Star Youth Club. Annual Report SCO17228

Transcription

1 Star Youth Club Annual Report SCO17228

2 Star Youth Club Community Centre 8 Law Road North Berwick EH39 4PN Tel: elsnp@eastlothian.gov.uk Web: Like us on facebook Follow us on twitter

3 Star Youth Club What Why How We are a parent led charitable organisation offering good quality play, social and educational opportunities for East Lothian s young people with additional support needs. Opportunities for children with additional support needs to interact with their peer groups in a social setting are limited and often rely on parental support. Star Youth Club gives parents a well deserved rest and provides an opportunity for the young people to have fun in a safe and supported environment, whilst having fun with friends. We run a weekly Youth Club provision operating on a Tuesday evening from North Berwick Community centre. The members set their own programme of activities, meaning they are age appropriate and enjoyable. We recruit and train local teenage volunteers to provide 1-1 support, friendship and fun!

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5 Fun, Friendship & Inclusion Star Youth Club provides a safe and stimulating environment for our young people to flourish. Activities are provided which compliment skills learned in educational environments in a fun and exciting way. Our young people are encouraged to try new activities, to build up new and existing skills and with support and encouragement of a 1-1 volunteer, they have the optimum opportunity to participate at a level appropriate to their needs. One of the most important opportunities that Star Youth Club provides is the opportunity to learn through social interaction, which is an experience most of our young people don t always have. Integration in a large peer group provides the opportunity for genuine friendships to be built, increasing communication and well-being by being included and welcomed. Through the provision of a variety of activities and experiences Star Youth Club promotes direct inclusion in local communities, which helps to develop confident individuals. Our young people are given support in the form of a volunteer who acts as role model showing how to behave in social settings and what is expected of our young people when participating in activities. All our Star Youth Club members are encouraged to participate in the activities to the best of their abilities and are supported to do so. Barriers to participation are broken down and true friendships are formed across various spectrums.

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7 Volunteering In we had a phenomenal 24 volunteers dedicate their own free time and energy on a weekly basis to ensure our young people could attend the youth club. Our volunteers bring a fun, youthful element to our provision, promoting inclusion and friendship, which many of our young people struggle to find. All our volunteers are put through a full recruitment process including a PVG Disclosure Check prior to starting the placement. Volunteers are required to complete a compulsory induction training session and are offered ongoing training opportunities throughout the year. Research carried out with our volunteers highlights the impact volunteering has on their lives as well as those who they support. Factors such as increased confidence, improved communication skills, value and self worth, valuable work experience, and an increased ability to interact with a range of different people were identified as positive benefits by our Volunteers. Our team of young volunteers are our biggest asset, and provide a unique opportunity for our members to receive support they require from their peers. Our members relish in the friendships they develop, whist their parents and carers are confident their child's care needs are being met whist participating in fun and age appropriate activities. The commitment and enthusiasm our volunteers demonstrate whist creating a fun and youthful atmosphere is one of the main reasons for the success of our project.

8 Residential Weekend Thanks to generous support from Dr Guthrie s Association, The Hedley Foundation & The Ponton Trust we were able to take our Star Youth Club members to Aviemore for an outdoor activity residential weekend from 15 th 17 th May Fourteen Star youth club Members attended the weekend away, supported by sixteen volunteers and 4 Youth Workers, and took part in a variety of activities including a trip to Landmark discovery centre, rock climbing, trampolining & laser tag at outdoor Discovery and a visit to Aviemore cinema. The aims of the residential weekend were: To build confidence in our members. To provide access to new activities. Promote independence and like skills. To provide an opportunity for members to have fun and spend time away from their family. Provide hands on training and experience for youth work volunteers The full cost of the residential weekend was 5, This included all transport, accommodation, food, activities and support. We aim to offer a residential weekend to our members each year subject to securing additional funding.

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10 Chairperson s Report How many sleeps 'til Star? is a familiar question in our house and I would like to thank all the staff and volunteers for providing a place where my son and all our young people can enjoy a social activity that others take for granted. Our teenagers have so few opportunities to socialise with their peers outside school and SYC has proven itself to be an essential part of their lives. Angela and her team excel themselves every year in providing a space where our teenagers can be themselves and in making Star Youth Club THE place to be on a Tuesday night! We are a small charity which relies heavily on the generosity of others. We are extremely grateful for all the funding, grants and donations we receive that allow us to run Youth Club and also take our members on our annual residential weekend to Badaguish in May. This residential is a popular event on our calendar for our members, staff and our volunteers and provides an exciting and rare opportunity for our young people to spend some time away from home and holiday with their pals. Angela and her team excel themselves every year to provide a space where our teenagers can be themselves. On behalf of the Management Committee and all the families, I would like to thank them all wholeheartedly. Star Youth Clubs financial situation continues to improve and this is down to the hard work of Kirsty and Angela, our co-ordinator and assistant co-ordinator, in sourcing funding and Elaine, our bookkeeper, in organising our budgets to be more efficient. We are always looking for new possibilities for expanding the small service we provide, but it will need the continuing support of our current funders, parents/carers and the wider community.

11 Our Management Committee will continue to support Kirsty and Angela and hopefully we can persuade new members to join our small team to help develop Star Youth Club so that even more of the 64 young people on our waiting list can benefit. I, for my part, am very proud to be part of this team and look forward to another good year. Gayle Reilly Chairperson

12 Co-ordinator s Report It has been another successful year for Star Youth Club, with seeing us offer 33 weeks of youth club provision from our base in North Berwick Community Centre, playing host to over 30 children and families, who participated in a variety of different activities in the company of our fantastic volunteers. I would like to thank our dedicated staff team of youth workers who work tirelessly behind the scenes and during the youth club to ensure that each individual child is given the best quality of care and support. The enthusiasm, dedication and professionalism of our staff team and volunteers is to be highly commended as they strive to ensure children can access every possible opportunity available to have fun and enjoyment. In particular I would like to thank our Youth Leader Angela Smith for all the hard work and planning she puts in to ensure the club run s as smoothly as possible. We continue to receive much appreciated support from East Lothian Council, in particular the Community Learning and Development Department who fund our weekly Youth Leader and Youth Worker positions. Thanks are extended to The Children s Disability Team and the Community Learning and Development Department who are a constant source of support to ensure our staff are equipped with the knowledge and resources in order to run the Youth Club effectively. We are delighted to have received a grant from Young Start Fund at the Big Lottery to allow us to fund our Star Youth club activities this year and the year going forward. We are hopeful that we will be able to secure additional funding to allow us to grow our Youth Club provision and this will be a focus for the committee in the year ahead.

13 Our committee this year have been inspirational to work alongside, and I really admire the commitment and enthusiasm which this group of parents bring. The committee are passionate about the Star Youth Club vision and work hard to ensure that our small charity can make the maximum impact for children and families in our local communities. I look forward to continuing to work with this motivational group to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. As we embark on our adventure, I am clear that what make SYC different is a culture of inclusion, fun and friendship, and a highly dedicated team of innovative staff. The support SYC provides impacts on whole families and serves as a vital part of their child s social and emotional well-being. I look forward to working with our committee and staff to face the new challenges and opportunities will bring. Kirsty Wood Co-ordinator

14 Financial Review for year ending March 2016 Thank you for supporting us

15 Without the support of all of our funders, running the Star Youth Club would not be possible. We would like to thank those who gave generously to us this year. We are grateful to East Lothian Council for providing youth workers and to North Berwick Community Centre for use of their premises. Financial supporters in 15/16 Big Lottery Young Start East Lothian Council St Andrew Blackadder Church All our youth club members, families and friends who think of us in their fundraising Financial information extracted from the Trustees Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March Copies are available on application.

16 The difference your donations make The future for the Star Youth Club As at 31 March 2016, reserves stand at 15,633, comprising 11,490 general reserves and 4,143 for the Residential Weekend project. The two year grant from Big Lottery Young Start continues into 2016/17, and we plan to build on this to ensure a continuing future for the services we provide.

17 Management Committee Chairperson Secretary Treasurer Committee Members Co-ordinator Assistant Co-ordinator Book-Keeper Independent Financial Auditor Gayle Reilly Lynne Greenhill Rachel Wood Lorna McDougall, Mariella Mills, Clemence Lynch, Pam Dalgleish & Marion Dick Kirsty Wood Angela Smith Elaine Alsop Scott-Moncrieff As a registered charity Star Youth cannot run without a functioning Management Committee. Membership of the committee is open to all parents whose children receive a Youth Club service. Please join us to help ensure Star Youth Club can continue to provide the vital service our children and families require contact Kirsty on elsnp@eastlothian.gov.uk for more information.

18 Please help us spread the word. Tell your friends, families and colleagues about Star Youth Club. Sign up to a personal challenge and help us raise much needed funds organise a cake sale, take on a 10k or even wash some cars! Become a friend of SYC, volunteer for us or donate through Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter