At Bluebells Community Club, we strongly believe in the power and potential of our youth. We know how important this developing stage is, and we have made it our mission to help young disadvantaged children and teens to build a better future for themselves.
Our approach is a holistic one, meaning that we want to tackle our goal from a range of angles, so that the children we help will receive the most benefit possible. With this is mind, we have created a three prong approach to improve the life conditions and future potential for the young developing children in our community:
1) NextGen Mentors:
Preventing anti-social behaviour and preserving the mental wellbeing amongst teenagers is an important challenge which we wish to address. The causes are multi faceted, involving family dynamics, peer influence, educational support and societal pressures. Effective mentoring can play a crucial role in addressing these issues, helping teens navigate this turbulent period with confidence and resilience.
Young teenagers face a myriad of developmental challenges that can lead them towards anti-social behavior if not properly addressed. During this critical stage, adolescents grapple with identity formation, peer pressure, and the quest for independence. Without suitable guidance, these pressures can push them towards negative behaviors such as substance abuse, delinquency, and academic failure.
One significant challenge is the lack of positive role models. Many teenagers grow up in environments where positive, supportive adults are scarce. This void can lead them to seek affirmation and acceptance from peers who may not have their best interests at heart. Peer influence is particularly potent during adolescence, and without a strong, positive influence, teenagers are more susceptible to engaging in risky behaviors to fit in.
Moreover, teenagers often struggle with self-esteem and the pressures of social media, which can exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and isolation. Without mentors to provide perspective and encouragement, these feelings can spiral into more serious mental health issues, leading to anti-social behavior as a coping mechanism.
Our Mentoring program aims to bridge these gaps by providing consistent, positive adult interaction. Mentors will offer guidance, support, and a safe space for teenagers to express themselves and discuss their challenges. They can help teens set goals, build self-esteem, and develop coping strategies for dealing with peer pressure and other stresses.
2) Teen Camp:
Our aim is for teens aged 11 - 16 years, with free time in the evening, to have access to a range of interactive and engaging activities, so that they are gainfully engaged, learning new skills, and interacting positively with other members of the community. By default this will ensure that
a) they have less time for anti-social behaviour,
b) if they feel positive about themselves and their social standing in the community, they will not even have any desire to behave anti-socially; because research has shown that the root cause of this kind of behaviour comes from low-self-esteem, and lack of satisfaction in life. Our users tell us that a Teen Camp will counter these feelings at the root, and strengthen their emotional and mental well-being.
c) teenagers will build up a range of new practical and life skills, setting them up for a better future.
d) by interacting with responsible adults leading the workshops, the teens will build trusted relationships with mentoring adults in a safe place, giving them a strong grounding to face the future.
We will offer 7 to 12 evening hours per week, across various activities, such as cooking, painting, sports, and art. This Teen Camp will encourage the youth to develop healthy hobbies and interests, which will lead to potential new career options, at the same time as keeping them gainfully and safely engaged, and out of harms way.
3) Thrive Together Training:
We want to offer a series of parenting sessions whereby we will equip the parents with tools that motivate them to parent more effectively, transmitting better ideals and stronger emotional wellbeing to their offspring. When parents lead their family from a healthy, confident place, the whole family unit benefits, and the domino effect is felt on the children as well. Less shouting, fairer discipline, and better day/night time routines all positively effect the atmosphere at home, ensuring that the children are happier and more content, which leaks into the other interactions which they have with friends, in school etc. Empowering our parents and carers to parent effectively, will benefit our youth by default, from an emotional wellbeing perspective.
Obviously, all these projects need significant time and financial input, in order for them to function optimally. Our kind and generous volunteers and staff have given many hours already to develop these ideas and are pledging many more hours to get these projects up and running. A shout out to these selfless volunteers and staff members that keep Bluebells Community Club running!
How you can help us
With our generous donation, we will be able to set up a mentoring training course, equipping young adult volunteers to mentor our impressionable youth. Your donation will also enable us to offer a dynamic teen camp to keep the youth positively engaged during out-of-school hours. Additionally, it will help fund a parenting course so that as many parents as possible will have the opportunity to learn new skills and perfect their parenting techniques.
Every donation makes a difference! Donate a one-off sum, or choose to set up a regular monthly donation whereby you will be helping us to maintain the running costs of our club, and passing on the benefits to so many of the young, developing youth in our community.
Thank you for your support!