On Saturday 18 April, FACE CLUB celebrated its 15th birthday. The celebration combined an official programme with a community evening for young people.
The event began at 14:00 at Pôjd on Petzvalova Street. The programme included an official part tracing the club's development from its beginnings to the present day, followed by an evening part for young people, filled with music, competitions and get-togethers.
Guests from public life also attended – the mayor of Spišská Belá Peter Zibura, former mayor and vice-chair of the Prešov Self-Governing Region Štefan Bieľak, town councillors, former and current coordinators, volunteers and supporters of the club.
📊 15 years in numbers
FACE CLUB has been running continuously in Spišská Belá since 2011 – and in that time it has become a fixed point for young people in the town. 🏠
Over 15 years it has recorded more than 50,000 visits, and around 2,000 children and young people have passed through its doors. The club was open for about 3,600 days, which means more than 18,000 hours directly with young people – and, including the preparation of activities, around 30,000 hours of work. ⏳
Volunteers are an essential part of how FACE CLUB works; together with the coordinators they have stood behind its everyday life from the start until today. 💛 Over the years almost 200 of them have taken part, across 6 generations, with an active core of around 10 to 15 people at any one time. Together they have given the club more than 45,000 hours of volunteer work – without their involvement this project could not run on such a scale. 🙌
Behind these numbers are real days, meetings, events and situations that make up the everyday life of the club. 🎯
🕰️ From an idea to a stable part of the town
The story of FACE CLUB began in 2009, when Helena Zadžorová came up with the idea of creating a space for young people in Spišská Belá. The project came about thanks to the support of the town and the then mayor, Štefan Bieľak.
The beginnings were tied to the renovation of former social housing premises, in which 62 volunteers took part over nine months. The club opened its doors on 19 March 2011 and gradually became a place that connects leisure time, volunteering and youth development. 🛠️
This approach was also recognised externally – in 2017 Spišská Belá received the Child- and Youth-Friendly Community award, which reflected systematic work with young people and their involvement in the life of the town. 🏆
Since 2017 international volunteers have also taken part in the activities, and since 2019 youth work has been developed systematically on the basis of the town's youth work concept. In 2022 the non-formal education centre Pôjd built on these activities. 📑
The work connected with FACE CLUB has been recognised, for example in 2022 at the regional Heart in Hand awards (volunteering support category), and it also received the sTOPa award from the Association of Regional Youth Councils. 🙌
🎶 Programme for young people
After the official part, the evening flowed into a more relaxed atmosphere, where young people took centre stage. The club filled with music, games and competitions, creating an energetic and laid-back mood. 🎧
The music was provided by the Kolačkov Trio and the DJ duo Divine, and there was no shortage of a birthday snack bar or a photo wall. The young people enjoyed the evening to the full – whether to the music, the activities or just spending time together.
Conversations and reunions naturally joined in – former volunteers, current members and visitors mingled in one space that has been familiar to many for years. 🙌
📍 FACE CLUB today
After 15 years of operation, FACE CLUB is a firm part of youth work in Spišská Belá. Not as a project “on paper”, but as a place that truly lives – thanks to the people who have passed through it and still shape it.
FACE CLUB is not only about what has been achieved in 15 years, but above all about what keeps growing because of it – in people, relationships and the community. 🎯
