A determined resident is hoping to keep her local youth centre alive by creating a brand-new community event.

Karan Harris, from Crossways, oversees fundraising for Crossways Youth and Community Centre, and has organised its first ever Summer Fair to raise money towards the upkeep of the building and the youth club that runs there. 

Dorset County Council voted to withdraw funding from youth centres in early 2016 in attempts to save funding, and Karan think it’s time to step up to keep the club going.

She said: “My husband is one of the trustees of the club, and is also a parish councillor in the village. We took over as a charity after the council stopped funding for youth clubs. 

“We are raising money to keep the help and the facilities at the centre open, we have lots of kids coming from villages around ours. We’re one of the largest villages in Dorset and are growing even bigger with new developments in the area. 

“Apart from going into Weymouth or Dorchester there’s not anywhere where people can get together.” 

Karan said she has done all the organising and delegating for the event on her own, driven by her passion to make sure children and young people can keep using the facilities. 

She said: “We hope to make it an annual thing. It’s a real community event and there will be something for everyone. 

“There will be old fashioned games like hooking ducks and a fairground ride. The local rural police team will be there, and Royal Marines will come in their uniforms for recruitment. 

“I have got the other trustees there helping out, and we are trying to get the older kids at the youth club involved to work with the trustees on stalls. I have done a lot of calling out on Facebook.”

Karan is still looking for volunteers to help and is seeking a local person to lend a PA system for the event. She is also hoping that local bands and singers will get involved and perform at the event for free in return for food and drink. 

Other local groups and charities will be at the event to raise money for different causes, which Karan thinks will give the fair its ‘community spirit’.

The summer fair will take place on Sunday, July 23 in Crossways, near Dorchester. 

Anyone wishing to help out at the fair, or can help by volunteering at the youth centre on a Thursday or Friday night, can email Karan at CYCCfundraising@outlook.com.