The VANEL Executive: A Celebration of the last year

On Thursday 13th July VANEL held celebrated the contributions of volunteers and VANEL staff over the last year at their Executive meeting.

The meeting was held at West Marsh Community Centre and was attended by VANEL trustee’s Mandy Johnson (Chair), Leslie Brown, Neil Barber and Alan Jones. IGNITE’s Youth Leadership Mentor, Chris Luckman, sat in on the meeting in place of Big Local Youth Development Worker and VANEL trustee Jasmin Flint who sent her apologies. The meeting took place in the presence of VANEL’s Chief Officer Paula Grant who reports to the exec on the operations of VANEL

VANEL Exec meetings are held once every quarter and are a chance for trustees to scrutinise the day to day running of the organisation, and discuss any issues that may have arisen. Last week’s exec meeting was particularly special as it came just shy of one year since VANEL’s IGNITE team was formed.  The team is made up by Youth Development Manager Jenny Hodson, Youth Leadership Workers Victoria Russell and Lisa Anderson,  Youth Leadership Mentor Chris Luckman and Communication Assistant Helen Pickett.

Over the last 12 months IGNITE have been going out into the community and encouraging young people aged 16 – 30 to take the lead on social action projects and get involved in volunteering generally. After the exec meeting took place, IGNITE were invited to speak to the trustees about the work they have been doing to support young people in North East Lincolnshire. All of the IGNITE team were present with the exception of IGNITE Youth Development Manager Jenny Hodson who sent her apologies. Abigail North, a representative from the Big Lottery which funds the IGNITE programme was invited to attend but also had to send her apologies.

An awards ceremony followed whereby all of the IGNITE Project Leaders/volunteers who were able to attend the event were presented with a certificate from VANEL’s Chair of Trustees, Mandy Johnson.

Pictured above, VANEL trustees, VANEL staff, the IGNITE team and IGNITE volunteers.

24-year-old Amy Hallett lent her voice to IGNITE during IGNITE Project Leader Charitie Robinson’s Battle of the Bands event back in March of this year. Speaking about the event she said: “Before I arrived I had no idea what to expect so today has been really nice. I wasn’t expecting to get a certificate and I didn’t really think what I had done was classed as a form of volunteering”.

IGNITE Attendees

Toni Hill –  co-creator of IGNITE Project Graffiti Animals
Jack Kelly – Co-creator of Graffiti Animals
Amy Hallett – Battle of the Bands Volunteer Singer
Yasmin Bruce – Young volunteer at Women’s Aid
Conor Jackson – YMCA Orchard Project Volunteer
Abbie Jackson – IGNITE Project Leader Dog Walking Befriending group
Mica Armstrong – IGNITE Project V
Tre Chapman IGNITE Project V
Lachlan Thain – Family Fun Day

The team have worked many other young people besides the ones listed above, many of whom sent their apologies.

The trustees and IGNITE volunteers were given the opportunity to play Victoria and Chris’s blockage-busting virtual reality experience Pipes Away. Pipes Away, which is funded by The Environment Now and the National Youth Association aims to encourage young people to think twice about the types of things that they put down the drain or toilet to reduce the environmental toll caused by un-flushable items.  The game went down very well, and participants were quick to comment on how impressed they were with the game.