Youth Action Team

Halloween Spook Walk

2010-09-27T12:48:00.002+01:00

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

2010-09-27T11:40:00.004+01:00

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

2010-09-27T11:40:00.003+01:00

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

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.

BRAND SPANKING NEW EVENT: THE BIG HALLOWEEN SPOOK WALK

2010-09-25T11:40:00.000+01:00

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

Photos from Frenford's Summer Jam

2010-09-07T15:06:00.017+01:00

Frenford's Summer Jam featured in the Ilford Recorder

2010-08-24T13:15:00.002+01:00

A Job Well-done

2010-08-09T12:23:00.003+01:00

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

2010-07-29T22:08:00.001+01:00

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

2010-07-29T21:52:00.002+01:00

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

2010-07-14T09:57:00.001+01:00

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

2010-07-13T16:45:00.003+01:00

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

2010-07-13T16:08:00.004+01:00

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

2010-06-24T19:59:00.002+01:00

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

2010-06-24T19:41:00.003+01:00

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!!

2010-06-24T19:35:00.003+01:00

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

2010-06-11T10:57:00.003+01:00

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

2010-06-08T23:39:00.003+01:00

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

2010-06-08T23:25:00.002+01:00

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

2010-06-01T11:13:00.003+01:00

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.

2010-05-26T23:57:00.001+01:00

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

2010-05-21T11:30:00.002+01:00

A Joint Statement by Alex, Rebecca and Craig!!

2010-05-19T19:58:00.004+01:00

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

2010-05-19T19:57:00.002+01:00

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

2010-05-07T20:50:00.002+01:00

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

2010-04-19T09:00:00.001+01:00

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

2010-04-16T15:28:00.009+01:00

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.

The Big Silly Sleepwalk, Are you ready?

2010-04-08T14:40:00.002+01:00

Hello All,

This is just to inform you of 'The Big Silly Sleepwalk' due to happen on the 11th of April.

The briefing at Downshall on the 7th was a complete success. Does who did attend were briefed about what they needed to know. It was very encouraging that we had a good level of numbers.

I am sure everyone is looking forward to the event. Touch wood, the rain holds off and it is all sunshine for does who will be involved. Make sure you come in some of the wackiest and strangest uniforms that you can find. It promises to be a great time.

I look forward to seeing all does who will attend on Sunday,

Alex Hinds.

Everything is go!

2010-04-08T11:59:00.004+01:00

Well, after a late start we successfully carried out our briefing at the Downshall Centre yesterday. Thanks to all those who turned up!

Hopefully you're all now clear on where you have to be and when. Just to remind you: 13:45 on Sunday 11th April outside Valentine's Mansion, Valentine's Park.

If you couldn't make it to the briefing yesterday (Wednesday 7th April) and you still intend to take part, then please arrive at the Mansion at 13:30 so that we can brief you then.

Please ensure that you have returned your registration form to nelondon.youthactionteam@googlemail.com by Friday 9th April (that's tomorrow) if you have not already done so, if possible.

Remember that we want everyone taking part to have raised a minumum of £10 in sponsorship money (obviously we'd love it if you raised a lot more than that!) and we need you to make every effort to bring the money you've raised with you on the day.

We're hoping that the sun will be shining and that the event will be successful in raising the profile of the Dream Factory as well as raising them the money, so remember to look as outlandish as possible in your pyjamas/fancy dress!

See you on Sunday!

2010-03-29T10:19:00.000+01:00

Feast your eyes on our glorious poster:

Dream Factory Update!!!

2010-03-21T22:21:00.013Z

Hello to everyone in the virtual world. Thought we'd drop by and let everybody know how our Dream Factory sponsored walk is coming along. Well firstly, it finally has a name! "The Big Silly Sleepwalk", with the tagline: "Sleepwalk to make a dream come true".

Secondly we now have the route planned out in Valentines park, it stretches over 5KM, so those who take part should expect a bit of a walk! But we don't think that getting sponsored to do a walk in fancy dress/ pyjamas is demanding enough. That is why we've added the twist of having a three legged sponsored walk in fancy dress/pyjamas (though for those in challenging outfits, this becomes optional).

Here's a reminder of the event description:

This is an event to raise money for The Dream Factory, a charity that helps to make the dreams come true for those with life threatening illnesses or severe disability aged between 3 - 25 yrs old.

The charity been running for 2 years now, and have already made the dreams of 42 people come true.

Patrons Include: Ray Winestone, Patsy Palmer, Vicki Michelle, Michelle Collins, Rt. Hon. Iain Duncun Smith, Dr Rory McRae, Larry & Dorean Golding.

So what we at the Youth Action Team, would like to do, is a three-legged sponsored walk encircling Valentines Park and as many times as it takes. And to give it a special touch, as this is of course no ordinary three-legged sponsored walk, we'll be doing it in our pyjamas! Some of us will even be parading in ADULT BABY GROWS!

The wackier the better, and remember we're doing this not just to be silly, but to make the dreams of seriously ill children come true. We are asking for a minimum of £10 worth of sponsorships to take part in the event. Bear in mind that could be something as simple as £1 from 10 people or £2 from 5 people. But we have full faith that you're all so much more convincing and motivated to raise more than just £10!

And of course, the more money you are able to collect, the more dreams you will be granting. So please get involved!

For a sponsorship form or if you have any queries, please email us on nelondon.youthactionteam@gmail.com.This event will take place on Sunday 11th of April between 2.30 and 5pm!

As well as this, we at the YAT, have decided on a briefing date, for all volunteers who wish to take part in one form or another which include: sponsored walk participants, stewards and general volunteers. This briefing will take place at The Downshall Centre On Wednesday 7th April between 6:30- 8:30pm.

And just as a reminder, here is a quick description of the whole event:

Taking Over the Reins

2010-03-18T16:50:00.006Z

On Wednesday, fellow YAT member Humza and I bravely took up the task of co-chairing the first team-member let YAT meeting.

I'm sure Humza will be along fairly soon to have his say, but personally I felt that we did an OK job!

Things started off quietly, and I did feel a little self-concious to begin with, having everyone looking at us. However, it wasn't long before the meeting began to flow as smoothly as usual.

We had an agenda to stick to, and we did our best to work around missing members. I would have said that I was surprised at how willing everyone appeared to be to be led by two of their peers, but actually it just fitted in with the respect for each other that we have all come to expect from being part of this team anyway.

We managed to cover everything on the agenda (although here's a tip for future chairs: make your agenda as detailed as you can - one or two items that I'd typed up at the weekend required some brain-racking to try and remember exactly what it was I'd wanted to be discussed!) and everyone stuck to our code-of-conduct by waiting their turn to speak and by letting everyone have their say, perhaps a little more than they usually do when the grown-ups are running it! (Although I think that was more because they were going easy on us as it was our first time!)

All-in-all, it was a good experience and I look forward to improving my chairing skills when I get opportunities in the future.

Good luck to next week's chairpersons!

The YAT Sussex Residential March 5th -7th 2010

2010-03-10T21:44:00.002Z

Hello everyone,
I thought it would be exciting if I briefly talk about the YAT Residential which occurred last weekend. For those of us who attended, it was a weekend packed full of fun which brought us together in such a way we all probably want to go back there.

The residential was a step up from the Leadership and Empowerment Training we had in January. It was more practical in the sense we undertook a series of exciting activities to note but a few...

• Building bridges and towers out of newspapers
• Team Challenge in the Sussex woods
• Climbing the tallest wooden frame course known to man then jumping off it (with a safety harness of course)
• Various team building activities.

It was an event aimed at bringing the best out in ourselves. We covered various things such as how to be an effective leader, dealing with difficult people and how to understand dealing with problems. When we were not undertaking activities we played pool, table tennis and other sports.

There were also Blackjack, Cheat, and President Card games on hand to keep us entertained and charged. This proved very popular to such an extent that we were in the strange situation that those who learnt the games became better than those who were teaching them. (They know who they are). The two days we spent there the entire team would say was an excellent opportunity to get to know everyone in a completely different way to how we know each other in meetings at home.

The food was great and the surroundings were fantastic, you really felt like you had left everything behind in London. I didn't even think about work for 2 days myself as did many of the team. Perhaps the most interesting part of the weekend was climbing the huge exercise course. At first we all thought this was like walking a dog in the park until we realised it wasn't such an easy state of affairs. Even if we did or did not complete the climb, it was a fantastic challenge which certainly got the blood pumping.

Apart from the obvious lack of phone sockets, which seemed to upset the boys more than the girls (I wonder why), it was a wonderful weekend for all involved. We are now more than ready to prepare for the events we have lined up for 2010 such as Dream Factory which is coming up very soon in April.

In the mean time stayed tuned for the events we got coming up as the team keeps rolling on, as they say... ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!!!

Alex Hinds

Festive Favours - by Lauren and Sachin

2010-03-08T20:45:00.000Z

Around Christmas time we took part in a project called “Festive Favours” – an idea formed by V in order to promote volunteering to young people throughout December. Festive Favours involved ‘Time Tokens’ – gifts in the form of fake cheques that worked rather like IOU tokens. Young people could give these tokens to friends or family in lieu of a Christmas present. Instead, the tokens represented a physical promise of the young person’s time. The aim of the project was to bring the idea of volunteering to the forefront of the minds of 16-25 years olds; they would offer to pledge their own time to friends and family in the place of a physical gift, much like volunteers need to pledge their time, rather than their money.

“By promising to give your time instead of buying a present, why not volunteer to help someone with their shopping, mow the lawn, walk the dog or even cook a loved one breakfast in bed. We’ll give you a personalised Time Token which can be gift wrapped, and ready to pop under the tree for friends or family.” http://www.vliverpool.org.uk/node/143

For Festive Favours, the YAT North East set up a stall right next to Romford Market on the afternoon of Saturday 19th December. We had purple decorations, badges and tattoos to hand out and of course, the V sign-up sheets.

After setting up we gave out ‘Time Tokens’ to passersby around our local shopping centre. Teenage boys in particular liked the idea of a free Christmas present, and we got the opportunity to speak to them all briefly about volunteering. We encouraged them to go and visit the stall and gave them stickers for their time!

It was an exciting event that was a success in that people were really enthusiastic about it and it really did spread the word of volunteering.

Why We Volunteer

2010-03-04T13:14:00.002Z

Recently, everyone on the team took some time to write up our own, personal reasons for volunteering. Here they are (they're all anonymous!):

1) Began volunteering for the sole purpose to do something more productive with my time. But now as time has progressed; I want to give back to the community. In addition, I wanted to meet new people and have fun.

2) I have been with the YAT for a number of months now and find that it is one of the most positive things that I have done. The YAT consists of 15 members who have their own individuality which they bring to the group. I also thought it would be a great aspect for me to put on to my CV and it is. Furthermore, volunteering has allowed me to make new friends, be open to new and unique ideas and also form and run my own projects. I personally think that everyone who goes into volunteering is doing something special and rewarding in contrast to working a 9-5 job :)

3) My reasons for volunteering are very different from the reasons as to why I continue to volunteer today. Initially, I was curious and considered it an opportunity for me to utilise my existing skills to carry out a project of my own choice. In the first meeting I attended, all the talk about ‘benefiting our community’, immediately altered my intention and I started seeing the bigger picture. One major aspect of that picture was working in a team. My reasons for still volunteering today, is to change other peoples perception of that dreaded ‘V’ word. Often associated with working in local charity shops or holding money collection buckets in the rain, it is so much more than that. There is no limit as to the amount of skills you obtain, regardless of how many you had in the first place; I guess you can only get better. In the space of 18 months, so many different and exciting opportunities had and have been made available to me, which has not only considered me an employable individual but one that sees being a volunteer to be a much more respectable occupation.

4) One of the main reasons for volunteering is to give something back to the community. Volunteering plays a vital aspect in my life, and for me, nothing makes me more proud than to assist and help people or to get people to help others. Volunteering gives me satisfaction that I am striving to make someone’s life better or to provide help despite not being paid. Volunteering for me is not an effort as it comes naturally. I do it because I enjoy it and not because I have to. The emphasis of delivering change and difference is always a reason why I volunteer for the YAT.

5) Volunteering provided an opportunity for me to contribute to a visibly broken community. The problems facing the working class in East London especially are ever-present and so volunteering through the YAT provided a means of alleviating some of the community’s hardships.

6) Before I joined YAT, I used to avoid any opportunity I was given to volunteer purely because I was lazy, however, this view changed when I became a YAT member. Before even getting involved physically in any events, sitting through the discussions talking about who we are and what we are trying to do opened my eyes up. I realised that everything I was to do was going to be towards making the community better; this drew me in all the more. Organisations such as YAT not only give youths something to do and get involved in, but also help change the stereo-type thoughts about youngsters. If I knew that I contributed just a little to this change of perspective, then I’d be more than satisfied; not only are the events fun to organise but the communities can become safer and more welcoming.

There have been times when people ask me what the YAT is and what they do, this gives me an opportunity to tell than a little of what I get out of being part of this team and some of the things we do. Just telling people from my personal experience makes them either proud of what I do or interested in getting involved; either way it makes me feel proud and happy inside which, for me, is the most important thing as the end of the day.

7) My reasons for volunteering were so that I can meet new people and it’s also something that would keep me busy, learn new skills and improve my confidence.

8) I started out using volunteering as an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends, and those opportunities still present themselves frequently. However, now I’m finding that I can really get passionate about an idea and want to turn it into something that can benefit others. Also, volunteering as part of a group allows me to play to my strengths and to develop them through taking responsibility for particular aspects of a project or of the team as a whole, which provides me with good preparation for positions of responsibility at work and in later life.

9) Why I volunteer: to help change the face of the youth, negative image of youth in the media and finally help contribute to showing the positive side to youth.

10) Reasons for joining the YAT: Productive uses of time, to learn new skills, interact with new people from various backgrounds and finally prepare for my future of possibly working with young people.

11) Why I volunteer: Self-improvement, get to work on interesting projects, make friends and meet new people, have a tangible effect on community.

The Super Dooper Million Event

2010-02-24T13:25:00.001Z

Hi Everyone I am here to share with you what I do with some of my precious time!

I am currently a member of a Youth Action Team (YAT). This is a group of young people working with staff from Change Makers and BTCV to create volunteering opportunities and expose young people in a positive light.

We are hoping this will build a cohesive community and give young people more opportunities to develop themselves. This could be through organising one of the YAT events, volunteering at the events doing things you never thought you would be doing, or simply attending the events (most often for FREE) and having a good time!

Either way I would suggest throwing yourself in the Volunteering Loop and get involved you have nothing to loose but so much to gain - Do it for Yourself!

The Million Event

Well Million is a special event to me because it was my first with YAT - and WOW it was one to remember. It was set in the Redbridge Town Hall (Ilford) with a brilliant team of people who worked very hard to make Million the success it was.

The event Million was organised to expose young people's amazing talents to the local community (and Councillors), to spread the great word of volunteering and some of the opportunities that exist for young people. The YAT wanted to get as many young people involved in organising the event.

I can confidently say all of the above reasons for organising Million were met. Million attracted youths, parents, and the older but wiser generation.

Million had 1000 people attend, a strong team of 60 volunteers on the day and the vibe in the Town Hall that day was definitely ALIVE!

The event kicked off outside with Dhol players, Dancers, Cheerleaders, Kung Fu Fighters - you name it we had it, there was an endless list of talent at the Town Hall that day.

It was great to see the volunteers, YAT and Volunteer Advisors working so hard to make this happen. But most of all the community got involved by attending and being open to people which was great to see.

I feel the great word of volunteering was spread throughout the day with the brilliant outreach team that would explain to people why this event was on in the first place.

The Million event also had organisations that provide opportunities for young people inside the Town Hall with stands - to present information about themselves. This was a great point of contact for info. for the community (youths and parents).

Overall the event was successful, the YAT are still in contact with the volunteers from Million - some of them are now YAT Members or have volunteered again with some of YAT events - so I feel the event had a positive impact on the community. The best part about all of this was everyone had a great time, met lots of people, learnt new skills or info. from the orgs. - But it was all for FREE (to attend and get involved so people involved had nothing to loose).

So as you are aware (by now) the YAT are doing amazing things so I would suggest following them - you don't want to miss the next Million.

If you miss Million you miss out!

Thank you for your lovely time and I look forward to giving you more info. about YAT's whereabouts.

Enjoy your Day with a Big Fat Smile :0)

2010-02-22T20:29:00.004Z

Hi everyone :) My names Sumeet and I have been part of the Youth Action Team since September 2009. I initially got involved with the team by being recruited as a volunteer at the first event held by them - Million in April 2009.

Million was a free event held in Ilford town hall and aimed to encourage and promote volunteering to people aged between 16 and 25; organised by the YAT team entirely, the day was an absolute success. The event engaged people on the high street around midday, with music, dhol players and street dancers to make people want to know what was going on. One of my duties was promotion. I handed out eye catching flyers and got people asking what we were doing; more people were interested when they heard it was a free event, shown with the slogan on our t-shirts “we don’t want your money”. This I believe was one of many factors that made people come to the event. Many local people volunteered and talent amongst the youth was showcased, as well as various stalls offering advice to the youth about volunteering and careers. One of the things that I think made the day a huge success - with over 1000 attendees - was the fact that the event wasn’t restricted in any way. Families with children of all ages, teenagers and the older generation all came out in force to support the team.

part of the YAT team on the day and the rest is history!! I have gained so many skills from being on the team, such as improving my organisation, and I have made loads of new friends. Also, we get so many opportunities to improve ourselves and gain life skills, for example we have recently completed leadership and empowerment training. At the moment we are in the process of organising a similar even to million but bigger! This time we are aiming for a billion! We are hoping to make an event like million an annual thing in Ilford so as to establish our name fully in the local community. I find it inspiring that a group of 16-25 year old ‘youths’ can create such an amazing event and I am proud to be changing the face of the youth! I am proud to be part of the North East London Youth Action Team! :)

2010-02-22T15:56:00.013Z

Hello,

My name is Alex and like all the others, I'm a member of the Redbridge Youth Action Team. I joined the team in September 2009 with a passion to help my fellow citizens in the community by whatever means possible. As we approach March 2010, I have to say that the last couple of months with the team have been fantastic. In such a short space of time, we have accomplished so much from the Festive Favours event in 2009, to the Youth Takeover presentation to which those who were involved did a fantastic job.

I would like to say a massive well done to them all, you did exceptionally well :)

Volunteering for me has always been something that came naturally to me and so to be within this team is just as natural as eating dinner. We are always up to something and that’s what makes volunteering here worthwhile. In due course this blog will be updated with upcoming Summer Projects that we have in store. Other team members such as Umair have the Dream Factory project and Rebecca with the Food works project. It will be very rewarding to those who will be involved and those who will benefit from the following projects.

Leader and Empowerment Training

I just want to talk a little about the Leadership and Empowerment Training which took place on the 30th - 31st January 2010 in East London. The training spread over the weekend challenged us in various skills we use in everyday life such as speaking, doing as we say and the judgement we have of others. The training as I am sure all who were there would agree challenged us to overcome our pre-conceptions of people which would re-enforce our beliefs of people. We were also led to discover that leadership is not just about a head who commands subordinates, it’s about taking a step back sometimes, realising that the best leaders are those who listen to the team, take aboard ideas and are always willing to learn more themselves.

Perhaps most importantly was to do what you say. In life we always say we are going to do something even if we sometimes don't mean it. However, what we say may affect others or our relationships with others. The training told us to not just say yes for the sake of it but to mean what you say. By keeping to your word, people are able to trust your ability to act on it which in turn builds a solid and stable personal or working relationship in whatever environment you are in.

Here are some pictures of the event for your viewing pleasure to see how the day went.

I look forward to the many exciting events we have lined up,

Alex Hinds
NX-10

The Dream Factory

2010-02-17T22:32:00.004Z

Hello, my name is Umair, and I joined the Redbridge Youth Action Team in September 2009. Although the reason for this post isn't about me joining the YAT, it's about the meeting that I had with the great charity called The Dream Factory.

The Dream Factory is a charity dedicated to making dreams of 3-25 year olds with life threatening conditions, or severe disabilities, come true.

So today at 11 o'clock, how ever early that may have been for me, I went and met with Avril Mills, the founder of this charity. She told me that she created this charity after her 9 year old son was diagnosed with Leukemia. Her son was also a huge Eastenders fan so she arranged for him to meet the cast of the popular British soap. This then inspired her to continue making peoples dreams come true, and thats how her charity began.

Now as a YAT member, we enjoy helping the community, and when we heard about the fantastic job this charity does, we knew straight off the bat we wanted to do something for them.

Which leads me nicely back on to our meeting with Avril today. We discussed different ideas on what we wanted to do, but one idea that kept popping up was a sponsored walk in fancy dress/ pyjamas within the Borough of Redbridge. Now, as we are quite young and wacky, we decided this would probably be the best thing for uys to do.

So as a team we've decided to carry out this little event during the Easter holidays, so that as many young people can partake in this walk, and enjoy helping out a charity.

I'll keep you updated as to what the specifics for this event will be, so that if you do see any of us, you'll know we're not a bunch of crazy hooligans walking about in pyjamas/fancy dress just for the fun of it.

We're doing it for the kids...

2010-02-11T12:32:00.002Z

Rebecca A :D

I have been part of the YAT for a few months now and i thoroughly enjoy being part of the team. I have made great new friends, learnt many new and valuable skills and also have been having a lot of fun! Many people think that they shouldn't volunteer because they don't get paid! But i say... why do you need to get or be paid to have fun!

So far we have attended training sessions, helped out charities and are currently planning our own events! We helped out last year at Tree 'O' Clock where we had to plant trees in Hainult Forest to beat the Guinness World Record. We also participated in Festive Favours which was in Romford Market Hall. Here we passed out flyers and gave out time tokens for free to individuals who were interested. We had a great time doing this, meeting lots of new people and spreading the work of volunteering.

I'm sure there's much more to update, in fact i know there is, but i will have to leave that to next time :D

Rebecca c

Tree O'Clock

2010-02-10T12:00:00.002Z

Back in December, our YAT teamed up with a group called "Give Love, Find Love" to take part in the BBC's Breathing Places tree-planting world record attempt with the help of the Woodland Trust at Hainault Forest.

The challenge was to set a new Guinness World Record for the most trees planted in a single location in one hour. After being briefed on how the event was organised, we were given our saplings, and a few minutes with which to get to our team's planting location and to come up with our strategy. We divided the team into two halves: one half would be responsible for placing the baby trees on the ground, for fetching and carrying extra trees and extra shovels and for shouting general encouragement, and the other half made up our group's designated planters. I was a planter, so I spent most of the day bent-over at the waist!

When the clock started, it became a frantic race to dig, plant, stamp-down and repeat. We were competing with teams in St Albans and Northern Ireland, and we were given regular updates over the tannoy system so that we had an idea of how well we were doing compared to them.

The hour went by surprisingly quickly, but it was definitely a relief to hear the final hooter sounding.

As it turned out, we'd smashed the existing record by about 200 trees, planting 20,312. Sadly, though, we came third out of the three locations taking part, with St Albans just beating us with 20,326 and Northern Ireland way out in front with 26,422! (We reckoned they must have had a very different strategy - probably cheating!) Still, it was fun and the real aim of the day was to do our bit to improve the UK's lack of green spaces.

As well as us, there were groups representing the Scouts and Cadets and other organisations, and we all left in the knowledge that we can go back in 20 years' time and visit our own little piece of Hainault Forest.

But before that, we all trudged back home through the mud for some well-deserved rest!

Read about and watch the event on BBC London News

Tree O'Clock at BBC Breathing Places

The Youth Action Team

2010-02-09T16:52:00.011Z

2010-02-08T16:29:00.007Z

Faeezah Hussain
Volunteered for: vinvolved East London Youth Action Team (YAT) 2008- current

I started volunteering as part of the Youth Action Team in October 2008 during my first year of A Level, and quite frankly underestimated the opportunity. If I was to know that in a year’s time, this team who I knew little about (at the time) would be well into planning our third community project, I wouldn’t have believed it.

The masses of new skills I have learnt during my time with the YAT were portrayed in the execution of our first event, ‘Million’. We made known to our community just a fraction of the opportunities that our boroughs and their organisations have to offer. From the representation of CLAPA to the Jujitsu Club, pretty much every department was covered. The feedback we received showed that people were really impressed by the fact that the event was carried out by the young people of the community and gave every other young person the impression that ‘If they can do it, we can too’. Watch the video

My experience has also equipped me with the skills and qualities to deal with people and situations I never thought I could. The confidence I gained, for example, has encouraged me to teach English to children in deprived parts of East London. The creative, organisational and communication skills, along with professionalism and appreciation of different cultural values, have prepared me to survive working life and handling a degree in Law. And to add to all of that, I’ve been given the opportunity to work a professional, as well as a volunteer at the Changemakers office in London!

"Million", and Why it Was Awesome

2010-02-08T12:00:00.005Z

Hello, there! I'm George, and I joined the Redbridge Youth Action Team in September 2009 after being blown away while helping out at a couple of events earlier on that year. The first of those was called “Million”.

Held at Ilford Town Hall, Million was a free entertainment and awareness-raising event that aimed to be, and succeeded in being, universal in its truest sense; organised completely by the Redbridge Youth Action Team and executed with the assistance of about 60 extra young volunteers (I was one of them). Ilford's multiculturalism was well-represented, as were people of all ages – there were parents with young children, groups of teenagers, adults and senior citizens all curious to see what was going on inside, where we had an amazing variety of local talent on display throughout the afternoon as well as various stalls promoting Redbridge's volunteering and public information groups and some local businesses.

But it wasn't just inside. The event started out in the town centre, with music, dhol players and street dancers to warm up the crowd and get people asking what was going on. Some of my fellow volunteers acted as promoters, pulling people away from their shopping to spend some time with us. I spent most of the day outside, manning the PA system, so I got to witness first-hand the brilliant crowd-gathering, crowd-stirring and crowd-pleasing acts out on the High Road, even if I did get a couple of dance tracks in the wrong order!

At the day's peak, the Town Hall was a bustling entertainment venue. Everyone there was genuinely impressed with what we and the team had pulled off, and it was humbling to see such high-quality performers giving up their time for free. The volunteers on the doors, with their clickers, reported just over 1000 visitors by the end of the day; a real achievement!

After seeing what the Youth Action Team was capable of on that day, I signed up there and then. Now, we're in the early stages of organising a similar (but hopefully even bigger and better) event to take place later this year. Continuing the big-number theme, we're thinking of calling it “Billion” or “Million Squared”, or something along those lines! I'd love for this to become an annual event in Ilford, and I'd be proud to say that I was there at the beginning. It showed that a group of committed people willing to give up some of their free time can achieve something successful and brilliant, and it was truly inspiring.

Event Gallery:

Particip8 2 Activ8 Event

2009-11-23T22:24:00.001Z

Welcome to the Youth Action Team Blog!

2009-11-23T22:03:00.005Z

The YAT blog, we feel, is a perfect way to communicate with the wider public as that is one of our main principles. Hopefully we'll be able to keep you informed and entertained with our plans and ideas!

Our mission statement:

Youth Action North East London is a youth-led voluntary group, that aims to facilitate intergenerational dialogue by creating conversation with a goal to inspire change. We aspire to contribute to ‘vinspired's’ vision to engage and mobilise a million volunteers through innovative, contemporary and exciting projects. By utilising local expertise and resources our target is to gel the local community and we see businesses as an integral part of a community. Through using all aspects of what makes a community, we are who you are.

We host events throughout the year, raising awareness of volunteering to young people, and hopefully getting you involved, even after the party has finished!

The North East Youth Action Team is supported by vinvolved East London, a National Youth Volunteering intiative which works in partnership with Changemakers and BTCV.