5 minutes to make a difference... 04/19/2012
10,080 is the number of how many minutes there are in a week. Sounds a lot right? It is. Find out how you can take just 5 minutes to make a difference... Child Neglect is a serious issue with studies showing that it affects roughly around 10% of children in the UK. I had not known this fact before I researched into Action for Children. However, not many young people (I assume) are aware of the extent of child neglect in our society. This is why campaigning is incredibly important. No changes can be made, if no one knows there is a change that needs to be made, right? It is only when we are aware of an issue that we can pressure the government to make some changes. Action for Children are calling for people to take their action for children by writing to their MPs to tackle child neglect. Please spare 5 minutes of your time to email your MP to help combat child negelct today. And if you have already done so, why not tell a friend or two to spare 5 minutes of their time to email their MPs. Together we can make a difference! :) Add Comment When I was invited to visit Action for Children's Bayswater Families Centre, I jumped at the opportunity. It was important for me to have a first-hand experience of the lives Action for Children are impacting. What was also equally important was to find out more about the work of the staffs at the centre. Action for Children runs up to 480 projects across the UK to help children, young people and their families get the best start in life, irrespective of their background. Family centres and family support services are just one of many services the charity provides. Bayswater Families Centre offers a range of services to homeless families living in B&B hotels, hostels, or temporary accommodations, street homeless and on the verge of being evicted. They also help families with low income and assist asylum seekers and refugees from war zones all over the world. When I met the project manager and her small team, I found it difficult to get my head around the fact, that the centre provided a great number of services and assistance to a diverse group of people, (whose circumstances are often uniquely different may I add) on a daily basis! "How do they do it?" I remember thinking, also taking into account the emotional attachment they must feel when working with the families. Working behind a computer screen in the office, It was not that I was oblivious to the grass-root aspect of Action for Children's work, but it was more like, I had never really sat down to think about how the campaigning work I engaged with behind my computer screen, translated into practical action that affects the lives of real children, young people and families. "As long as it takes," the project manager said. "It is all about being there as long as it takes." And she was right. Action for Children really does do what it says on the tin. From the staffs that work in the office and projects, to the millions of supporters who take action, everyone is behind the same cause. We want to see a world where all children and young people have a sense of belonging and are loved and valued. A world where they can break through injustice, deprivation and inequality to fulfil their potential, shape their own destiny and experience the joy of life. And what better time to start building this world then now. 
Photos I took at Action for Children's Baywater Family Centre
Bayswater Family Centre has won numerous awards for their tremendous hard work.
Bayswater Family Centre provides lots of essential baby items for clients who need them.
Lonely, Outsider, Outcast, Upset, Ignored, Neglect, Captive, Lonely, Smelly, Misery, Starvation. These are some of the words Action for Children's young campaigners used to describe child neglect. To place such words with a child, is an oxymoron in itself, however, the reality is, child neglect in the UK exists... This week, Action for Children, officially launched its annual review, Child Neglect in 2011. The review showed that childhood neglect remains a major feature of life in the UK, with studies suggesting that up to 10% of children experience neglect at some point in their lives. Child neglect plays a major hindrance from allowing children to achieve their full potential- it damages children's self-esteem and ruins families. Child neglect robs children from a childhood they deserve and leaves children with bad, horrible memories. Child neglect is dangerous and needs to be stopped. As part of Action for Children's annual review, Child Neglect in 2011, we are calling for the UK Government to do more to support professionals to better understand and tackle neglect, and make sure that families who need it get help – as early as possible. And you can help us achieve this. Please, take your action for children and email your MP today and share the campaign with your friends and families. Thank you for taking your action for neglected children. We really appreciate it!  We all love Fridays! The last weekday before we relish two sweet days of lounging around, watching X Factor and doing nothing work related (unless you have homework! lol) However, at Action for Children's Young Methodist Voices Network, Friday is special for another reason...because its Friendly Friday! So just as how Orange (the mobile network) has Orange Wednesdays, where they offer 2 for the price of 1 cinema tickets; Action for Children's Young Methodist Voices Network has 'Friendly Fridays!' But we don't promote any cinema tickets deals! lol However, what we do promote is that every member of the network performs a friendly act (or acts) for the day! So whether it is inviting a friend to join Action for Children's Young Voices Methodist Network or signing Action for Children's neglect petition*, every friendly gesture is welcomed! We love to hear what friendly things you do on Fridays, so feel free to post it on our Facebook wall :) So what left is there to say than have a Happy Friendly Friday! :) :) :) *Action for Children’s neglect campaign calls on the Government to do more to help combat child neglect. We’re running a petition (a request about an important issue signed by lots of people) to ask politicians to spend more money on helping families as soon as possible – before their problems get out of control. So far, the petition has over 15,000 signatures, and we need you to help us get even more! To take your first action for children, sign our online neglect petition here To join Action for Children's Young Methodist Voices Network click here "That my voice will be drowned out and not be heard" "I will not have a job when I'm older" "War will never end" "Global warming" These are just some of the things that young Methodists wrote when Action for Children asked them about their fears for the future at 3 Generate 2011. With the news being sad and depressing most of the time, and unemployment on a record high, there is no wonder why the young Methodists are apprehensive about their future. What's more, it does not help when the majority of the young Methodists do not feel as though "politicians listen to young people" or "the media fairly portrays them." However, when asked whether "young people can make a difference to the world" all of them said yes! Therefore, young people do care about society and the world and want to be able to make a positive change! So how can young people make a difference in today's society? Jesus taught us about the importance of unity. Even in going about his mission on earth, Jesus did not just walk alone. He united himself with his disciples, the poor and other marginalised groups in society. Therefore, if young people want to make a difference, even in the slightest, they need to unite. Have you heard the saying "alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much"? Women would not have got the vote, without the unity of the suffragettes. Martin Luther King would not have been able to make his legendary 'I have a dream' speech without the unity of his supporters. Therefore, a young person needs the encouragement, support and all the help he or she can get from people, and young people in particular. So how do we go about doing this? Here are some existing ways in which young people can unite to make a difference... Battlefront Battlefront is an award winning Channel 4 online TV project that allows young people to become campaigners to try and change the world. Young people can join a campaign and take active actions to a make a difference. What's more, young people can even start a campaign of their own! Find out more about Battlefront here! Action for Children's young Methodist voices network Recently launched, the network allows young Methodists to campaign for vulnerable and neglected children and young people in the UK. With Christmas around the corner, the network has exciting ways in which young Methodist can get involved in to take their action for children! Join the network here! Envision Envision is a fantastic charity that provides young people in schools and colleges with the opportunity to make a difference. With hands on support and a wealth of experience, Envision is a great way for young people to engage in practical projects to bring about change to communities and wider society. To get your school or college involved, click here. The above are only a sample of the many ways that young people can make a difference. Although they may be different in their aims, they are all tied by the unity of young people wanting to bring about a change... What are your views on young people? Can they make a difference? Methodist Youth Assembly 2011 11/16/2011
This year's Methodist Youth Assembly took place from the 4th - 6th November at the Pioneer Centre in Kidderminster. And one word to describe it...EPIC!!! There was nothing more inspirational than seeing young Methodist from the ages of 9 to 23 come together to discuss and learn about important real-life issues, as well as express their faith in God through praise and worship. The weekend was packed with fun and exciting activities suited for all age groups- from heart-felt worships and stimulating workshops to an amazing performance from award-winning MOBO gospel rapper Guvana B! The campfire on Saturday evening brought the weekend to a perfect close, as we hugged around the fire singing familiar songs and sharing stories. 
More exciting highlights was Action for Children's involvement in the Youth Assembly. Action for Children led a workshop for 9-13 year olds where they asked the children about their hopes and fears for the future. The aim of the workshop was to empower the children so that gained a strong self-esteem to fulfill their full potential . Moreover, Action for Children also had a stand where the young people could pop over to find out more about the work they do. In my previous blog, I mentioned that I was setting up a network for young Methodists to get involved in Action for Children's campaigns. The Youth Assembly provided me with a great opportunity to talk face-to-face with young Methodists about the network as well as sign them up! 
Once the young Methodists signed their sign-up leaflets to join the network, they slipped it into the above red letter box that was at our stand. They were then automatically put into a raffle draw to win £15 NEXT vouchers!
We also ran a X Box's Guitar Hero competition (which I was completely useless at, I must admit). However, the young people were incredibly good, making the competition as tight as ever, and it was all good fun! 
Girl (right) having a go on Guitar Hero and girl (centre) sharing her fundraising ideas.
More photos of Action for Children's stand can be found here on the network's Facebook group, which you are more than welcome to join! :) All in all, Methodist Youth Assembly 2011 was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! A brilliant, short video that sums up the weekend can be found here. For those that went to Methodist Youth Assembly 2011, what was your greatest highlight? What was your most controversial workshop you attended? What do you what to see embedded into the Youth Assembly next year? Calling all Young Methodists!!! 10/17/2011
So last weekend I was up in Leeds for the second One Participant Programme Training. It was great catching up with the other participants on the Programme again and how they were getting on with their project! What's more, the weekend gave me a fantastic opportunity to promote the work that I have being doing with my host project Action for Children. At the moment, I am currently in the process of setting up a network for young Methodists (ages 9-23) to get involved with Action for Children's campaigns. As Young Methodists Activists (as they will be called) they will have the chance to get involved in all sorts of exciting things such as using social media to raise awareness about Action for Children's campaigns to lobbying parliament and attending events. In return, members on the network will have a say on how Action for Children's campaigns look and feeland be supported in any fundraising or sponsorship activities they undertake. Since Action for Children has been in partnership with the Methodist Church for 142 years, the network is a great way to modernize the objective of trying to get more young Methodists involved in their work. I am very excited about the launch of the network as I have big, big plans for it! You will be hearing more about the network for young Methodists and how the setting up of that goes.( By then, I should have a proper name for the network as well! lol) Keep a look out for it! :)  The charity sector is a competitive field for recent graduates to secure permanent jobs in. Many charities have work available for recent graduates and students alike, however, most are voluntary with some providing reasonable expenses. For some, the thought of undergoing an unpaid internship in a charity may seem pointless and unpractical, particularly when the possibility of securing permanent employment afterwards is not guaranteed. Despite this, I honestly and sincerely believe that internships and work experience (whether paid or not) are valuable requirements needed in order to stand a good chance in entering the charity sector. Yet, how one goes about securing internships is a factor that is often not thought thoroughly. So for a second I want you to consider looking at internships strategically, and how this may help you pursue a career in the charity sector... 1) Find your passion! Obvious, I know. But when answering questions like " what career do you want to go into?" many of us find ourselves saying things like the "working for a charity or NGO or going into international development." Yet, sometimes we seem to forget to specify the concerns and issues within the third sector that we are most passionate about. Therefore, whether that is love for children or love for animals, gathering experience within your career interest would show your employer that you have a true commitment to the charity's goals. 2) Whittle down potential job positions. Believe it or not, there are a wide spectrum of job positions within the third sector. Websites such as Charity Jobs and idealist.org are a testament to this. If you have not already done so, start looking at potential jobs that you would like to apply for in the future. Look at the essential and desirable requirements that it asks for and use that as a guideline to search for internships to gain experience in. E.g.The experience that I will accumulate from getting young Methodists involved in Action for Children's campaigns would be useful for a position that involves enthusing with young people. 3) Network, Network, Network! The saying 'it's not what you, but who you know' could not be any more relevant today. Since a degree in the third sector does not exist, the best way to gain knowledge about the workings of a charity is to talk to people who work in the charity. In fact, having a mentor in a job position that you are interested in can be very worthwhile, especially in terms of gaining an insider perspective of what the job entails. The social network LinkedIn is an effective way to meet and network with professionals in a range of sectors. So there you have it! A strategic route to pursue a career in the charity sector. Would be happy to find out your views on them? Has anyone landed a job through networking before?  So my summer internship at Elevation Networks (EN) has come to an end. Who knew that 3 months could fly by so quickly! All in all, it was an amazing and immensely productive learning experience! To put things in perspective, prior to starting my part-time placements with Action for Children and Liberal Democrats I was doing a part-time summer internship at EN from the beginning of July. How I managed to fit it all in, is still a wonder to me! Anyways, for those who have not heard of Elevation Networks, EN is a student-led organisation that aims to bridge the gap between under-represented groups and work industries. One thing I really valued about the internship was the opportunity to try something I never done before. Being a person who is a hard-core charity champion, I always tend to distance myself from any association with ‘sales.’ However, as an Accounts Executive- in other words, the person who is in charge of generating income- I could no longer run away from the sector I tried so best to avoid. Nevertheless, the internship finally put an end this running. By the end of my placement, I can proudly say that I can now write business proposals and do a bit of cold calling (an area, which I must admit, was a BIG no-go area before). This is an achievement I am particularly proud of. After reflecting on my previous work and voluntary experience, it was clear to me that I was only polishing what I was either good at or nearly good at. My sales experience at EN, gave me the opportunity to at least try to be good at something new and most importantly outside my comfort zone. Another aspect of the internship which I found very useful were the trainings myself (and the others interns) were introduced to by EN at the City Business Library. From public speaking skills and social media techniques to public relation strategies and branding solutions, the training seminars at CBL have it al. I have learnt soo much from the seminars that I have attended, and transferring what I have learnt has been very practical and useful in my work. Overall, I am really going to miss working at Elevation Networks. I grew very close to the interns and the staffs that they became almost like a second family to me. Everyone genuinely cared about each other’s future plans and aspirations and there was always a positive atmosphere in the office. I am greatly thankful to all the staffs at EN who helped and nurtured me during my placement and helped me discover a lot of qualities about myself. Although the placement with EN has officially ended, I can always rely on my experience to draw from in the future. :) For those of you have done summer internships what were your highlights? Did the placement meet your expectations? Also, what are you greatest ' work fears?' I know everyone has one!  Nick Clegg was was taller than what I had expected! lol In conjunction with my placement with Action for Children, I am also doing an internship with the Liberal Democrats’ Diversity Unit till the end of December. Last week, I was fortunate to go to my first ever Liberal Democrats Conference (and party Conference in general). And to sum up my experience it was literally A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Now how to encapsulate my experience in words is always a difficulty that I find when reciting an excessively good experience! So to save me from waffling on and on, I am going to bullet point my highlights instead:
Has anyone ever witnessed something surreal and unexpected like this before? I would be glad to hear from those that can top this? | AboutHi, my name is Lizzie and I'm a recent graduate. This blog will follow what I get up to during the year post-graduation! ArchivesApril 2012 Categories |
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