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Today is the start of the @iwill_campaign #PowerofYouth festival which gives us a moment to celebrate the incredible contributions young people make across our organisation. When young people take action, amazing things happen.
Young people’s voices are at the heart of everything we do. We know that the best way to make positive change is to ask young people what we should be doing and involving them in making it happen.
In this thread, we’ve asked young people from across our Youth Engagement programmes to share their experiences and achievements in their role volunteering with us.
First up, our Activist Programme. Activists put the lived experience of young people at the forefront of our campaigns, policy positions and resources. https://youngminds.org.uk/get-involved/join-the-movement/activists/
This year 60 Activists took part in 441 voluntary actions, coproducing resources and campaigns like #OwnYourFeed to make social media a more positive place to be. https://youngminds.org.uk/ownyourfeed/
Georgia is one of our amazing Activists. “I signed up to be an Activist because I wanted to help challenge the stigma around mental health, especially within the Black community, and meet others with similar experiences.”
Georgia loved being part of our #ActEarly campaign. “It is an issue close to my heart as I believe that if we act early at first signs of mental health problems they might not develop into more severe problems.” https://youngminds.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/act-early/
Next up, our Youth Panel, who are part of all the big strategic decisions we make. This year, 15 Panellists took part in 87 voluntary actions. https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/youngminds-people/our-youth-panel/
Meet Elsa, who volunteers on our Youth Panel. Elsa loves the power young people can have in using their voice to shape a brighter future for others.
“I love the challenge our Youth Panel brings to the big decisions we make. Having that youth perspective to shape the way we run the charity is absolutely invaluable and it keeps us 100% focused on having the biggest impact we can for young people.” @TomMadders
This year, with the support of #IWillFund funding from @coop_foundation, we have been able to launch our Activating Change programme, which trains and supports our Activists to speak publicly to effect change.
You’ll find our Activists speaking on TV, radio and in print, meeting with their local MP about our campaigns, featuring in videos and speaking at events. Here's Luke, who spoke to @ITV last month. https://www.itv.com/news/2020-10-05/teenager-opens-up-about-bullying-and-depression-to-help-britain-get-talking-mental-health-campaign
When asked about his experience of the programme, Luke said, "I've spread the message of mental health to a great number of people as well as sharing what difficulties I've struggled with and how I overcame them. This is a fantastic project and I'm so glad to be a part of it."
Finally, meet Imogen. This year Imogen become one of two young people appointed as Trustees to our Board. “I signed up to be a trustee because I want YoungMinds to make the biggest impact in young people’s lives that we possibly can.”
“I get to make change by bringing my own experiences to the table and influencing the work of YoungMinds at the highest level!” https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/reports/our-impact-reports/
“I believe young people should have a seat at every table and want to ensure they have a voice in every part of our organisation so we're genuinely youth led in responding to their needs,” says our CEO @EmmaThomasYN.
And that’s it! Thanks for joining us on a whistle-stop tour of the wonderful things made possible by the #PowerOfYouth. Here you can find out more about the festival and how to get involved. https://power-of-youth-festival.iwill.org.uk/
