Card Factory chief joins board of Warrington Youth Zone

Mr Middleton, who grew up in Orford and still lives in Warrington, was a founder patron of the town centre based charity and is now on the board.

His contribution to the Youth Zone has rapidly grown over the past 12 months and he has thrown himself into the youth zone family, supporting in many different ways.

Stuart’s passion for supporting young people within Warrington can not only be seen in the work he does for the youth zone but also with The Stuart Middleton Foundation which was created to help young people in sport and to help those from unprivileged backgrounds to give them hope, confidence and motivation to achieve.

He said “It is a real privilege to be able to support the young people of Warrington.

"Over the years I have worked hard to make sure that I give back to my home town and becoming a Founder Patron of such an incredible community facility was a no brainer.

"I will continue to support the work of the youth zone and I am excited to see the impact it can have on the young people who need it most.”

Dave McNicholl, chief executive of Warrington Youth Zone said: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to The Stuart Middleton Foundation for not only joining our family of founder patrons but their founder Stuart Middleton taking a position on our board. "Warrington Youth Zone provides young people with somewhere safe to spend their leisure time, discover their talents and develop their skills but we can’t do it without the support from local business people like Stuart Middleton.”

Warrington Youth Zone is being made possible thanks to a partnership between Warrington Council, young people and business people such as Stuart Middleton and philanthropists, who become part of the Youth Zone’s Founder Patrons' family and contribute to its annual running costs.

Warrington Youth Zone provides the young people of the town, access to 21st century youth provision. The state-of-the-art facility is open to young people aged 7-19, and up to 25 for those with additional needs. The £7million development boasts a wealth of facilities such as a 3G football pitch on the roof, arts and crafts, dance studio, health and wellbeing, kitchen, podcast suite, climbing wall, boxing ring, fully equipped gym, with over 20 activities every night, which are available all year round.

Warrington Youth Zone officially opened its doors on the July 2 and just six months on boasts 7130 members with over 36,000 visits. Young people pay just £5 per year to become a member and then 50p every time they visit, the on-site café provides hot meals for £1.

For more information about the charity, please visit warringtonyouthzone.org