Blog
Photo Credit: Scott Akoz Photography
Library Mentoring Sessions
When studying for her GCSE’s Chloe and her friends went to the Library for hourly mentoring sessions after school because they felt they were struggling with their school work and falling behind. They knew that they wouldn’t be motivated to do any work at home so coming to the Library meant they had a quiet place to work with access to computers and printers.
The sessions were run by Youth Worker Edwina Anderson and funded by FutureHY. Chloe says the best thing about it was how everyone in the group (between 5- 10 most nights) would help each other with their school work and Edwina had the time to sit down with everyone to give 121 help and advice. Another highlight was the opportunity to design posters including an energy drink campaign with Richmondshire District Council and Trading Standards.
Colburn Youth Project
Chloe has also taken part in FutureHY funded projects with Colburn Youth Project run by Edwina and Rachel Hall. Youth Project gave Chloe and her friends the opportunity to have fun and experience new things and places. These included a trip to Lightwater Valley and a Christmas fayre run by the young people for the community. Another thing Edwina would do is bring I people to do mini courses like hair and beauty ad DJ’ing. The people doing the courses would talk about their experiences to the young people, including why they went to university and how they chose their career. Chloe thinks that these talks had more impact than they would have done in a School environment because there was more opportunity for everyone to ask the questions and hearing from these people helped her decide what she wanted to do in the future.
Lost in Translation Project
In December 2019 Chloe came into the spotlight when she starred in a film alongside other young people from Colburn in the “Lost in Translation” project funded by FutureHY and co-produced by Inspired Youth.
Chloe agreed to narrate the film, working with the Director, Kev Curran, to record the voice over from a script developed from youth voice captured in workshops at the youth club. Whilst the experience was definitely scary at first, it ended up being a really fun recording session. After the narration was the filming. Chloe remembers that everyone was a bit awkward and camera shy at first but Kev and Scott Akoz helped them all come out of their shell. Overall, she loved the project, and says it’s something she doesn’t think she would have had the confidence to do if it wasn’t for the projects she had taken part in at the Youth Club. Chloe loves the final film and still can’t believe how many people turned up to the launch (over 65 people from the community came to watch it) at Empire Cinemas. It has since had over 3000 views on YouTube. Not only was it an enjoyable experience, Chloe also feels like the video has helped her feel more heard as a young person in Colburn.
Chloe loves College where she is currently studying a Level 3 Diploma in Art and Design, a course which she was accepted on because the tutor recognised her passion and talent for the subject. When she finishes college, she has decided that she wants to go to University to study either Photography or Illustration and she is already researching what she needs to do to get into a university she wants to go to, and career that she will love. But if you asked Chloe this time last year what her future looked like, she would probably have said “studying Hair and Beauty at College then straight into a job”.
Her mind was changed when Edwina started asking questions about the future to all the young people who come to see her at the library. Chloe had the chance to talk about her worries and could discuss her future without lots of people around. Talking to Edwina helped her realise that hair and beauty wasn’t going to get her to where she really wanted to be.
The mentoring sessions have also given Chloe and her peers a better understanding of what Higher Education involves. One of the main things they talked about in the library was about the financial implications of studying; Chloe says that Edwina was able to explain how University was affordable and what the debt really meant and looked like. Before that, not one had explained it properly.
Chloe thinks it is definitely worth it! For small areas like Colburn, not many young people can afford to do things like go on weekend residentials or go to Light Water Valley. It just gives you an opportunity to get out and do new things.