GiveGetGo! Project
This project has now come to an end
Greater Manchester Youth Network are now delivering the GiveGetGo! Project. This exciting project aims to support groups of young people through a 3 session programme focusing on volunteering. Emotional wellbeing is a key theme throughout the project aiming to draw out the ways in which volunteering can encourage and enhance young people’s wellbeing.
This programme is open to existing groups of young people who are aged 16-25 and live in Manchester. We are also looking to recruit individual young people to form groups to participate in this project.
The 3 sessions are as follows -
- A ‘Get Involved’ session, introducing the idea of volunteering and promoting the benefits for their personal development and emotional well-being. (We can also incorporate a small scale immediately accessible volunteering activity into the session.)
- ‘Give It a Go’ Group Volunteering Activity. The young people will be able to choose a group volunteering activity from a range of options. Previous activities have included conservation work at the Agricultural Rural Centre in Romiley; a photo booth and the Age Concern Tea Dance in Wythenshawe, letter writing in support of prisoners of conscience through the Amnesty International campaign, building bird boxes and bird feeders for local parks and decorating cubes with messages about maternal mortality for Oxfam’s Pramble Campaign.
- A ‘Go Forward’ session where the young people: Reflect on their volunteering to identify how they have benefited/what they have learnt and the impact on their emotional wellbeing. Look at how they can move on to further volunteering and other progression routes such as accredited volunteering, training and employment.
If you are a worker who would like for us to deliver a GiveGetGo! programme with young people at your project or a young person who would like to get involved then do get in touch!
You can contact Myrtle in the following ways- Email: myrtle.finley@gmyn.co.uk
Call: 0161 2743299 Call/text: 07790 654 952
——————————————————————————————————————————————————–
This project is based on the 5 ways to wellbeing as part of the GiveGetGo! Campaign which is now in its second phase.
Five Ways to Improve Wellbeing
(Information sourced from the http://www.givegetgo.org.uk/ website)
The recent Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project has drawn on state-of-the-art research about how to improve mental wellbeing. Working with the New Economics Foundation’s Centre for Wellbeing, it recommends five simple actions that, if practised regularly, can improve our mental wellbeing.
1. Connect
With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community.
Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.
2. Be active
Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance.
Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy; one that suits your level of mobility and fitness.
3. Take notice
Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are on a train, eating lunch or talking to friends.
Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.
4. Keep learning
Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food.
Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident, as well as being fun to do.
5. Give
Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in.
Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and will create connections with the people around you.
