KFC launches ‘Room to Be Me’ campaign amidst UK youth club decline

The chain will donate £1 from each sharing bucket to youth spaces.

KFC and the KFC Youth Foundation have launched the Room to Be Me campaign, with £1 from every KFC Sharing Bucket sold going towards safe spaces for young people across the UK.

The Room to Be Me campaign builds on the KFC Youth Foundation's work over the past 11 years, during which it has provided more than £10m in grants to community youth projects across the UK&I.

KFC also runs Hatch, a pre-employability programme for young people outside traditional employment and education, helping them take their first steps into work.

The campaign follows new research from the KFC Youth Foundation showing that the number of youth clubs in the UK has fallen by 56% over the past 15 years.

The decline has left two million young people, or 40%, without access to a safe space outside their home and school.

Local authority spending on youth services has also fallen 73% since 2010.

The research found that youth club closures can affect how young people spend their time.

Half (50%) of those who had experienced a closure said they spent more time alone in their bedrooms, whilst 31% spent more time on the streets, in parks, or in other public spaces.

Another 17% said they spent more time with people who were a bad influence.

Young people who had access to youth spaces reported stronger connections and well-being.

Some 94% said they felt a greater sense of belonging, whilst 32% reported improved mental well-being.

Those with regular access to a safe space were more than twice as likely to feel connected to their community, at 60% compared with 29%.

They were also more likely to have clear goals and aspirations for the future, at 74% versus 61%.

The research also links access to youth spaces with education and employment.

More than a quarter (26%) of young people who had experienced a youth club closure said it became harder to stay engaged with education or work.

This comes as 13% of young people were not in employment, education, or training (NEET) in August.

Young NEETs were 50% more likely to lack access to youth spaces than their employed peers.

Amongst NEETs, 34% said they never had access to a youth space whilst growing up, whilst 31% of those who did have access had witnessed its closure.