Halloween Spook Walk

Dear All,

In what will be probably our last event, I present the "Halloween Spook Walk"!!!!

Do you want to be frightened while you walk?
Do you want to do something good for your community?
Do you want a V-Award in recognition of your achievement?

Then please register to volunteer as a walker or as a volunteer on the day itself. For those of you who turned up to the last walk in April, you know the drill so all the formalities of the walk will be familiar to you. For those who are new, it is as simple as this - a 5 km walk around Valentines Park on October 10th. Come in fancy Halloween dress to scare your friends and passers by. Make sure you raise £10 sponsorship as the funds raised will be donated to the Redbridge Forum.


We need your help to make this possibly final event as special as possible. Tell all your friends about it, it promises to be big.


Alex Hinds

BRAND SPANKING NEW EVENT: THE BIG HALLOWEEN SPOOK WALK

Do you fancy getting dressed up and raising money for a worthy cause?

This is yet another one of our 'Big and Silly' sponsored walks but this time to raise money for the Redbridge Forum who work with groups and individuals to improve the quality of life for people with learning disabilities and their carers in Redbridge.

We are organising a 5km sponsored walk in fancy dress with a Halloween theme this time which will take place on Sunday 10th of October in Valentines Park, between 2-5pm. The event is open to participants aged 16 to 25 years.

If you’d like to take part you need to raise a minimum sponsorship of £10.

There will be awards for:
'Best Dressed Male'
'Best Dressed Female'
'Most Money Raised'

There will also be lots of opportunities to get involved and volunteer on the day.

All participants will receive a nationally recognised vAward.

For more details please contact Nisha Wanza on:
Email: n.wanza@btcv.org.uk
Mobile: 020 7843 4388

BRAND SPANKING NEW EVENT: THE BIG HALLOWEEN SPOOK WALK

Do you fancy getting dressed up and raising money for a worthy cause?

This is yet another one of our 'Big and Silly' sponsored walks but this time to raise money for the Redbridge Forum who work with groups and individuals to improve the quality of life for people with learning disabilities and their carers in Redbridge.

We are organising a 5km sponsored walk in fancy dress with a Halloween theme this time which will take place at Valentines Park, between 2-5pm. The event is open to participants aged 16 to 25 years.

If you’d like to take part you need to raise a minimum sponsorship of £10.

There will be awards for:
'Best Dressed Male'
'Best Dressed Female'
'Most Money Raised'

There will also be lots of opportunities to get involved and volunteer on the day.

All participants will receive a nationally recognised vAward.

For more details please contact Nisha Wanza on:
Email: n.wanza@btcv.org.uk
Mobile: 020 7843 4388

BRAND SPANKING NEW EVENT: THE BIG HALLOWEEN SPOOK WALK

Do you fancy getting dressed up and raising money for a worthy cause?

This is yet another one of our 'Big and Silly' sponsored walks but this time to raise money for the Redbridge Forum who work with groups and individuals to improve the quality of life for people with learning disabilities and their carers in Redbridge.

We are organising a 5km sponsored walk in fancy dress with a Halloween theme this time which will take place on Sunday 10th of October in Valentines Park, between 2-5pm. The event is open to participants aged 16 to 25 years.

If you’d like to take part you need to raise a minimum sponsorship of £10.

There will be awards for:
'Best Dressed Male'
'Best Dressed Female'
'Most Money Raised'

There will also be lots of opportunities to get involved and volunteer on the day.

All participants will receive a nationally recognised vAward.

For more details please contact Nisha Wanza on:
Email: n.wanza@btcv.org.uk
Mobile: 020 7843 4388

Photos from Frenford's Summer Jam

Frenford's Summer Jam featured in the Ilford Recorder

A Job Well-done

Hey Everyone I just wanted to say a massive thank you!

All of you have worked really hard planning the event and then finally on the day everyone came together and made it happen!

Sadia, Nisha and Irfan thank you for all you patience, hard work and faith in the team YC+YAT. We couldn't have done the event without you all so thank you for giving us this great opportunity to learn and develop new skills whilst building relationships with some lovely new people :0)

Sachin, thank you for looking after the Graffiti activity the boards are looking good. Plus thank you for helping with the chairs.

Rebecca, well I have not got enough time to note all my thank yous - too many. But thank you for being so strong and hard working. The Mehndi stand was a big hit on the day.

Randy, for doing a fantastic job in assisting Rebecca in Bringing this event to life.

Sadia, I am amazed at how talented you are with a paint brush - thank you for the lovely boards and all your late evenings at the club - Oh and for your birthday Im getting you a pack of balloons I know you luv blowing them up :0)

Hiral, It was lovely seeing you, thank you for helping me with the balloons I really appreciated your lungs! Thank you for looking after the sponge throwing well done on getting Humza in the docks.

Adonis, Thank you for being so chirpy and bubbly on the day and helping out with anything that was needed (again thank you for the balloon help) - Keep the screaming :0)

Alex, Well Alex you were amazing on the mic - well done in keeping the day going and keeping people's spirits up on the day :0)

Humza, Thank you Humza for being so helpful and smiling on the day. Thank you for going in the docks - might need you to do that again at some point because I didn't get a chance to get you!

Sumeet & Tafeeha, I have put you together because you to remind me of each other - young and crazy. Thank you for your volunteers, help and bubbly personalities :0)

Faeezah, Thank you for posting the volunteer roles online and getting the brilliant face painters. Thank you for all your hard work on the day.

Umair, Thank you for being so calm throughout the event and just dealing with anything someone asked of you - your a cool cat :0)

Simran, Thank you for drawing the sport pictures and for keeping the party alive on the day - the dancing helped loads :0)

Suleman, Thank you for all your help before the event and on the day. Well done on getting involved with the children when you were looking after the games room.

George, Thank you for moving the furniture with no complaints. Thanks for running the bouncy castle smoothly with no accidents :0)

Ajay, Thank you for helping out on the day and for looking after the pool room and getting involved :0)

Craig, Thank you for being so patient with all of us with the flyer changes - they did look slick in the end! Thank you for sorting the refreshment stand :0)

Catarina, You were missed on the day - but thank you for completing your tasks with hard work and commitment.

Youcef, Thank you for all your hard work , commitment and amusing sarcasm. It was nice to see you on the day even though your a busy athlete :0)

Channel, Thank you Channel for being your bubbly self and for staying late to paint and blow the balloons you burst with your Big Foot :0) Thank you for dancing around

Pinar, Thank you Pinar for being so helpful you really are a talented young lady with your pretty garden :0) Thank you for keeping the day lively outside :0)

Omar, Thank you for keeping the games room in shape and getting the photographer

Vi and John Ruben's House Family Funday

And what an amazing success it was!

The family funday was absolutely brilliant and jam packed! It all kicked off with the obstacle course/race with our star contestant Lilly, who is only 6 years old but took part in ALL our games! This was followed by more exciting games like the wheelchair race, which was....dangerous! But oh so hilarious!

Then I sat down with some of the residents and asked them how they enjoyed the day, they said that they loved it and that we didn't stop making them laugh :D

I am looking forward to maybe having a similar event with them again!

By Tasfeeah

Page 1 Chapter 1

Having been reminded that I was one of the oldest YAT members that had not blogged and who had delayed blogging for a couple of weeks now, made me feel like I should blog with a bang. So here it is and I hope it makes a bang!

Youth action team members with descriptions

Adonis: The official YAT’s musician.

Alex: If its legally blonde, its legally Alex; the YAT lawyer.

Faeezah: The YAT spy, has eyes and ears in most places, she really does.

George: The YAT blog king, twitter wiz and all the above.

Kyrylo: The Karate kid; YAT’s first line of defence.

Lauren: The pink YAT bunny.

Umair: The YAT wizard; has a wand like Harry Potter.

Randy: The YAT charm weapon.

Rebecca: The YAT motivator, no slacking escapes her gaze.

Sachin: The YAT health & safety man. (he also re-invented humour)

Tasfeah: The YAT volunteer magnet, she floats like a butterfly but stings like a bee.

Nisha: She looks like one of the YAT members, but don’t let the young looks fool you!

Sadia: The most persuasive person in the world, or is that just me?

The Legacy

Over the lengthy period that I have been with the YAT I have witnessed members leave and new members arrive, this is all while the diversity and unity of the team has remained unhindered. This is credit to the quality of individuals that have joined the team, each bringing with them a set of unique skills. So much so the team have become one of the most productive and advanced YAT in the country and possibly beyond. (sources; Sadia & Nisha)

Over the past 2 years the YAT have delivered the following events;

Million: An event to showcase local talent and promote volunteering

Particip8 2 Activ8: A sports day/games day in Loxford park

The Big silly sleep walk: A walk through Valentines park in order to raise money for the dream factory.

Due to the success of each of these individual events external bodies have now approached the YAT in order to attain experienced event planning skills from the team in order to facilitate and aid in the production of the following events;

Frenford’s summer Jam

Old people’s home Fun day

The fusion

Currently the YAT have joined forces with the Youth Committee (YC), this collaboration is to bring together an event called Frenfords summer jam. This event is to celebrate and promote Frenford clubs move to a new location and what they have achieved in their time at their current location.

The YAT team have also recently been involved in delivering a Family fun day at Jewish Care VI & John Ruben's House. The event was another accomplishment for the YAT as many residence and families had an enjoyable time.

The future

The YAT’s future may be hanging in the balance due to the election of a Conservative government. The previous Labour government only supplied funding for a couple of years; this funding is due to end and when it does it is unknown whether the Conservative government will provide any further funding for the programme.

Will BTCV & V-involved be provided with extra funding,

will Sadia and Nisha cry if the YAT is dissolved,

what will happen?

When will it happen?

The government decides! ........ To be continued.

Summer Jam Update

The meeting on the 7th was my first in a while after taking a temporary hiatus as a consequence of a depressing exam schedule, and it’s remarkable that in that short space of time two disparate sets of individuals could gel so completely together. It seemed to me, whilst in my mainly observant role that session, that both groups brought two different energies which combined well with regards to the current ‘Frenfords Summer Jam’ project.

The project being centred around sports and activity reflects well the energy and enthusiasm being exudedby both the Youth Committee and the Youth Action Team (which both uncannily sound like superhero groups… Hmm, this might get interesting…). The Herculean effort of coordinating multiple events, on a rolling and unpredictable schedule as that which is planned for the 8^th of August, was being made light work by the heroic organisational capacity to be found in the team. I’d found groups split into three differentlogistical concerns and this streamlining of responsibility meant that entertainment and refreshments, marketing etc were dealt with to a superhuman level of detail.

OK, enough with the superhero epithets, hehe. But genuinely, the event is shaping up to be a successful one as the main bulk of work has been completed; what remains is the final completion and perfection of the minute details.

My task this week is to try collate previous experience and current objectives into a workable 'entertainment and refreshments' budget for the ‘Summer Jam’ and to try and round up some volunteers to make the day more successful. If you are reading this and haven't signed up, do I even have to ask?

Old People's Home: Sunday July 25th

This is to inform everyone that the Old People's event is on July 25th which will be a Sunday. Faeezah, Sachin, Tasfeeah, Alex and Nisha all went to the home for a site visit which was positive.

At the moment it is running in the shadow of Frenford's which is why it has not been given much attention in terms of blogging but it will receive attention here nevertheless. Events will include tug of war, music, singing and various other events to keep the young and the old heavily entertained.

Four hours of fun never looked so good to be honest. The team looks forward to this event and fun we aim to have.


Alex Hinds
Director of Communications

Update on Frenfords

With the Frenfords event over three Weeks away, lets just recap on what is going on so far.

Since I last wrote here we have made significant progress in terms of preparation. Three groups have been created to help the event in the run up to final preparations. Recruitment has made progress in producing opportunities to volunteer details are below:

Activity Leaders

ELT608 - Frenfords Summer Jam - Activity Leaders (16-25 years), Frenford Clubs, IG1 1UE, Expires 08/08/2010

Graffiti Artists
ELT609 - Frenfords Summer Jam - Young Graffiti Artists Wanted! (16-25 years), Frenford Clubs, IG1 1UE, Expires 08/08/2010

Street Team Promoters
ELT610 - Frenfords Summer Jam - Street Team (16-25 years), Frenford Clubs, IG1 1UE, Expires 08/08/2010

General Stewards
ELT611 - Frenfords Summer Jam - General Stewards (16-25 years), Frenford Clubs, IG1 1UE, Expires 08/08/2010

Facepainter
ELT616 - Frenfords Summer Jam - Face Painters (16-25 years), Frenford Clubs, IG1 1UE, Expires 08/08/2010

If you feel you have what it takes do not hesitate to get involved by following the links above stating your availability to participate on the day. There are also vinspired links:

http://vinspired.com/activities/110716-general-stewards

http://vinspired.com/activities/110715-street-team-members


http://vinspired.com/activities/110714-graffiti-artists

http://vinspired.com/activities/110713-activity-leaders

http://vinspired.com/activities/111032-face-painters

Communications have finally managed to come up with a flyer for the event. It has been a long time coming but thanks to Craig we have it here to show:






Entertainment is working on how to make the event as fun as possible. The Fire brigade, Police, Connexions and beauty will all be on hand. Plus the events that we have set up on the day.

The event is not far off, if you are interested in volunteering and want to part of the day, get involved. If you know anyone who is going, get involved as well. It promises to be a good one. Volunteer registration forms are available through the links to get involved.

A banner will follow shortly in the run up to the event, when this becomes available it will be displayed.




NE London Youth Action Team in partnership with the Youth Committee
Redbridge.

Update on Frenfords

Dear All,

Subjet to an update to my last post about the Frenfords event on August 8th about who can come, the event is a free for all event. This means that is it open to all ages; parents are also welcome as well. This is to clear any problems that this is a restricted event for 13 -19 yr olds.

A Fly on the Wall: My Week, Loxford Youth Centre

Although not authorised to do so (not that we would have needed authorisation) me and Rebecca attended an event called 'My Week' between June 7th to the 11th at Loxford Youth Centre. This was an express invitation from connexions who we had meet at the stake holders meeting to which I have previously written about.

The purpose of the event was to improve the relations between the Youth and the community. The youth were exposed to a series of events such as climbing a wall at Mile End on the Monday to one on one interviews and a trip to Lambourne End on the Wednesday to engage in much more fun. The conclusion of the week ended with making a video on how drugs impact our community on Thursday then a final finale with a trip to Nando's chicken on Friday.

The event was a useful insight into other youth opportunities out there and what exactly was on offer for them. It is fantastic to see that young people aged 16-19 are able to have these opportunities as opposed to doing nothing and walking the streets. A lot of them were highly charged individuals with a passion to do well and advance their CV's. We really developed a rapport with them and some went on to consider other possibilities such as joining a London Fire Brigade course or to volunteer with the Youth Action Team.

Our fly on the wall visit is just one of many trips we plan to conduct to see just what is out there and how to get the youth further involved in their community.

MY WEEK!!

Hey Guys!! Rebecca here with an update of what happened at My Week!! Something that i help facilitate in....

Well on the 7th till the 11th of June 2010 myself and Alex were invited to attend MY WEEK which is run by Connexions and NEET. We actually got this chance by attending the stakeholders meeting on the 2nd to be part of My Week.

So, on the Monday, we had introductions, we meet the team and did some ice-breaker exercises with them. The day, followed by a lovely lunch, the young people got together and decided with staff that they wanted form the following few days.

Tuesday the young people went to Mile End to do wall climbing as group activity.

Wednesday the young people were taken to Landbrourne End activity centre.

Thursday the young people were taken to Gearies to have a look around the institute and get a feel for what is available for them. They were then given techniques on interviews and what to do during interviews, how to behave and so on. Here Randy joined me and we did a 1-2-1 with some of the young people and discussed how they could improve there answers or there demeanor when being in an interview. They were then taken to Connexions to make films with an organisation.

Friday, the young people stayed at Loxford Youth Centre where they were able to complete and amend CV's and cover letters. Alex and myself also gave a presentation about the YAT and the Summer Uni workshop that we will be holding at Ilfoirmation!! We then went to Nandos to have food!! (paid for bt Connexions :D)

Overall, this was a great week where we learnt about how other organisations work and what they are doing to help young people be more productive with their lives. More updates coming soooon!!!!

Have a great week :D

Rebecca

xox

Youth Talk as featured in Barking News

Well done Adonis for securing press coverage for the 'Youth Talk' event, the collaborative efforts of both the Youth Action Team and UpRising. As mentioned in the above article; Tahseer Khan, Iman Hamouch and Adonis Leboho feature in the picture.

Frenfords Summer Jam August 2010

To round off what is looking like a good summer, the Youth Action Team in partnership with Frenfords Centre is planning the 'Frenfords Summer Jam Event 2010' taking place at its venue in Seven Kings, Ilford. The event is still 3 months away but lets just go into some of the details of the event so that you will get a flavour of what is to come.

Whats in store?
Well there plans to be a series of events for the young and the old such as Snooker, Pool, Quick Cricket, Dance Studios, Nintendo Wii events and many more.

Why are we doing this?
Frenfords is moving from its current venue off the High Road to more plush buildings currently being constructed off The Drive towards the western end of Ilford. We aim to promote the centre as much as possible to give the old premises a great send off before the process of moving on begins. The new buildings offer greater space and extra facilities than the current building. It is hoped this event will attract many more young people to use the fantastic facilities available at the new Frenfords facility.

Who can come?
This event is not an open event to everyone, if anything the current buildings are at maximum capacity. The event aims to bring in young people up to 19yrs, after all they will be the primary users of the events on offer. The event will be promoted consistently in the run up to August so please tell your friends about this event, it promises to be a big one.

How do I get further information?
Further announcements will be made on this blog as the event takes shape however if you don't want to wait, please email NELYAT@hotmail.com for any questions you may have.


We hope to see you there.




North East London Youth Action Team

Stakeholders Meeting at Loxford Youth Centre

The Stakeholders meeting was an event that took place on the 2nd June 2010 at Loxford Youth Centre. The aim of the meeting was to hold discussion topics on various issues in the London Borough of Redbridge.

As a member of the Youth Action Team myself and Rebecca Awan sat on the table concerning the opportunities to volunteer in the borough. It was striking to see that for a London Borough such as Redbridge just how fragmented it was in terms of the organisations that knew about each other. In addition, the fact that the north of the borough lacks or is lacking the opportunities that are in the south.

As we all know, Redbridge provides excellent links to the City and is served by the A12 and A406. The table also expressed concern that the local economy is loosing out to Central London because of the vast array of opportunities the centre of London brings. It was decided that to address these problems more needed to be done to make organisations like the Youth Service, Housing Service and the Youth Action Team aware of each other. It is hopeful that a sub-group involving all these organisations will be created for greater dialogue between us all.

Youth Talk 2 Police- 25th May 2010 @ Barking Town Hall

What was a cautious and uncertain start to the evening, ended in an unexpectedly vibrant debate on issues surrounding stop and search, crime and public engagement. At 5.30 the conference room filled with delegates consisting of Barking residents, UpRising and Youth Action Team members, all participants between the ages of 16-25. Our panellists were Inspector Ivan Hayes (Barking & Dagenham Police), Guy Dehn (Witness Confident), Randy Khela (YAT member) and Adiva Kestenbaum (UpRising).

What we feared most were all things associated to live events, a silence filled room, no questions being asked and eyes glazed over. You could say we were very hopeful. So what we did was prepare a list of questions beforehand as insurance. However, to our surprise and delight, the audience responded to the panellists fantastically and we abandoned our plan B. Statistics were shared, opinions were expressed and most importantly rights were learned with regards to stop and search and protection when giving a witness statement. Where most the participants had initially admitted that they felt that they did not trust the police or share any positive experiences, by the end of the evening there was consensus amongst them that they understood the police a lot better and would definitely like to work with them in the future.

As this is a pilot project, we would definitely like to do an event similar to this but on a bigger scale.

Well what a great event we had at the Barking Town Hall. It was great to see passionate people turning up and being open to the discussions that were being presented! Hope we do more stuff like that soon! And Alex was a great presenter and Randy a good choice 4 a presenter!!

The Youth Action Team and UpRising bring to you 'Youth Talk 2 Police' @ Barking Town Hall

A Joint Statement by Alex, Rebecca and Craig!!

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,

We are back after a long absence, I apologise to anyone who was looking for me (me being Alex), Rebecca who knows!!!

Alex: I thought it would be useful to tell you about Youth Talk 2 Police which will be happening on Tues 24th May at Barking & Dagenham Town Hall between 1730 - 1930pm. The event promises to touch on issues such as Stop and Search, Crime and Justice and Youth and Police co-operation.

Rebecca: Wow Alex that sounds really interesting.... whos going 2 be there??

Craig: Lots of people are going to be attending the event. You will have the chance to speak to policemen, other people which work within your area and your YAT team!

Alex: These issues affect everyone so it is very important that we get this into the open, tell your friends about it and if they have any questions, to come down and get their views heard. It promises to be a spectacular event.

Rebecca: Thats sounds great!! So come along and join in the discussion!!

SEE YOU THERE!! :D

Youth Talk 2 Police

Hello to all of you using the inter-web I'd just like to update all of you on another awesome event that we the Youth Action Team are holding and facilitating for you the general public. This time our event entails a discussion between you the public and those in the police force, as well as local councillors and a Special guest panellist that, we would like to keep secret just so that you become more inticed in to coming.

It will be on the 25th May from 17:30 to 19:30 at Barking Town Hall.

For more information please contact us on NELYAT@hotmail.com

Video from the Big Silly Sleepwalk

The Big Silly Sleepwalk: As Seen in the Local Paper!

We're famous!

The lovely people at the Ilford Recorder have included an article about our Youth Action Team in the issue dated Thursday 15th April 2010.

Go out and buy it now! Alternatively you can read it online here: http://bit.ly/cGVNAO (we're on page 4).

As a team, we're extremely proud of the event, and the increasing amount of recognition that we're receiving is very exciting. This very blog even gets a mention!

The Big Silly Sleepwalk- The Aftermath

It wasn’t just the delivery of a promise to raise a minimum of £500 that was worrying me; it was also whether or not we were utilising the £750 worth of funding awarded to us by London Youth. I should also admit that I was worried about what I would wear too- I say I’m a girl, it’s my prerogative.

Having learned from our past events, we decided to start early on Sunday morning as there was a lot of setting up to do. We still had 11 bags of ice to buy, to set up our tables and stands and to register those volunteers who decided to turn up on the day. Our general volunteers turned up an hour early too to help post the signs and arrows and start the bucket collection. Amidst the million and one things that were in progress, our wonderful sponsored started trickling in, gathering in front of that glorious mansion whilst sporting the ‘just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-into-the-park’ look. We loved it.



Most volunteers turned up in fancy dress, some costumes more daring the others. Mona Shehab came dressed as a giant whoopee cushion, she even voluntarily made the noises when poked. Iniyam created her own innovative teacup outfit, fit with a handle and ‘The Dream Factory’ marked all over. Lauren made a very lovely grown baby bunny. I think that’s right. She led the procession in her adult baby grow whilst accessorising with a bowtie, bunny ears, a bunny wand and a bunny dance. However, by far the most, let’s say ‘interesting’, outfit was Adonis in his white morph suit. Words will not do it justice. See the pictures below.



Once our volunteers were briefed as to what would be expected of them on the day, our dhol player Anil kicked off the event. We walked in an organised fashion, held up our picket signs, encircled the park and shaking our buckets, we collected money from those Sunday afternoon park-goers. The generosity of the public can also not go unnoticed. Our bucket collections proved very successful, with even 10 year olds on their bikes throwing in their pocket money or change after buying an ice cream. Attracted by the dhol playing and the parade of fancy dress, there were curious eyes in every direction. We fulfilled our aim to raise awareness of the charity on that day as a countless number of people approached us to find out more about the Dream Factory and other ways they can help the charity out.








The event was nicely wrapped up with a quiet awards ceremony outside the Walled Gardens, near the mansion. Fellow YAT member Alex gave a little speech, talking about our journey through planning this project, our shopping trips and overall how rewarding an experience the event proved to be. The Deputy Mayor followed with a short congratulations and handed out trophies for the following awards:
- Wackiest costume: Mona Shehab
- Most money raised: Ahtisham Aziz
- Most helpful volunteer: Tahseer Khan
- Worst luck: Iniyam Subramoney
- Special recognition: Anil Blaggan

Avril of the Dream Factory said a few words thanking us for all our hard work and was so pleased so see how easily and successfully we all worked together promoting a cause we, initially, knew little about. We then presented her with the big cheque which boasted our 4-digit figure, at almost three times more than our target amount, £1283.40p! Photographs were taken of this glorious moment. And of course more photographs were taken with the Deputy Mayor, of the volunteers and the Youth Action Team.

I am so very proud to pronounce The Big Silly Sleepwalk as a huge success.

But we won’t stop now. Watch this space.