Crowdfunder Stories Fund has provided £250 of match funding
Confidence Club
London, England, United Kingdom
Aim
We're working with young people to help them grow their self confidence, improve their well-being and contribute to their communities.
Local funding for youth projects may never be the same again. We can't just take this on the chin! You know the saying "When times get tough..." well times are tough for so many of our brilliant, talented, and downright inspiring young people. We've got to get creative, connect and get compassionate.
Compassion, Community & Connection
Why compassion? In this day and age it's needed more than ever. Today young people have so many moulds they feel compelled to fit into, no wonder we're seeing a wave of anxiety and mental health issues all across the UK.
Young people can really end up hurting inside. Confidence Club exists to provide space and resources for young people to discover who they really are becoming and to help them develop the well-being skills that will see them right throughout their entire lifetime, with all of it's inevitable joys and sorrows.
I'm Mike. I work as a teacher, coach and therapist and I'm the author of the book "How to Survive School." I started teaching well-being skills in schools, Universities and colleges around the UK about 15 years ago. My company Exam Magic trains coaches to work in schools and we produce resources for teachers and parents to join in the conversation around, goals, dreams and ambitions, and even more importantly about mental and emotional well-being.
Confidence Club
Confidence Club is Exam Magic's community outreach programme working in partnership Living Under One Sun at their Community Centre in Tottenham where I'm a trustee, the Strong Hold Climbing Centre and Faith, Angel, Esme and Jasmine from NAYVA the popular Youtube fashion show. The money we raise will fund local kids, so that they can enjoy and benefit from the kind of enrichment programmes they would have access to, if state funded education was the way we'd like it to be.
We're talking a wide and varied experience of sports, arts, music, culture and out doors adventure. Things that we actually have right here on our doorstep and things we may need to travel to enjoy. The key idea running through all of these experiences is building self confidence and human connection.
Connecting the Generations
Some of the money will go towards the purchase of technology so that our young people can teach senior citizens how to access IT. We'll also be able to provide training for young people to learn new skills and become the next generation of coaches for the younger ones coming up. Along with their self confidence they'll be building portfolios of achievements to tell their own story and create their own life path.
Yes, times are tough, but we're not taking that lying down.
We'd like to see Confidence Clubs opening their doors in schools and community centres all across the UK. If you would like to start your own then please let us know and we'll help you get the ball rolling in your community.
Here's a link to my TEDx talk on eduction. It gives an overview of our approach. If you're like us and you're fed up of waiting for the education system to change, then however you do it, get involved. We need trained coaches to come work with our young people. If that sounds like you, please get in touch. If you can't donate your time, then why not take one of our rewards and help that way. We're offering digital copies of our book, printed copies and thanks to the generosity of the Stronghold climbing centre in N17, you can even pop along and learn bouldering!
Now is the time to take the initiative. Join us and we join others making our communities the best places for all of us to be!
This project successfully funded on 1st July 2019