Update from the VANEL IGNITE team
As the end of the year approaches here’s a quick look back at what IGNITE has been doing since September.
It’s been a busy few months for IGNITE!
Since the start of September a lot has been going on. We have welcomed 4 new young people into the IGNITE team (Nicole, Danielle, Ellie and Jean-Louis) as mentors and they are working on projects themselves and helping develop young leaders with their own projects.
There are a number of events we have put on and attended, including the beach clean at the start of September which was a huge success. We also assisted in organising a river clean along the River Freshney around the Duke of York Gardens and Boulevard area. Local people were very enthusiastic and made a big difference to the local community and 96 volunteers attended.
We have also put on and attended a number of training courses including the relationship first aid training with Marcus. This was a huge success and is ongoing to help develop young people’s skills around relationships and how having positive relationships can have a long lasting impact on young people’s lives.
We have been mentoring a number of young leaders who have or are working towards putting on some fantastic projects and events. Ryan is still continuing with Sentimental Gardens and has secured some funding for new tools and equipment. Jay has been working on his up and coming fundraising gig at Moon on the Water on the 6th of January to showcase local talent. Ashley is looking into the history of Grimsby specifically the town hall and is looking to exhibit in the time trap museum next summer. Mica and Shaun are working on their own projects as part of the Environment Now project funded by o2 Think Big, NYA and Our Bright Future. They have both done pitch training and pitched in London to take them on to the next step of their project. We wish them the best of luck with the funding for the future. There are also a number of Uniformed Services students we are working with that as part of their course are developing campaigns for the local community.
There are also a number of things coming up in the New Year and January. As mentioned above there is a fundraising gig and the Money Matters training in partnership with Lloyds Bank and UK Youth is beginning, please get in touch if you would like to get involved or know of any young individuals or groups that could benefit from the training around budgeting and young people’s bills and debts.
There are also a number of pieces of research being undertaken by the IGNITE team. Nicole is currently researching the reasons why people volunteer and the different motivators. Jay L is researching the use of steroids on the body in particular the impacts on the heart. Danielle is exploring whether a youth mentors and teachers appearance has an impact on young people and volunteer’s. Ellie’s research involves children and is working towards gaining her degree through a large amount of placement time and experience, working with young people.
If you or you know anybody that would like to volunteer or be a youth leader as part of the IGNITE program please get in touch through our email ignite@vanel.org or through the IGNITE Facebook page or Twitter @ignitegy.
Thank you to all our members and all the people we have worked with for the last few months for their support and thankyou to the people that are continuing to work with us into the up and coming year, we have a number of exciting projects ahead. From the IGNITE team Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Danielle Short, IGNITE mentor