Spring 2024 Newsletter Charity Manager Update As you will see from this newsletter, it's been a busy start to the New Year! We were really excited to meet Liz (pictured above - left to right Caroline, Liz, Jacqui and Lynette) who gave us half of the donations collected from the Suffolk Tractor Run held before Christmas. We were thrilled to be picked as one of their chosen Charities of the year. They raised £3500 for us! Liz chose us because "your team visited my eldest in his final weeks at primary school in the run up to starting Farlingaye, that one visit made a huge Written by Caroline Rutherford difference, as I'm sure it does for many children!" This term we have been awarded some lovely grants, 4 for our mentoring project from different funds administered by the Suffolk Community Foundation, a grant for the same project from the Lord Belstead Charitable Trust and one from the Community Foundation towards our core funding. This year we need to increase our income across all areas, that is from our fundraising events, grants and trusts and donations to help us cover the costs of running Continued on page 2
It’s been a very busy start to 2024 with no let up in the demands for Compass Mentoring support. A new influx of wonderful mentors has coincided with some of our longer serving colleagues taking a break to recharge their batteries, so the need for more mentors remains high. Our termly training sessions continue to be a great success as mentors feel encouraged in their work by the experiences of their peers & the support of Lynette & myself. We’ve seen the Christian Union in Farlingaye reignite with existing & new members. We now have a room to use on Tuesday & Thursday lunchtimes. It’s good to return to supporting the spiritual needs of this wonderful group. We Kevin’s Update are now able to promote CU to other year groups. all our projects for local children and young people. If you have any ideas of ways to raise some money for us, or you would like more information about setting up a regular donation, then please get in touch! We have had a fantastic response to a post on Facebook about finding new volunteer mentors. About 20 people got in touch, so we will be getting them onboard and trained up in the next few weeks. If you’re one of our new volunteer mentors receiving this Newsletter for the first time – welcome! We’re very grateful to have you on our team! We are working hard to prepare for the summer term year 6 Transitions programme, serving pupils from the 11 schools who feed into Farlingaye High School. We will again revamp the model, allowing better use of our time whilst supporting schools with a small cohort to join others in a similar situation. This will allow those who might struggle moving to a large school, time to build friendships ahead of their September start.
Wellbeing Lunch clubs at Kesgrave High school continue to be well attended by those who struggle socially and with the unstructured free time! Our focus has been on games and some themed crafts (provided by one of our wonderful volunteers Pat). The use of games is increasing the confidence of the young people as they are having to converse with one another and practicing some vital socialising skills in a safe space with the support of some trusted adults. Lynette has been invited to speak at some upcoming support events for parents of students at Kesgrave. The first session she will be delivering at this month’s event is ‘Help I’m the parent of a teenager’. Lynette’s Update (A session where she will be sharing some core principles, tools and techniques to support parents/carers of young people. With the aim to help increase their confidence, self-control and ‘Parental Presence’ whilst maintaining a loving parent/carer- child relationship.) Youth Club update from Jacqui The Youth clubs have been busy this term with variety of activities. There has been haggis tasting for Burns night, pancakes, activities for the Chinese new year and making positive potatoes. Sutton Heath youth club have been having pool and table tennis tournaments as well as getting outside on the MUGA pitch. Alderton youth club had a UV party night with face paints and bandanas and finished the term with sock bunnies. Hollesley youth club has seen numbers grow again with an active, imaginative group who love football themed games. Grundisburgh youth club stopped last term, however we ran 2 pilot sessions in the parish rooms for young people getting off the school bus. The sessions proved to be popular and will become a regular club next term. The clubs continue to offer young epoepl a safe space to meet their friends and to experience different activities with them.
Children’s work from Jo Twenty-seven children attended the Christmas activity day, held at Quay Church in December 2023. In the morning there was a mixture of craft and games, all set around the Nativity Story. Ruth (pictured right) cooked a delicious full Christmas Dinner for us to share together. The afternoon started with a Godly Play session; we reflected on the Holy Family. This was a very special time when the children were given the opportunity to wonder about the people and animals connected to the birth of Jesus. The day ended with a re telling of the nativity, a time of praise and worship where the children were encouraged to dress up and help to act out the story of Jesus’ birth. During the Spring term, the children who attend our school clubs have been learning about some of the Psalms, their writer David, prayer and the story of Easter.
APRIL 2024 | SPRING EDITION Admin news As we move into Spring it’s a great opportunity for us to see the countryside comeback to life, however, living in a rural place I probably don’t appreciate the wildlife as much as I should! Being in the office I can become complacent about what an impact Just42 makes. However taking time to go to the children’s activities and now the youth club in Grundisburgh allows me to see the big picture of how we make such a difference to the young people in our community. Our work makes a difference in so many ways and I would urge anyone to come and see the great work we do either by volunteering at a youth club (even if it’s once a month), or becoming a mentor. Reminder - If you haven’t purchased your tickets for the Cream Tea please visit our website today for mor info The Avenue, Kingston Road, Woodbridge, IP12 4BA Email: [email protected] www.just42.or.uk