North Yorkshire Youth (NYY) deliver on an exciting project in Redcar and Scarborough called ‘Achieve.’ The project offers one-to-one mentoring sessions for eligible students to support them with daily challenges they might be facing both personally and at school. As part of the Achieve project, young people also have the opportunity to take part in extra-curricular activities, trips, visits and residentials to many fun and exciting places.
I have seen first-hand how being a part of the Achieve project, can change a young person’s life in so many ways, including making new friends with people they may never have imagined they would.
A key example of this that stands out to me, is from a residential trip where two of the young people on my caseload connected and sparked up a new friendship. As they got to know each other, they realised they had a lot in common and really started to build up a lovely relationship. Since the trip, they have called each other every night and have spent lots of time together, having sleep overs at each other’s houses and now consider themselves as best friends.
In mentoring sessions, they have both have mentioned to me how grateful they are for the trip as they would never have become so close. They had known of each other in school, but they were in diverse set groups, so they never had the opportunity to speak and get to know each other.
Many other young people who went on the residential have also said how the trip has benefited them in many ways, for example socially and emotionally. One student has even written a letter to the project to ask for another residential as they found it so beneficial!
I am as grateful for these opportunities for young people as they are. It feels incredibly special and rewarding to know that our work on Achieve makes such a valuable impact on young people’s lives. I took on this role, as it is a passion of mine to support local young people who were just like me growing up, so when the opportunity arose to work in my old secondary school and area, I knew I needed to go for it! To this day I refer to this role as my dream role and this is the reason why.
Becky Magowan
Achieve Youth Mentor, Redcar & Cleveland