Ione Sime tells us how her move to the Board of Trustees will keep young people’s voice at our core.
13 May 2019
Trustees really are the top dog of any charity but how do we make sure they understand the needs of people using the service?
“The time had come for me to finally say my goodbyes to YG … well sort of. When I started working at Young Gloucestershire I never imagined it would be for nearly seven years. In that time I have worked in a variety of roles and on many projects; from youth clubs, to schools work, leading YG’s mentoring project in The Link – YG’s drop in centre and then finally as a GEM Navigator providing one-to-one support for some of the county’s most disadvantaged young people. All roles came with their own set of challenges and also some incredible successes. At the heart of every role were the wonderfully resilient and inspiring young people working hard to change their lives.
“My time at YG has always been driven by the young people, walking with them through heartache and success was a great privilege. My colleagues have also been a huge inspiration; selfless and endlessly positive. That said I have come to a crossroads in my life and a young family and a growing family business has meant that it is time to take step back from my delivery role at YG…. Only a little step though, as I am delighted to be taking a position on the Board of Trustees at Young Gloucestershire.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to be involved in the strategic decision making behind the charity. The role is a great honour. It is the trustees that have ultimate control of the charity and are responsible for making sure YG is doing exactly what the charity should be. We work closely with the CEO and the senior management team to lead the charity and decide how it is run. But really as a group of trustees it is our individual skills and experience that we will utilise to help the charity achieve its aims.
“However it is easy to see how a bunch of mangers and trustees sat around a table could lose touch with the reality of life that our young people are dealing with every day. That is where I think my skills and experience are going to help. My intention is to ensure that the voice of young people is brought to the table. I will use my own experiences of working on the ground, and will help connect young people with the board to ensure their needs remain at the heart of YG’s work. I believe this really is the key to the charity’s success.”
YG is always on the look out for people to join the board that can bring unique skills to the charity. If you think you have something to offer and what that warm fuzzy feeling of making a positive difference in the world then please get in touch.
Ione Sime tells us how her move to the Board of Trustees will keep young people’s voice at our core.
13 May 2019
Trustees really are the top dog of any charity but how do we make sure they understand the needs of people using the service?
“The time had come for me to finally say my goodbyes to YG … well sort of. When I started working at Young Gloucestershire I never imagined it would be for nearly seven years. In that time I have worked in a variety of roles and on many projects; from youth clubs, to schools work, leading YG’s mentoring project in The Link – YG’s drop in centre and then finally as a GEM Navigator providing one-to-one support for some of the county’s most disadvantaged young people. All roles came with their own set of challenges and also some incredible successes. At the heart of every role were the wonderfully resilient and inspiring young people working hard to change their lives.
“My time at YG has always been driven by the young people, walking with them through heartache and success was a great privilege. My colleagues have also been a huge inspiration; selfless and endlessly positive. That said I have come to a crossroads in my life and a young family and a growing family business has meant that it is time to take step back from my delivery role at YG…. Only a little step though, as I am delighted to be taking a position on the Board of Trustees at Young Gloucestershire.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to be involved in the strategic decision making behind the charity. The role is a great honour. It is the trustees that have ultimate control of the charity and are responsible for making sure YG is doing exactly what the charity should be. We work closely with the CEO and the senior management team to lead the charity and decide how it is run. But really as a group of trustees it is our individual skills and experience that we will utilise to help the charity achieve its aims.
“However it is easy to see how a bunch of mangers and trustees sat around a table could lose touch with the reality of life that our young people are dealing with every day. That is where I think my skills and experience are going to help. My intention is to ensure that the voice of young people is brought to the table. I will use my own experiences of working on the ground, and will help connect young people with the board to ensure their needs remain at the heart of YG’s work. I believe this really is the key to the charity’s success.”
YG is always on the look out for people to join the board that can bring unique skills to the charity. If you think you have something to offer and what that warm fuzzy feeling of making a positive difference in the world then please get in touch.
Ione Sime tells us how her move to the Board of Trustees will keep young people’s voice at our core.
13 May 2019
Trustees really are the top dog of any charity but how do we make sure they understand the needs of people using the service?
“The time had come for me to finally say my goodbyes to YG … well sort of. When I started working at Young Gloucestershire I never imagined it would be for nearly seven years. In that time I have worked in a variety of roles and on many projects; from youth clubs, to schools work, leading YG’s mentoring project in The Link – YG’s drop in centre and then finally as a GEM Navigator providing one-to-one support for some of the county’s most disadvantaged young people. All roles came with their own set of challenges and also some incredible successes. At the heart of every role were the wonderfully resilient and inspiring young people working hard to change their lives.
“My time at YG has always been driven by the young people, walking with them through heartache and success was a great privilege. My colleagues have also been a huge inspiration; selfless and endlessly positive. That said I have come to a crossroads in my life and a young family and a growing family business has meant that it is time to take step back from my delivery role at YG…. Only a little step though, as I am delighted to be taking a position on the Board of Trustees at Young Gloucestershire.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to be involved in the strategic decision making behind the charity. The role is a great honour. It is the trustees that have ultimate control of the charity and are responsible for making sure YG is doing exactly what the charity should be. We work closely with the CEO and the senior management team to lead the charity and decide how it is run. But really as a group of trustees it is our individual skills and experience that we will utilise to help the charity achieve its aims.
“However it is easy to see how a bunch of mangers and trustees sat around a table could lose touch with the reality of life that our young people are dealing with every day. That is where I think my skills and experience are going to help. My intention is to ensure that the voice of young people is brought to the table. I will use my own experiences of working on the ground, and will help connect young people with the board to ensure their needs remain at the heart of YG’s work. I believe this really is the key to the charity’s success.”
YG is always on the look out for people to join the board that can bring unique skills to the charity. If you think you have something to offer and what that warm fuzzy feeling of making a positive difference in the world then please get in touch.
Ione Sime tells us how her move to the Board of Trustees will keep young people’s voice at our core.
13 May 2019
Trustees really are the top dog of any charity but how do we make sure they understand the needs of people using the service?
“The time had come for me to finally say my goodbyes to YG … well sort of. When I started working at Young Gloucestershire I never imagined it would be for nearly seven years. In that time I have worked in a variety of roles and on many projects; from youth clubs, to schools work, leading YG’s mentoring project in The Link – YG’s drop in centre and then finally as a GEM Navigator providing one-to-one support for some of the county’s most disadvantaged young people. All roles came with their own set of challenges and also some incredible successes. At the heart of every role were the wonderfully resilient and inspiring young people working hard to change their lives.
“My time at YG has always been driven by the young people, walking with them through heartache and success was a great privilege. My colleagues have also been a huge inspiration; selfless and endlessly positive. That said I have come to a crossroads in my life and a young family and a growing family business has meant that it is time to take step back from my delivery role at YG…. Only a little step though, as I am delighted to be taking a position on the Board of Trustees at Young Gloucestershire.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to be involved in the strategic decision making behind the charity. The role is a great honour. It is the trustees that have ultimate control of the charity and are responsible for making sure YG is doing exactly what the charity should be. We work closely with the CEO and the senior management team to lead the charity and decide how it is run. But really as a group of trustees it is our individual skills and experience that we will utilise to help the charity achieve its aims.
“However it is easy to see how a bunch of mangers and trustees sat around a table could lose touch with the reality of life that our young people are dealing with every day. That is where I think my skills and experience are going to help. My intention is to ensure that the voice of young people is brought to the table. I will use my own experiences of working on the ground, and will help connect young people with the board to ensure their needs remain at the heart of YG’s work. I believe this really is the key to the charity’s success.”
YG is always on the look out for people to join the board that can bring unique skills to the charity. If you think you have something to offer and what that warm fuzzy feeling of making a positive difference in the world then please get in touch.
Ione Sime tells us how her move to the Board of Trustees will keep young people’s voice at our core.
13 May 2019
Trustees really are the top dog of any charity but how do we make sure they understand the needs of people using the service?
“The time had come for me to finally say my goodbyes to YG … well sort of. When I started working at Young Gloucestershire I never imagined it would be for nearly seven years. In that time I have worked in a variety of roles and on many projects; from youth clubs, to schools work, leading YG’s mentoring project in The Link – YG’s drop in centre and then finally as a GEM Navigator providing one-to-one support for some of the county’s most disadvantaged young people. All roles came with their own set of challenges and also some incredible successes. At the heart of every role were the wonderfully resilient and inspiring young people working hard to change their lives.
“My time at YG has always been driven by the young people, walking with them through heartache and success was a great privilege. My colleagues have also been a huge inspiration; selfless and endlessly positive. That said I have come to a crossroads in my life and a young family and a growing family business has meant that it is time to take step back from my delivery role at YG…. Only a little step though, as I am delighted to be taking a position on the Board of Trustees at Young Gloucestershire.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to be involved in the strategic decision making behind the charity. The role is a great honour. It is the trustees that have ultimate control of the charity and are responsible for making sure YG is doing exactly what the charity should be. We work closely with the CEO and the senior management team to lead the charity and decide how it is run. But really as a group of trustees it is our individual skills and experience that we will utilise to help the charity achieve its aims.
“However it is easy to see how a bunch of mangers and trustees sat around a table could lose touch with the reality of life that our young people are dealing with every day. That is where I think my skills and experience are going to help. My intention is to ensure that the voice of young people is brought to the table. I will use my own experiences of working on the ground, and will help connect young people with the board to ensure their needs remain at the heart of YG’s work. I believe this really is the key to the charity’s success.”
YG is always on the look out for people to join the board that can bring unique skills to the charity. If you think you have something to offer and what that warm fuzzy feeling of making a positive difference in the world then please get in touch.
Phoebe Long Has a Job!
28 August 2018
Phoebe joined the GEM Project with a catering qualification and plenty of volunteering experience, but was really struggling to find a job due to having High-Functioning Autism.
“I was really keen to find a job, but with needing some extra support in a role found this really hard. I was getting interviews but not being offered the job.”
Ione, her Navigator Developer, supported Phoebe through interview practice and completing an employability qualification and now Phoebe is working at Hubble Bubble in Gloucester as a waitress.
“I’ve really enjoyed my whole experience on the GEM Project, the 1-1 support has been great and has helped to find me a job that I enjoy. I even get to prepare some of the food such as their Freak Shakes!”
The GEM Project
30 July 2018
When I started work on The GEM Project in January last year I was extremely excited to get back to working closely with young people. The GEM Project is ‘Going the Extra Mile’ and is all about my being able to help those young people who really struggle with finding employment, education or training.
Being able to help and support somebody to change their life is always the most rewarding part of my job, so it was great for me to be involved in a project with the scope to offer a flexible and wrap around approach to building confidence and planning next steps.
GEM offers 1-2-1 with young people in a unique way to any other project I have worked on. Often, one of the biggest factors to young people engaging in education, voluntary work or even in their communities is actually getting through the door, and within this role I am able to meet young people where they are at, and go with them physically to help them take that first step.
One of my favourite parts of the project so far has been a project that we ran with GEM participants called ‘Mind, Monday and Me.’ This project was a 5 week programme combining therapeutic wellbeing learning and creative arts to offer people a toolkit of skills to help them improve their wellbeing. The group was open and honest about their mental health, which was humbling, and we have continued to meet long after the course has finished to spend time together being creative and offering a support network. Being able to offer a different approach to improving young people’s wellbeing is rewarding, and we are hoping to offer more similar group sessions based on the initial success of this pilot.
I have seen young people turn their whole lives upside down, gaining work, taking huge steps into education and voluntary work, all whilst tackling a whole range of other additional barriers like mental health, homelessness and physical and mental illness. Being able to be a part of someone’s success is always an honour, and I am excited to meet many more inspiring young people as the project progresses.
Alicia Pocock is Passionate About Helping Young People
24 July 2018
Hi! My name’s Alicia Pocock and I am one of the new Youth Workers in The Link.
I have worked with young people for around 3 years. I have worked in educational and summer camps delivering outreach youth work and running a youth club in a rural area. I have worked as a Teaching Assistant in a Secondary School in South Bristol. I now work as part of Young Gloucestershire in The Link.
I have always known that I wanted to work with young people but was never quite sure in what kind of setting. This is why I got into being a Teacher’s Assistant and am now a Youth Worker. I have always wanted to try and help make a difference to young people’s lives and I love being seen as a ‘trusted person’ by the young people I work with. I strive to make a difference in young people’s lives and help them develop themselves in whichever ways they want to. I also love the individuality and challenges that young people bring with them as it gives me an opportunity to build and develop myself whilst trying to help support them through different times in their lives. I find young people enthusiastic and don’t feel like they get given enough time or credit for the amazing individuals they really are. This is why I am so passionate about my job role because I am allowed to talk, laugh, advise and support young people on a daily basis and build positive relationships with them! Who wouldn’t want to do that?
I feel like there is far too much pressure on young people to be a certain way and succeed at school or college. Young people have to make decisions when they are still developing, learning and finding their way in the world. They are expected to know their lifelong career and make choices around this before they’ve even been given the guidance and experience in different work areas. Personally I disagree with this and I am really keen to make sure I give young people as much support as possible to allow them to grow and develop as they want to with all the options available to them. I believe young people can be successful in anything they want to be.
In The Link we can help and support with many different aspects of a young person’s life and I am part of a team who support young people to achieve their goals. We can help young people to build a CV and apply for jobs. We also offer an Employability Qualification for you to enrol and complete within The Link setting. We offer support in all areas that affect young people, and that includes housing advice, benefit and money advice, financial capability, advice in being a young carer, mental health support, counselling, mentoring, drug and alcohol misuse and help to find and secure employment, education or training.
I am loving being a new member of the team at The Link! The staff team are great and I feel like I have fitted in well. I think The Link is a really unique place for young people to come and be themselves. I have been asking young people about their experiences whilst they have been attending The Link and I have only ever had positive feedback. This is lovely to hear from the young people who come here. From hearing all of this it gives me great confidence in wanting to put my skills and knowledge into practice in The Link and carry on building and improving on all the services available here and seeing what other opportunities arise.
Feel free to pop in and say ‘Hello’ anytime, Monday-Friday, 11am-4pm. I would love to meet and have a chat with you!
Social Action Events and the Youth Board
16 July 2018
Hey! My name’s Stevie. I have the awesome job of being a Youth Worker for Young Gloucestershire. My background includes being an outdoor instructor, youth work from a variety of backgrounds, Senior Support worker within housing support & being a Cooperate Parent and now I’ve found my place with YG’s amazing team!
Part of what I do with YG is creating opportunities for young people to get involved and shape our services. I do this by making sure the young people I work with are having fun and meeting new people, but still learning in a fun informal way. These are called Social Action Events. These are carried out by individuals or groups of people working together to help out others who may need support. The point of these projects is to bring about social change that will benefit individuals, communities & even society. We are always keen to explore ideas and opportunities so do let us know if you want to get involved.
Another part of what I do is help the Youth Board on behalf of YG, which is pretty much run by the young people to do as they see fit. At the moment, the Youth Board are currently focussed on a research project, looking into the needs of young people in Gloucestershire.
This literally means that these guys involved already have the opportunity to mould the future of YG. Do you think that having a Youth Board full of young people would have more of an idea of what young people need than a bunch of adults? I reckon so! So, If you like what you’ve read here, why not get in contact with YG & get involved?
Make Some Noise
10 July 2018
Young Gloucestershire is delighted to announce that we have been selected as one of Global Media’s (Heart Radio) beneficiary charities for their Make Some Noise appeal for 2018. This is great news for us and the young people we work with across Gloucestershire.
Make Some Noise is Global’s registered charity. This means they run events which listeners and YG supporters can get involved with. Recently we attended a charity football match which saw celebs battling it out on the pitch watched by local supporters.
As the fundraiser, I originally met local Heart Radio staff back in 2015 to highlight the work YG does with young people in the county. We have kept in touch and when we applied this year we were hopeful we would be successful.
On 3rd April, we received the e-mail we had been hoping for telling us that we would be part of the 2018 campaign. This is music to our ears – please excuse the pun!
Make Some Noise also have places available in other bigger events such as the London Marathon and a Great Wall of China trek. While it may seem strange that we would promote fundraising events from another charity, don’t forget that the more money Make Some Noise raises, the more money can be donated to YG as well as the other charities that are involved in the 2018 appeal.
YG’s involvement in Make Some Noise will provide us with vital funds for our work in The Link. We see more young people visiting each year for advice and guidance on employment, education and training, money and benefit support, housing advice and referrals, drug & alcohol support and mental-health counselling. Being involved in the appeal will enable us to look at expanding our services, as well as showcase the young people we work with, the challenges some of them face and how YG helps by promoting confidence, skills and opportunities to improve their lives.
Please support Make Some Noise this year – YG is thrilled and proud to be involved.
PT Team 192
3 July 2018
Team 192 are heading into their last 2 weeks of The Prince’s Trust programme and I couldn’t be more proud of their development. This is my first Prince’s Trust Team here at Young Gloucestershire having come from a background of working with a younger age group.
The Prince’s Trust Team is an accredited 12 week programme for young people aged 16 to 25 who are not in education, employment or training. The 12 weeks are made up of activities and support and includes a week on residential, delivering a social action project locally, writing a CV, learning interview skills and techniques, gaining an employability qualification and experiencing work placement for 2 weeks.
The team have achieved some brilliant things so far and completing their community project is probably one of the biggest. After a lot of discussion in the group and the viewing of a couple potential projects, they decided together that they wanted to make a difference at the Secret Garden Nursery for preschool children. They did a sponsored cycle and row and a bag pack in the local supermarket. This raised over £250.
The team are now embarking on their final 2 weeks. They have shown great progression over the past 10 weeks and I am confident they will come through with flying colours.
Reflections of a CEO
18 May 2018
“This week I was fortunate enough to attend the Queen’s Garden Party. The invite came as a result of supporting two national charities, UK Youth and Ambition, in their coming together. I chaired the the process of consulting on members needs and requirements from the new organisation. This organisation was launched a few months ago and continues to undertake the journey of developing the appropriate services to meet members needs.
“Merger, collaboration and closer working together are key challenges for us all at the moment. I have lost count of the amount of conversations I have had where I have debated and discussed how big is too big for a voluntary sector organisation. Are we stronger together? Does becoming big mean quality and culture are lost? If you merge different types of services does is cause brand confusion? Or will services be lost? There are no simple answers to these conversations and every discussion needs to be taken on it’s own merit.
“The Garden Party reminded me of how many people are doing positive things for their community whether this be working for the voluntary sector, volunteering or through other service roles. Fundamentally everyone in those roles is working in a tough climate to achieve positive outcomes for the communities we live in.
“The Queens garden party is an opportunity to recognise how much individuals in the community do to support those around them, it was also an opportunity for me to take time out from the day to day and reflect on the future of the two organisations I am CEO of (Infobuzz and Young Gloucestershire). It has reconfirmed that there are many different ways of achieving the outcomes for the communities we live in and we need to keep stepping along the tight rope to understand the direction of travel that will provide the best outcomes we can for our community.”