We Are Stoke-on-Trent: Small youth charity ‘with a big heart’

A youth charity based in a Stoke-on-Trent shopping centre says its purpose is as clear as when it began nearly 10 years ago: Telling young people they matter.

Ruff & Ruby, a community hub in Hanley, was the “dream” of its creator Dawnie Reynolds, who said “inspiration” and “generosity” were in the project’s DNA.

Through love for the city, she said, she would “bang on the doors of young people’s lives” to tell them they mattered. And a dose of self esteem, she added, was “very much needed”.

The “small charity with a big heart” employs nine staff and holds roadshows at schools, in addition to offering mental health support for teenagers. It is to reach those, Ms Reynolds says, who “don’t have anyone to talk to”.

But above all is the “loving” reminder: “The past doesn’t define the future.”

This video was created as part of We Are Stoke-on-Trent – a BBC project with the city’s people to tell the stories that matter to them.