Another memorable Hope For The Young party!

It was wonderful to see the amount of people that are supported by the Hope for the Young and I felt very fortunate to be one of them. Grantee

After a long and challenging year, it was a particularly special moment when we were all able to come together again for our annual summer party in September.  Here's a little insight into what happened on the day...

We kicked the day off with some fun ice-breakers and team-building games but the room took a more competitive turn when one game in particular was introduced: the egg-drop challenge. Game faces were suddenly donned and a spirited sense of competition rippled across the room. There were some seriously impressive constructions but the contest all came down to one nail-biting drop in which we would see if the egg was still in one piece…all miraculously made it through! This first part of the day was the perfect opportunity to get to know each other, have a laugh, and build our appetites for the HUGE lunch that was to follow as we all sat down and shared a glorious spread of  food and drinks.

After lunch, we settled down for another activity where we asked the young people to write on a post-it what they have done in the past year to make them proud, their ambitions for the year ahead, and what they’re looking forward to.  This really brought to light all of their incredible achievements – from passing exams, getting into university,  starting a new sport, and improving their English! It has been an incredibly challenging year, but they have shown great determination and resilience in pushing forward and achieving their goals.

The nature of our work here at Hope For The Young is very tailored in a one-to-one setting, where the young people who access our services often only communicate with staff and their mentors. What was so poignant about the day was that we were all able to come together, and both mentors and young people got to know each other, learn about each other’s experiences, and ultimately realise that they are not alone, but are part of a much wider organisation. This was echoed by one of the young people on our Grants and Advocacy programme:

My experience of coming to Hope For The Young's party in September has enabled me to meet in person most of the staff, especially Pamela who has been very helpful for me regarding my studies and ambitions since last year. I also met most young people in the same situation as me. This gives me confidence and resilience as now l know that l am not alone to face difficulties and barriers to get into education as an asylum seeker or refugee. Grantee

The day was beautifully brought to an end by a brilliant speech from a young person who has been involved in both our Mentoring and Grants & Advocacy Programme. Having recently been accepted into University,  he shared the valuable lessons he has learnt since arriving into the UK, and how he got to where he is today.

It was an honour for me to give a speech at the party. It filled me with hope for a bright future seeing the many young people Hope For The Young has offered help. Grantee & Mentee

We would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who attended our Summer Party and made the day so special. We were so happy to finally be able to come together in person and celebrate the efforts and achievements of everyone at Hope For The Young and we’re already excited for the next one!