Darth Vader Saves Youth Club In Bristol

The struggling Southmead Youth Centre in Bristol is being faced with the loss of all of its funding from the local council next year. David Prowse, the actor that physically portrayed Darth Vader in the original Star Wars films, has offered to lend a hand to save the club that he used when he was a young. David will be lending his image as Darth Vader in a way to say thank you to where he grew up and hopefully raise funds to keep it open.

Prowse acknowledges the importance of the centre and its role in the community. He said, “Youth centres are very, very important for getting kids away from trouble and into doing something constructive, whether it’s sports activities or whatever, and meeting children of their own age.”

The Southmead Youth Centre is one of nine centres in Bristol, which were all set to be managed by a new consortium. Interestingly, no plans have been put into place to run youth services of any kind from the building and the Bristol City Council still plans to pull the funding for the Southmead centre, which is in one of the more rundown areas of the city where its presence is most important.