YFM newsletter – July 2016 - Youth and Families Matter

July update
At the heart of this community
Welcome to our latest update
What a busy but fun time we’ve
had over the last month or so –
with the fun day and the
carnival! I have to say a massive
thank you to the YFM team and
especially Carolyn for all the
organising that went in to make
these events successful!
I would say we are looking
forward to a quieter couple of
months, but I’m not sure that’s
the case – what with
playscheme, activity days and
family trips!
As we head into the summer
holidays don’t forget to treat
yourself to one of our ice-cream
sundaes at The Chapel
(hopefully the sun will come out
soon).
Thank you for your ongoing
support.
God bless
Kelly
What a busy June! We were delighted to be at the Totton Family Fun
Day again this year. This is a great way for the team to meet children,
young people and their families in a relaxed and informal way. As well as
hosting the jousting The Chapel’s free books and cake samples were a hit.
And we didn’t stop there! We joined the Totton & Eling carnival for the
first time on the 18th June and what a great day we had. Covered in colour
powder 30 of us took to our decorated float and joined in the party
procession. It’s great to be a part of this community.
“Playscheme is a real lifeline”
It’s the time of year where things all change for YFM as we put in
place our holiday activities. With 5 days of playscheme, 4 activity days
and 3 family trips there’s plenty going on. This programme of holiday
activities is a really important part of what we do as we aim to
continue to support the children, young people and families when
some of our regular groups, courses and one-to-one mentoring takes
a short break.
Playscheme is a real lifeline, it provides an oasis in a long summer
holiday. Having two children to cater for it gives me an affordable
solution. In addition, it is one of the few provisions that welcomes
and deals with my son who has learning issues. Both my kids love
Playscheme so much that we have to plan our summer around it.
The Chapel team
DEBBIE LAILEY
NICKY SEXTON
LAURA MURRAY
Over the last few months there have been a few changes to the team at The Chapel. Still headed up by Laura
Murray we also welcome Nicky Sexton (who takes over from Kim Draper) and from the end of this month we say
goodbye to Kathy Harrison. We say a big thank you to Kim and Kathy for all their hard work. Debbie Lailey will be
taking on Kathy’s hours. In addition to the amazing volunteers that help make The Chapel happen, we also have
Sarah Hill and Janice Waterman on standby to help cover any staff holidays or absences. We are also fortunate to
have an apprentice for whom we have funding for. Reannon works 30 hours a week - make sure you pop in and
say hello.
Supporting young people as they take their next steps
As well as our young apprentice Reannon who is
working at The Chapel, we are also pleased to be part
of the Southampton University student placement
scheme. Over the next few weeks we have Arran from
the university who will be producing a short film about
YFM.
And if you head to The Chapel this summer, our
apprentice Reannon will be joined by some of our young
people as we encourage those that we work with to get
involved with volunteering. We are passionate about
supporting our young people, providing them with new
opportunities to help them to grow in confidence, learn
new skills and get them prepared for their next steps.
Like us on Facebook: @Youth and Families Matter
Youth and Families Matter, Testwood Baptist Church, 283a Salisbury Road, Totton, Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 3LZ
Tel: 023 8086 0320. Email: info@youthandfamiliesmatter.org.uk. www.youthandfamiliesmatter.org.uk