Hope for the Young’s Annual Party 2022
This year, we held our Annual Party in December. Seventy members of the Hope for the Young community came together to celebrate all of the incredible things the young people we support have achieved over the past year. Here’s what we got up to…
The party was held at the beautiful St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. The Centre is dedicated to promoting understanding and connection between local people and displaced people, making it a fitting choice for our party location.
We started the day off with a game of Human Bingo, which helped to break the ice as young people and volunteers teamed up in pairs and moved around the room, finding out new facts about each other.
Next up was a game in which teams attempted to build the tallest tower they could in 10 minutes, using only 1 metre of tape and some paper straws. The attendees’ competitive streaks soon came out as the teams raced to build a tower taller than anyone else’s. We saw a few unfortunate tower collapses and some questionable tactics employed, but in the end a winner was called and lots of fun was had!
After the towers had been carefully placed aside, we settled down for another activity. For this activity, young people and volunteers wrote down what they were most proud of over the past year, one goal for the year ahead, and what they were looking forward to in the coming year. A few young people then took to the mic to speak about their goals and achievements.
From starting college, to becoming more confident, to graduating from university, the Hope for the Young mentees and grantees have achieved an incredible amount over the past year!
It was deeply moving and inspiring to see just how far each young person had come, to learn of the plans and dreams everyone had, and to hear about all the wonderful things they were excited about doing, seeing, and achieving next year.
We then stopped for some lunch, and enjoyed a delicious spread of Syrian-Palestinian food prepared especially for us by the wonderful Chef Momo. Chef Momo is one of the chefs at Migrateful, a charity which supports refugees and vulnerable migrants to run their own cookery classes.
Bellies full, we all took our seats and it was time for the speeches!
Two young people spoke beautifully about their experiences as Hope for the Young mentees and their journeys to get where they are today. They also shared some words of advice for the other young people in the room. The most important thing, they both impressed upon us, is to believe in yourself, never lose sight of who you are or who you want to become, and never give up on chasing your goals.
Finally, it was time for the Awards Ceremony, which saw the Hope for the Young mentees and grantees receive a certificate, a round of applause, and (perhaps most importantly) a box of chocolates in recognition of their participation in our programmes this year.
The day then ended with Stephanie, a Hope for the Young mentee and a very talented dancer, teaching us a few Salsa moves.
It was very great to meet with all of the Hope For The Young members, they are so lovely... I am proud to be a part of Hope for the Young. Grantee
After a very busy year, it was wonderful to come together to celebrate all of the hard work and achievements of everyone in the Hope for the Young community. It was also a great opportunity for young people to meet other young people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds, make new friends and catch up with old ones.
I saw all my friends at the party, some of them I haven't seen for more than 3 years! Mentee
We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who came along to our Annual Party. It was a truly special day, which reminded us once again just how awesome our community really is.
Congratulations to all of the young people and mentors for everything you have achieved this year. We can’t wait to see you at our next event!
Huge thanks go to Hope for the Young grantee Salar, who took all of the photographs on the day, and to the young people who kindly volunteered to speak at our Annual Party.
Matt Blacker