This summer looked a little different at St Luke’s CARES.
After four brilliant years as a Healthy Holidays provider, filled with trips, activities and plenty of great memories, our Youth Team decided it was time to do things differently.
We wanted our summer programme to give young people more of the opportunities and support that St Luke’s CARES does best – and, most importantly, to respond to what young people themselves were telling us they wanted.
Young people told us they wanted more opportunities to gain new skills, access work experience and volunteer. So, that’s exactly what we did; although we still managed to squeeze in eight trips and activity days along the way!
New experiences and plenty of fun
Our summer started with kayaking at Yeadon Tarn, followed by some thrill-seeking at BUMPY with quad bikes and buggy rides.
We spent a brilliant day at Skelton Grange, where, it turns out, 15 and 16-year-olds still really love a game of hide and seek! We also enjoyed a family day out in Scarborough, splashing in the sea and getting plenty of sand between our toes.
These experiences give young people opportunities to have fun, try something new, build relationships and make positive memories together.
Building skills for the future
Alongside our trips and activities, young people aged 14–16 completed more than 35 hours of volunteering at the St Luke’s CARES Charity Shop, gaining valuable experience in both retail and warehouse environments.
From serving customers and working on the till to sorting stock and unloading the van, young people had the chance to experience a real working environment while developing communication, teamwork, practical and social skills.
They also learned more about workplace expectations, responsibility and what it means to be part of a team.
This forms part of our Building Brighter Futures programme, which supports young people to develop the confidence, skills and experience they need as they move towards college, university, employment or an apprenticeship.
Developing the next generation of youth workers
We also wanted young people to see that youth work itself can be a valuable and rewarding career.
At St Luke’s CARES, we recognise our responsibility not only to support young people today, but to help develop the next generation of youth workers who will support young people across South Leeds in the future.
For the first time this summer, we worked in partnership with Reestablish and Team Daniel to deliver our Introduction to Youth Work training.
Eight young people successfully completed the programme, learning more about youth work practice, relationships, boundaries, safeguarding and what it means to support young people effectively.
The training proved so popular that we’ll be running it again this Autumn.
Most importantly, this summer has shown us what can happen when we listen to young people and shape opportunities around what they tell us they need.
If you’d like to find out more about Building Brighter Futures, our Introduction to Youth Work training, or how you can help us fund opportunities and experiences for young people across South Leeds, we’d love to hear from you.