Founder Patron Together renews its support for youth work charity Empower Youth Zones for an additional year.
July 2025 — Together, the award-winning specialist lender, has renewed its patronage with Empower Youth Zones (EMPOWER) for another year, having proudly been a Founder Patron since 2019.
Since its inception in 2020, EMPOWER has overseen HideOut Youth Zone and supported thousands of young people from communities across Manchester. Its latest site, Salford Youth Zone (SYZ), has recently opened to the public and will broaden the scale of communities that EMPOWER serves across Manchester and Salford.
For 51 years Together has helped people, businesses, and property professionals unlock their ambitions with their common-sense approach to lending. By taking a bespoke approach to all cases, Together opens doors to customers across the UK, even when other lenders can’t.
Since its Patronage began, Together has got involved with EMPOWER in a variety of ways including volunteering during holiday clubs, supporting with bespoke finance sessions for members, and attending HideOut’s events throughout the year.
EMPOWER’s Patrons are a group of individuals and companies united by a determination to give young people across Manchester and Salford Somewhere Safe To Go, Something Positive To Do, And Someone Trusted To Talk To. They are key to the success of Youth Zones, contributing 70% of their annual running costs.
Offering much more than financial support to the charity, Patrons provide unique opportunities, insight, and voluntary support for Manchester and Salford’s young people. They help raise awareness of EMPOWER’s mission, expanding the network of businesses committed to unlocking long-term youth provision for young people across Manchester and Salford.
Speaking about the renewal, Paul Moran, Head of Sustainability at Together, said: “Our focus is on investing in long-term outcomes for our customers and wider society.
“EMPOWER’s work with young people is a brilliant way to achieve this, enabling us to support powerful learning, wellbeing, and community outcomes all at once across the community. With SYZ now open, we’re excited to scale up our social impact with the team.”
Adam Farricker, CEO of EMPOWER said: “Together has been an incredible partner for our charity since the beginning, and their continued support demonstrates their commitment to sustainable giving and the future of our young people. Through its patronage, Together is backing Greater Manchester’s next generation, and we’re excited to explore new opportunities to collaborate in this next chapter.”
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Notes to editors
Press contact:
To find out more about supporting EMPOWER, please contact Lily Charnock lily.charnock@empoweryouthzones.org
About Empower Youth Zones:
Empower Youth Zones is a youth work charity that exists to create a future where every young person has the opportunity to grow and succeed. Its mission is to give young people somewhere safe to go, something positive to do and someone trusted to talk to.
EMPOWER provides life-enhancing opportunities in its purpose-built youth centres, called Youth Zones, in Salford and Manchester, equipping thousands of young people with the support, skills, and confidence to dream big, achieve more, and shape a future full of possibility.
As the largest employer of youth workers in Greater Manchester, EMPOWER combines grassroots community engagement with professional training.
About SYZ:
SYZ (Salford Youth Zone) is a purpose-built Youth Zone dedicated to providing Salford’s young people with a youth team set up to empower young people and shape their community, ensuring that young people have the confidence to dream big, achieve more, and shape a future full of possibility. The new Youth Zone officially opened in July 2025 and is located at 51 Belvedere Road, Salford, M6 5EJ.
SYZ has been developed by Empower Youth Zones and Salford City Council. The Youth Zone is open seven days a week, with more than 20 activities on offer every session for young people aged eight to 19, or up to 25 for those with an additional need or disability.
The future and delivery of SYZ is being secured by its patrons – a group of individuals and companies united by a determination to support thousands of young people in Manchester and Salford to find their passion and purpose.
This centre for young people in Salford has been developed by Empower, the umbrella charity that also oversees the operations of HideOut Youth Zone in East Manchester. It will be part of the growing national OnSide Network of Youth Zones.
For more information on SYZ, please contact comms@salfordyouthzone.org
