People

The Youth of Holywood

Holywood is a seaside town five miles from the city of Belfast. It is known as a fairly affluent area, with fine houses and wealthy inhabitants. But this is not the whole story. Drive down the High Street or into the Loughview estate and you will see young people hanging around on street corners, bored, disaffected, and largely ignored, unless they are causing trouble.

It is primarily to these young people who for one reason or another do not have the same opportunities as the rest, some of whom engage in risky behaviours, that we are called to get alongside and demonstrate the love of God in very practical ways.

The Youth Trust

HYT was its roots in youth work begun by both High Street and Bangor Road Presbyterian Churches in the summer of 2003.

Since then we have become a charity supported by all the main local churches – no small feat in Northern Ireland. We are tasked with serving and reaching out to young people who are largely outside the influence or care of the churches at present and whose needs they are not equipped to meet as individual congregations.

The Churches

HYT is supported by:

First Holywood Presbyterian Church
High Street Presbyterian Church
Holywood Christian Fellowship Church
Holywood Methodist Church
Holywood Parish Church
Redburn Community Church
St. Colmcilles Roman Catholic Church
Holywood Baptist Church

The Team

HYT depends on a dedicated team of volunteers drawn from the local churches to serve and work alongside the young people. Many are students or young adults and bring with them a wide range of gifts and abilities. The team are united by their Christian faith and desire to follow God’s call to care for others and share the gospel through their actions and words.

The Project Team Leader

Katy Purvis is our Project Team Leader, her main responsibilities are to develop our programme and look after our volunteers, she is also the main point of contact for HYT in the local community.

Katy was born and raised in Holywood, where she has now returned to work with HYT. Her education journey started in Electrical Engineering but more recently she studied Theology and Youth Ministry. She has been involved in youth work both as a volunteer and a church youth worker, this career taking her to Kenya , Paraguay and South Africa , as well as working in projects closer to home such as Dublin and Dunmurry. She is a member of Holywood Parish Church where she leads worship and helps in leading their youth work which she helped to establish.

The Board

As a charitable company, we have a board of directors who are entrusted with the task of governing and giving direction to the trust. The board members represent many different churches, backgrounds and skills.

Mr. Peter Ellis (chair) – High Street Presbyterian Church

Mrs. Nadia Dornan – Holywood CFC & Holywood Family Trust

Mrs. Liz Furbank – St. Colmcilles Roman Catholic Church

Mr. Colin Maxwell (treasurer) - Holywood Methodist Church

Mr. Gerry Sweeney – St. Colmcilles Roman Catholic Church

Mr. Bertie Maguire – First Holywood Presbyterian Church

Secretary: Mrs. Joan Minion