This interview is part of our Valleys Voices Heritage Project, where we spoke to staff (past and present), volunteers and community members about their experiences with Valleys Kids over our rich, almost 50 year history.

Luke first joined Valley’s Kids in 2008 through the Penygraig Drama Workshop after his siblings got involved. He attended until 2014 before moving on to Youth Theatre, where he met many new people. As he grew older, Luke took part in after-school clubs like Bike Club and Middle Club, later becoming a volunteer helping with set building, drama sessions, and the Together Stronger project with the Wales Millennium Centre.

Through Valley’s Kids, he also secured his first job at Coffee Red, which led him to study public services at college and then complete an apprenticeship in Technical Theatre. He now works as a Technical Theatre Technician at the Wales Millennium Centre.

Luke says Valley’s Kids is important because it supported him from the start and helped him grow as a person. The connections he’s made through the organisation have been life-changing. In return, he has volunteered across many projects, including the youth arts festival Rawfest.

He believes Valley’s Kids is vital to local communities because it offers a unique place for people to build lasting connections—something they may not find anywhere else