“Airplay has always been such a huge part of my life”

Growing up in the RAF, Natalie Evans joined her local RAF Benevolent Fund Airplay Youth Club to make friends and have fun on base. Little did she know, Airplay would shape her life in ways she couldn't imagine.

Natalie, aged 21, has been a part of the RAF Family since birth. Her father is now a Warrant Officer in his 27th year of service as an engineer, stationed at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. Spending her early years at RAF Wittering, Natalie joined her local Airplay Youth Club at eight years old.

Airplay is the RAF Benevolent Fund’s national youth programme, offering youth club sessions on RAF stations for children aged five to 18. Airplay is designed to address the unique challenges faced by RAF families, giving children and young people access to a safe, stimulating programme of activities and some much-needed continuity if and when their family relocates.

Natalie experienced this firsthand at the age of 16 when her family moved from RAF Wittering to RAF Brize Norton. “I was on a trip with my RAF Wittering Airplay group whilst my family moved us from our home in Wittering, onto station at RAF Brize Norton, all whilst I was away. So, I went on the trip with Airplay at RAF Wittering, and I came home with the RAF Brize Norton team.”

She explained: “It made the transition of moving homes a lot easier. I made friends whilst I was moving, and I already knew the Youth Workers running the groups.”

Natalie said: “When I first joined Airplay at eight years old it was nerve-wracking; it felt like a big thing. I met a girl that I knew from a different Station, and we managed to reconnect and become friends. I loved taking part in the weekly activities, doing arts and crafts and going on fun trips away.

“My sister, who is four years older than me, also went to Airplay. She started volunteering at my group which was great.”

After a few years, Natalie joined the first Youth Committee which she helped to set up and took part in for four years. She attended the yearly Youth Forums at the RAF Benevolent Fund HQ in London and became Deputy Chair of the Committee.

She said: “We helped to plan everything as part of the Youth Committee, including all the trips. We planned a trip to London, wrote a letter to David Cameron who was Prime Minister at the time, and managed to get a photo taken outside 10 Downing Street. We also organised residential breaks including a one-night stay on HMS Belfast.”

Natalie added: “I found the Fund to be incredibly welcoming at the Youth Forums. We would pitch our project, and we felt were being listened to. At one of the regional Forums, we came up with the idea for Airplay Connect. Within a few months, the Fund provided funding, and the project came to life.”

Natalie credits her time with Airplay as being a huge part of her growth as a young person, saying: “Airplay built my confidence; we were growing up and becoming more independent but also learning how to work as part of a team. It also gave me the skills to be able to write funding bids!”

Natalie now works for Airplay at RAF Brize Norton as a Sessional Youth Worker part-time. She said: “I love working with the children and young people. It never feels like a job to me! Most sessions are spent sitting down with the kids and finding out what they like and don’t like.

“I know a lot about the challenges of military life already, so it’s good to talk to the older group and listen to any problems they’re having. I think because we are quite close in age they open up and talk to me.”

Natalie concluded: “Airplay has always been such a huge part of my life, and I love that I’m able to transfer my personal experiences into my new role as an Airplay Youth Worker, supporting children and young people who are on a similar journey to the one I was on.”