Essex Boys and Girls Clubs
Who are Essex Boys and Girls Clubs?
Essex Boys and Girls Clubs was set up in 1939 and works with young people across Essex and East London and at their adventure centers in Essex, Wales, Cumbria and Birmingham. The charity helps young people to develop, by supporting 140 independent voluntary youth groups, which provide more than 15,000 teenagers with activities. The charity supports clubs which include activities such as cricket, boxing, football and outdoor activities, in the hope that this will provide teenagers with self-discipline, a ‘can-do’ spirit and a safe place to learn skills that will aid their future. In addition, Essex Boys and Girls Clubs run a range of projects with partner organisations, in order to help young people develop skills and confidence. These include The Duke of Edinburgh Award, National Citizen Service, The Arts Award and The John Muir Award.
What is our Relationship with Essex Boys and Girls Clubs?
Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, our longstanding grantee, have been highly supported by The Rank Foundation over the years due to their fantastic work. As they are a reliable and trustworthy charity, we have provided them with a number of Leadership Award students on their CAP placement, individuals on our YAP initiative and participants on our GAP program.
How does The Rank Foundation’s Placements Benefit the Charity and Individual?
O
ur placements are beneficial to both the charity and the individual, as the charity is provided with an extra helping hand and the individual receives relevant work experience and training. Sue Pell, the Fundraising Officer at Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, further explains:
‘’Having a Rank CAP student with us for two weeks helps us to give the young people we work with added support and encouragement, and in return, we are able to help the Rank student get a better idea of youth work and some of the challenges and adventures it can bring. Often the Rank students come to us from different backgrounds to the young people we work with, or have never had the opportunity to encourage and support other young people in the activities we offer. Helping the Rank student to step up and take a level of responsibility within a group and watching them grow and develop is a privilege. Many of the Rank students keep in touch with us after they have completed their placement.’’
Our 2015 Leadership Award Holder, Ishaq Raheel, spent his CAP placement at Essex Boys and Girls Clubs. He told us how his placement benefited him:
‘’Personally, I really enjoyed my placement. I met some really lovely people and learnt a lot about working with young people. For example, during my placement, I had to work alongside people with different severities of autism, which provided me with a developed understanding of how to work with people who have the condition. Furthermore, through observations of the site managers, I learnt how to manage a large number of young people.’’
Trieu Ho, from our 2013 Leadership Award cohort, explained how he overcame the challenges he faced during his placement at Essex Boys and Girls Clubs
‘’The biggest challenge I encountered during my placement was leading a group of young people during a crucial time, when they had to plan their social action project to give back to the community. There were individuals that were reluctant to participate, but I had to pull the team together and eventually they came up with a good plan for the project. I am proud to have assisted young people plan methods in which they can give back to the community and I am looking forward to seeing them execute their project.’’
Contact Details
If you would like to find out more information about Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, they can be contacted through their website here.
