youth Work Manager at a community centre in central London on other afternoons and evenings. She has a very busy life with not much time to herself, but when she does relax she enjoys baking and is a big fan of Harry Potter films.

What does Keeley love about The Squad? She finds it very rewarding and says that the members appreciate you taking the time to speak with them. “You can go there and be exhausted and have had a bad week and the young people are happy, so you’re happy.”

If you are a young person with a learning disability and would like to attend a club night or know someone who would like to attend then you can contact Keeley at enquiries@thesquad.org.uk.