What happened in the summer?
We [Brotherhood] hosted the first of our community hub sessions which included a cooking session in collaboration with Smoking Bagels. The young people learnt about food and hygiene as well as having the opportunity to cook their own jerk chicken bagel. This was a great experience for everyone to learn life skills – and for some, realising how simple it is to cook a tasty meal for themselves. Sessions like this are really important as they give young people confidence in their abilities and show them how they can be more independent. We also know that cooking and eating food together is fantastic for creating social bonds.
Another session was a music workshop in collaboration with one of our other Powered by CAN programmes, M.A.D.E. During this session, the young people learnt how to create an instrumental backing beat and discovered what instruments can be used to create the ideal beat for a song. Working together in this way, and discovering new talents and passions, is empowering for the young people. We’re proud that we’re able to deliver a diverse programme of activities to achieve this.
In August we teamed up with CAN Youth Sports for an active teamwork session in Brunswick Park, Wednesbury. There were a variety of sports to take part in including football, basketball, and American football.
We also hosted thought provoking sessions exploring identity, which included different creative activities, such as drawing and painting.
And of course we couldn’t go the whole summer without an all-important trip to Nandos for the young people!
What were your main goals?
Our main goal was to offer inspirational experiences for the young people. We wanted to give them opportunities to build their confidence, overcome challenges, take control and be committed to the tasks they were engaged with.
What have you got planned for next summer?
We’d love to introduce residentials. It’s something we’ve not done before and we think that our members will benefit from activities that take them away from environments that they’re used to.
There are plans underway to introduce another youth club in a different area of Sandwell. We’re currently looking at Smethwick as the ideal place for this to happen.
Finally, we’re setting out plans to create a short film showcasing our achievements and highlighting young people’s experiences of being part of Powered by CAN. The film will help to celebrate what we have done, champion those involved and encourage more people to join in what we do.
If you like the sound of the activities above and would like be involved, get in touch with our team.
