OKEHAMPTON'S youth hostel will throw open its doors to the community in September to celebrate the 84-year-old charity which runs it. YHA Day returns for the third year running, with 61 youth hostels throughout England and Wales hosting free family and community events over the weekend of September 6 and 7. YHA Okehampton, which is situated at Okehampton?Station, will be hosting a family fun day to celebrate YHA Day 2014 on Sunday, September 7. The hostel will be organising a range of themed activities such as a climbing wall, low ropes, archery, and fire lighting. Food and drinks will also be available alongside the entertainment for the day. The bike shop will be selling new and used bikes, and there will be competitions where people can win activity sessions at the youth hostel. There will be a dog show and lots of other activities. All the money raised from the event, and all others held on YHA Day 2014, will go towards YHA's Breaks for Kids fund, which helps pay for financially disadvantaged children to take part in school trips to youth hostels. The old Okehampton Station goods shed was converted into a youth hostel in 1997. John Elson, manager of YHA Okehampton, said: 'We are really looking forward to YHA Day returning for 2014. It's been great each year, giving us the perfect opportunity for us to show visitors and the local community all that we have to offer, above and beyond great value accommodation. 'YHA Day is also a thank you for our community's continued support.' In 2013 volunteers gave 120,000 hours of help enabling the charity to run the network efficiently and continue to provide outstanding accommodation, learning experiences and facilities for young people and their families. YHA (England and Wales) chief executive Caroline White said: 'We really appreciate the support we receive from local communities, which is one of the reasons why, this year, we have decided to extend our YHA Day celebrations over an entire weekend. 'YHA Day is our way of saying thank you. It also gives us the opportunity to welcome newcomers to YHA and give them a sense of what we're all about.' The YHA Okehampton open day runs from 10am to 4pm. Details of all events being held at youth hostels throughout England and Wales on YHA Day 2014 can be found at http://www.yha.org.uk/yha-day">www.yha.org.uk/yha-day