Who is learning from whom? Discover the Ashley Club

If there is one thing that Give to Gain has taught us, is that, when it comes to volunteering, there is something to learn for and from everyone, no matter the age or the experience. This is what happens in the Ashley Club, up north in Manchester, where a group of young volunteers organize creative and social activities for youngsters.

The club provides a varied activity-based programme of informal education that fosters and develops skills, talents and values in both members and young volunteers, enabling them to become young achievers of the future. At the Ashley Club, young girls can test their cookery skills in ‘Masterchef’ and ‘Bake off’ competitions, enjoy nature in ‘Get Muddy!’, express their creativity in the ‘Crafts’ sessions and discover new places during the weekends away.

Nothing would be possible without the help of many amazing young women who volunteer their time and skills to give the girls the time of their life! The task is not easy: if you asked them, volunteers would tell you how hard it is to make sure participants understand instructions and don’t loose interest throughout the session. But challenges offer these young women a unique opportunity to build up their skills and grow their confidence. Mareike told us how important being always organized is. Wendy, who accompanied the girls on a weekend trip, learnt that patience is one of the best strengths, while Eunice is grateful for the chance to develop her ability to speak in public, adjusting the register to the audience. Every volunteer learns something from the experience and from the girls!

Ashley clubs members are happy to share their experiences! Thanks to Wendy’s passion for photography, activities are always well documented. She has recently started a new project: a 20 minutes film on the weekend in Thornycroft. Other volunteers helped in the script writing, production and casting of the club girls. Some of them also got involved on the final editing. I am looking forward to watching it!

If you are interested in Ashley Club and would like to know more, get inspired or even get involved, do not hesitate to contact us:

g2g.dhef@gmail.com 

Give to gain project: the final event in Scotland

Drinking tea, singing Beatles' songs, learning how to cook the Spanish tortilla, listening to a Slovenian pop band and of course attending an amazing workshop with Tom and Cindy Cassidy. These are some of the highlights of our final event organised in Scotland, last week-end for the Give to Gain, the project sponsored by Youth in Action and the European Union.

Volunteers from five different countries (Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia and Uk) gathered in Glasgow and had the opportunity not only to share their experience about voluntary work and have fun, but also to learn something new about themselves thanks to some very inspiring topics discussed during the workshops.

"How do you see yourself? The importance of identity and the role it plays in creating a successful life" or "An introduction to the sausage machine, a metaphor to create more of what you want and less of what you don't want in life."

A moment of personal growth and self-awareness that had a positive impact on all the young participants. 

Now that the project is over, don't forget to keep checking the G2G official website to access the tools available and to watch the video of the Glasgow final event that will be online very soon. It's a must-see!

Give to Gain project: celebrating volunteers in Glasgow

We are getting ready and we are nearly there!!! The next week-end (from friday 21st to Sunday 23rd of February 2014) the Hazelwood House in Glasgow will become the fabulous setting for the final phase of the Give to Gain project. Volunteers from all the five countries who have participated (Uk, Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and Sweden) will get together, exchange experience, have fun and celebrate the end of the project. One of the highlights of the Conference will be writer and enterpreneur Tom Cassidy that will give a workshop about self-awareness, personal development and identity.

Here there are some more details about the topics that will be discussed during the week-end:

 

1- Give to GAIN! How volunteering develops transferable skills
Increase the value of volunteering and develop skills to apply to different areas of your professional development! You will also learn a series of 'interactional algorithms' that will apply to all areas of your lives.

2- How do you see yourself? Raising awareness of the importance of identity and the role it plays in creating a successful life.
This workshop will help you develop self-awareness as an individual. Understand yourself more deeply and become more aware of the difference between external and internal motivations by learning a series of ‘thought algorithms’.

3- What are you putting in? Introduction to 'The Sausage Machine', the ultimate 'action algorithm' for getting better results in all areas of life.
Ever heard about the sausage machine? Learn how to use the metaphor to create more of what you want and less of what you don't want in life. Other concepts such as 'marginal gains' and 'one thing at a time' will also be discussed to help participants make steady and sustainable progress towards their life goals without feeling overwhelm. Happiness is a journey, not a destination!

 Stay tuned and check our blog for future updates on this incredible event!

Baytree Centre: Successful training in Literacy and new upcoming events

Last Tuesday, February the 4th, we were very happy to welcome 20 participants in our 'Supporting learning session in literacy', organised here at Baytree. 

The people were all volunteers from the Centre and the event was particularly successful, because they said that what they learned will be very useful to improve the level of their teaching and consequently also their students will take advantage from that.

Next week there will be two more afternoon trainings:

- Investing money in property (Tuesday February 11th); for more info you can write at lynnike@baytreecentre.org.uk

- Challenging behaviour (Thursday February 13th); for more info you can write at kate@baytreecentre.org.uk

We hope to see yo then!

February activities at Baytree Centre

Kick start the new year getting involved in the brand new activities of the Baytree Centre. We are planning some interesting events for the coming month of February.

- 'Support Learning in Literacy', a big help for all mentors and club leaders that want to improve their teaching skills;

- 'Image Consultancy', useful tips on how to look and dress when stepping into the work environment for the very first time;

- 'Creative Entrepreneurship', an inspiring talk with a person who uses creativity in her everyday work.

For any information or further details you can email us at: g2g.dhef@gmail.com

Filling the gap: social activities with the elderly & the Tamezin club

Back in 2009 a group of university students from all walks of life decided to have a Christmas carol get-together with the elderly in a local sheltered accommodation building for elderly people (Chelsea Court). It proved a great success and generated a very positive response for both generations! Since then we have gone back on a regular basis, teaming up with Family Mosaic to host bingo games, tea parties, jewellery-making sessions or just setting aside an hour or two in the afternoons to visit individuals for a chat and a cup of tea, help them while moving flat or aiding them in their shopping.

A resident of Chelsea Court commented that life in the building has improved considerably since our group started going, and that many of them look forward to the activities - some have even started planning social activities of their own and inviting us over, inspired by the success of previous events.

From time to time we have also brought volunteers from the Tamezin Club Seniors, girls who are in Secondary School, encouraging them to give their time, talents and energy generously to brighten up the residents' lives and bridge the generation gap. Most recently we had a Christmas carol party with minced pies and mulled wine. 14 volunteers attended, with ages ranging from 11 years old to 25. The younger ones distributed their home-made biscuits and Christmas crackers, made specially for the occasion. 

"I didn't know half the carols" said Julia, who is 14 and from Peckham, "but I enjoyed it anyway, the old people were really enthusiastic. I think it's good to give time to things like this."

Jane, who is 21 and a Music student from Hong Kong was playing the keyboard for the carols. "I loved it!" she said. "The atmosphere was really nice, and everyone got involved. The residents were really touched by the home-made things the girls had brought. They kept thanking us over and over again as we left."

Last Thursday the Baytree Centre (300 Brixton Rd, SW9 6AE) organised a Christmas showcase, an event in which the girls that had attended the courses, showed families and friends their skills on dancing, singing and acting.

The most deserving students were rewarded with specific certifications according to the classes they had attended in the past few months.


It was also an occasion to promote the activities of the Centre with a Fundraising in which the girls had been able to sell some of the natural cosmetics and products created few days before during the Give to Gain Beauty workshop.