This year at Baytree we had a very successful summer activity program for girls from 6 years to 21 years old. We are so pleased to say that we had over 85 young girls participate across two weeks of sports, arts and crafts, and cultural experiences which were both educational and positive. In addition to this, we had a wonderful group of young volunteers age 14-21 helping manage and support the activities across the program.
We approached this summer with two aims, firstly to provide girls with engaging activities over the summer holiday that broaden their horizons and in addition to this, offer a rewarding volunteering experience that could help towards their further education & careers. We are so happy to share with you some of the amazing things that the girls got up to and celebrate another amazing summer at Baytree…
A huge success for us this year was our engagement with girls age 14-21 years. Some of our older beneficiaries helped plan, coordinate and deliver a Fun Day with our partner organisations including face painting, a ping pong tournament, catering, karaoke and music and entertainment. They did so by working in a steering group to understand the logistics and preparation needed to plan an event, whilst measuring this against what the young people in the local area would like to make it successful.
Furthermore, we were so happy to have 11 young people sign up to help volunteer their time across the summer activity program, acting as group leaders each day to supervise children and help them have an enriched, educational and safe day. Through training and experience this introduced them to what volunteering is and the skills in which they need to deliver and work with children, as well as improving their skills such as communication and leadership, time management, punctuality, problem solving and teamwork.
A two day employability workshop was held alongside our summer program. This aided and contributed towards 25 girls achieving AQA accredited award schemes including the Level 2 Community Leadership Skills Certification, the Level 3 Community Leadership Skills and Facilitation and a Level 2 Food and Hygiene Certificate accredited by City and Guilds. Result!!
As for our younger girls, this year we directed a focus on physical activities to promote healthy living and the joy of movement. The young people all requested that we have a sports day and this was a really successful day trip with a series of group and individual tournaments celebrating many areas of achievement from teamwork, to encouraging peers and outstanding effort. Elizabeth aged 7 said that “sports day was my favourite as I didn’t know I was good at being a goalie and I loved saving my team.We also incorporated many outdoor activities such as going to Slade Adventure Playground and having a mother and daughter bring and share picnic in Myatts’ field park with games of rounders. For this activity, mothers and daughters were encouraged to cook and bring something to share inspired by healthy eating and summer. This not only promoted a healthy living activity within the child’s life but extended it into the family home.
Throughout the program we aimed to encourage and inspire the beneficiaries by introducing them to great role models, both by having young volunteers as relatable peers, and by having strong confident women lead their activities. One example is when we hosted a Film and documentary making workshop for 10 girls age 13+, this was led by Ethosheia Hylton a Brixton based Actress, Writer & Director. This workshop gave girls a window into the film making and media industry giving them the chance to script write, act and create their own short films shot on mobiles, a current and growing way to make self-produced content. This gave the girls a great role model, a creative outlet and acted as inspiration for them to continue exploring the film making field in their futures.
We also delivered a gardening workshop in partnership with Urban Growth, teaching 25 girls about the environment and how to utilise and look after green spaces within cities and urban areas. The session used sun photography and art to teach about the importance of looking after trees and vegetation and inspired the girls to take part in a following 6 week program we will be delivering later in the year.
We’re extremely pleased with the result of our summer activities this year and happy that we achieved many educational benefits for young people by providing engaging workshops to combat isolation and broadened horizons for many girls. A huge thank-you to our donors from our Big Give campaign, without you this couldn’t have happened and your generosity contributed to many young people developing valuable, transferable skills such as effective communication and leadership for their future careers. And finally, we are so please that the program encouraged the girls to challenge themselves and will no doubt have a lasting impact on their self-belief going forward!
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