News

August 2010

Pro-Action Dance Tutors Have Talent!

 Glyn Davies (23) and Saman Ahmed (19), dance tutors for Pro-Action, are two of the lucky contestants through to the semi-finale of Hertfordshire’s Got Talent 2010. Emma, Pro-Action's Member Services & Marketing Assistant spoke with the up and coming tutors to see who they are, what they do and how their audition went.

Tell me about what you guys do with your Dance Leadership courses

Glyn: Well we are both dance tutors.

Saman: I am the lead tutor, Glyn is a support tutor, he doesn’t have to do all the paperwork like I do!

Glyn: I wouldn’t want to get in the way of all her hard work; instead I lead my own sessions mainly focusing around street dance, hip-hop and freestyling.

Saman: I specialize in Bangra and Bollywood but we try and teach the young people lots of different kinds of dance, we like to try everything.

What is the best thing about doing the courses?

Saman: For me it’s the satisfaction from getting positive feedback from the young people and just seeing their confidence grow.

Glyn: I love the fact that I get to see my skills and techniques being used in the outside world.

Saman: Some of the young people have come to me and said that they  don’t normally have opportunities like these offered to them, it makes it worthwhile knowing that we are giving them the qualifications to go and give these opportunities to more young people.

What do you two do in your spare time?

Glyn: Dance. I practice at least three hours a day and I do as many courses as I can. I’m also part of a dance troop called AlterEgo, they are Hertfordshire’s leading dance company.

Saman: Same here, I also run my own dance academy called FlexIt, I lead sessions all across Hertfordshire.

What made you enter into Hertfordshire’s Got Talent 2010?

Saman: I was sceptical about applying at first, you here all these stories about people from Xfactor who are really good but then don’t get through, but in the end I just went for it.

Glyn: I applied for fun, just to see for myself if I have enough talent to get noticed.

July 2010

Pilot Participation Project to run in Stevenage!

Pro-Action’s Wot’s Up Darlin? Youth Forum and Stevenage Youth Council are working in partnership to increase the number of young people getting involved and making decisions about their local youth services.   The project will start at the end of July 2010 and will work with young people aged 11-19 from across Stevenage to produce a short film focusing on the benefits of participation and taking an interest in their local communities.   Local community film makers, Rewind will be working with the young people to make the film.

Young people will attend 4 workshops, creating ideas, storyboards and writing their film. One of the workshops will be a music workshop hosted by the MBA where young people will write and create the soundtrack to the film. There will also be three days of location filming in Stevenage.

The film will  be premiered at the Stevenage Youth Conference in November and taken into secondary schools in Stevenage to act as an instrument to motivate young people from across the borough to participate in their local decision making process.

Bernadette Rump, Pro-Action District Co-ordinator, commented ‘ This is an exciting project for Stevenage.  I am confident that the young people involved will have the creative ideas to make a really engaging film.  All three Extended Schools Coordinators have supported this project with funding and I’d like to thank them and also Councillor Matthew Hurst who has donated money from his locality budget without which this project could not take place.  It’s great that the people of Stevenage are really getting behind this initiative – I look forward to seeing more young people getting involved as a result'

The success of the project will be measured by the number of young people deciding to join Stevenage Youth Council and Pro-Action’s ‘Wot’s Up Darlin’ Youth Forum.

If you have young people interested in making a short film/film soundtrack or would like to participate in the Pro-Action Youth Forum or Stevenage Youth Council, please contact Bernadette Rump Bernadette@pro-actionherts.org    

July 2010

Pro-Action’s Young People Ceremony – Hawaiian Style

On Saturday 10^th July, young people from across Hertfordshire came together to celebrate their achievements of completing a range of Pro-Action courses.         

They received their awards at the The Forum, Hatfield. 

Pro-Action’s second award ceremony, like the first, was organised by young people who have participated on Pro-Action courses.  The young organisers decided to have a Hawaiian Style theme for the evening and invited young people to dress in their summer attire, everyone received a gala to wear before they were seated including family members and guests who were also invited to the event.  

The successful evening saw young people, who had participated in Pro-Action’s dance course, dancing to several styles of music.  There were also drama pieces, short videos and speeches to illustrate the work young people had done to achieve their certificates.  

Nicole Williamson, Training Manager, commented ‘The Awards Ceremony celebrates young people who have decided to invest their spare time by coming onto a Pro-Action course. There have been some great individual achievements whereby some young people’s confidence and aspirations have grown immensely.  Pro-Action aims to support all young people whereby they can use their skills within their local communities’

For more information about Pro-Actions Young People’s training please click here Young People  

June 2010

Goals Galore at Pro-Action's 5-A-Side Football Tournament!

On Sunday 20^th June, over 120 young people participated in the Pro-Action 5-A-Side football tournament.  Teams competed against each other to progress to the 

 ‘Clubs For Young People’ Regional Rounds.  The day was a great success with young people playing football with great team spirit but very competitively.  Spectators also enjoyed themselves by cheering their teams and blowing their Vuvuzelas!  As well as the 5-A-Side competition Pro-Action organised a Summer Festival area for young people, families and friends to participate in.  The Festival saw people dancing  at the Bhangra workshop, learning how to chant and dance with poms poms for Cheerleading and much more.  

Sam Rose, Pro-Action District Co-ordinator, commented   ‘’ This year’s tournament has seen a greater variety of Pro-Action members taking part.  We have seen young people with all abilities from Royston to Watford enjoy the day and play with great passion.  It is great to see groups from the youth voluntary sector come together for an event like this’

Well done to all that took part and congratulations to the runners and winners listed below:

U14 Winners: XS Project B (Left in Purple)
U14 Runners Up: Swan Youth Centre
 
U19 Winners: Swan Youth Centre (Left in White)
U19 Runners Up: Tring Youth Centre

Medals were also presented to the 'Focus' team from Broxbourne for displaying Best Sportsmanship

These teams will now travel to Derby to play in the regional rounds to represent Hertfordshire.  We will keep you posted with their results!   For more information about the CYP Football tournament please click here Football

June 2010

NEW! Hertsmere Volunteer Police Cadets (HVPC)

A group of volunteers, including police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSO's) from Hertfordshire Constabulary have set up a new Cadets Scheme for young people in Hertsmere.  The scheme will enable young people from across the borough to take part in positive activities such as camping, community events and team building exercises.  The cadets scheme received huge interest from young people and the group is now full with 24 cadets and two young cadet leaders recruited. 

Ross Paybody, Chairman and volunteer for the scheme commented "This is a fantastic opportunity for young people to get involved in positive activities that benefits not only themselves but the wider community.  We set up the scheme after it was identified that this was something young people in Hertsmere were very interested in". 

The cadets meet every other Wednesday for two hours and have already started to learn how to drill and march together.  They will have input from different areas of policing, including firearms, the dog unit and crime prevention.  So far the cadets have received several requests for their attendance at community events across the borough and hope to be out on the streets in December completing crime prevention surveys with residents.  Ross added "We have our first weekend camping trip away coming up very soon and we are looking forward to seeing how the cadets bond and work together as part of a team.  We have also organised our first Passing Out Parade to celebrate the launch of HVPC.  This will be an excellent opportunity for the cadets to showcase their newly acquired skills and meet several dignitaries from across the borough". 

If you would like to find out more about the cadets please email hvpc@herts.pnn.police.uk

April 2010

Herfordshire Winners at CYP National Boxing Championships 2010

The 2010 National Boxing Championships saw Hertfordshire Young People progress their way up to the very top again.  Overall 22 young people entered the Championships from 7 clubs across form Hertfordshire.  Each boxing stage from weighing in and to the finals was intensive.  All the boxers represented Hertfordshire with a great level of skill, pride and passion. In the end Hertfordshire had 7 boxers reach the CYP Boxing Championship Finals.

The finals took place at impressive venues across England. The Class A Finals took place at The Reebok Stadium, the Class B Finals took place at The Troxy Arena and the Class C Finals took place at The Catterick Garrison Centre.

In the end 2 Hertfordshire boxers won their final bouts;

Class B - Under 75kg Champion 2010: Jacob Petersen, Cheshunt Boxing Club (right)

Class B – Under 54kg Champion 2010: Michael McDonagh, St Albans Boxing Club

Both boxers did extremely well to win all their bouts in order to reach the final. However to win their respective finals and accomplish the ultimate goal of being crowned a CYP Boxing Champion is a fantastic achievement.  

Jacob Petersen, Cheshunt Boxing Club, commented ‘Jacob has boxed for Cheshunt ABC since the age of 10, he has been an active and enthusiastic member since joining. Jacob reached the CYP semi final in his first attempt in 2009 and won it this year in 2010, Jacob is currently ranked number 2. in England by the ABA and is looking forward to competing in next years CYP competition!’

David Davidson, St Albans Boxing Club,commented that he was also extremely proud of Michael’s achievement.

Pro-Action would like to congratulate every boxer that took part in this year’s championship; they all did themselves, their club and Hertfordshire proud. Pro-Action would like to thank everyone who helped make this years competition a success for our Hertfordshire boxers, in particular Stuart Clench for hosting the Hertfordshire Round. 

For information about the CYP National Boxing Championships please click here CYP Boxing

April 2010

Advanced Apprenticeship Opportunities!

Pro-Action in partnership with Youth Connexions Hertfordshire has been awarded a CWDC (Children's Workforce Development Council) training contract delivering and supporting 30 Advanced Apprenticeships (Level 3) in Youth Work.

This exciting opportunity aims to increase the capacity of, or develop your current workforce. To qualify you must be a young people focused organisation whose delivery is aimed at the 13-19 age range (up to 25 years LDD) from either the voluntary, statutory or private sector. The options available to your organisation are as follows:

Option 1: Nomination of a current employee / volunteer aged 18-25 from your organisation to undertake the Level 3 Certificate in Youth Work

If you currently have a young person aged 18-25 within your organisation (either paid or voluntary) who works 16-25 hours per week, you may nominate them for the opportunity to complete a Level 3 Certificate in Youth Work - free of charge.

Option 2: To create an advanced apprenticeship position for a young person aged 18-25 within your organisation for 18 months from August 2010 to March 31^st 2012.

If your organisation is interested in taking on a young person aged 18-25 years, by creating a new position to enable a young person to achieve a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

Overall Information
For both options, a member of Youth Connexions Hertfordshire will be supporting you and the Apprentice whilst in placement, and they may be able to offer a Mentor through our Mentoring Scheme, or alternatively, we may be able to offer training to a member of your staff to become the young persons’ mentor.

For futher information please contactNicole Williamson nicole@pro-actionherts.org or call 07912352991 if you are interested to discuss what benefits this will have to you and to your staff.

March 2010

HIT wins Hertsmere Civic Award!

Herts Inclusive Theatre (HIT) is an award winning company gives children and young people aged 6-18 years old the opportunity to take part in dance, drama and music in a fun and inclusive environment. HIT welcomes children and young people with any ability and has members with learning and physical impairments participating on an equal level to those without – something they may not have the opportunity to experience elsewhere. Children from all backgrounds and schools are encouraged to mix and make friends.

Originally set up as an outreach project of Chickenshed Theatre Company and based in Bushey. HIT has been running for nearly 10 years and now runs during term time in Bushey and Watford and runs one off projects in other Hertfordshire boroughs.

HIT encourages children to develop confidence, team work, listening and communication skills, whilst developing theatre and performance expertise and having fun. To date HIT has had many very successful performances, and has also performed in front of the Queen as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations. On Saturday March 20^th 2010, HIT (right)  were presented with a Hertsmere Borough Council Civic Award, in recognition of the work that they do.

Sessions are currently delivered in Watford at The James Theatre, Watford Grammar School for Boys, for 6-12 year olds on Tuesday afternoons from 4.30pm until 5.45pm, and at the Bushey Centre, Bushey Country Club, on the High Street on Wednesday evenings for 6-12 year olds from 5.15pm until 6.30pm, and for 13-18 year olds from 7.00pm until 8.30pm. HIT also delivers sessions in schools in the local area, and carries out workshops throughout the summer. 

For further information please contact Caroline England, Artistic Director, on 01923 499310 / 07983 376734 or email hertsinclusivetheatre@live.co.uk .

March 2010

March 2010

New Youth Club set to open in Walkern

Walkern Sports and Community Centre has been revitalised by dedicated group of volunteers whose sprits were not dampen when investment funding was swallowed up by fixing the roof. They organised various fundraising events in order to raise the money to buy the materials needed to complete the refurbishment.  Brian Brent from Walkern Sports and Community Centre said that “the whole village pulled together and volunteered up to £60,000 worth of volunteering hours in order to complete necessary work to get the centre up and running.”  All in all the building work will have taken over two years to complete and the centre has been closed for the majority of that time. As a result people within the village are determined not to let the centre go to waste and have decided to open a Youth Club at the centre.

Adult volunteers which have worked on the refurbishment have now set up Walkern Sports and Community Centre Youth Club. They have researched interest levels from young people in Walkern and the surrounding villages as well as area of Stevenage. The response from the young people they spoke to has been extremely positive and have already managed to set up a Youth Committee for the club. These young people are keen to help get their youth club open as soon as possible and are currently applying for funding so they can purchase equipment for the club. They have big plans for the future of the club with a large multi-sports court and skate park on their wish list

Walkern Sports and Community Centre Youth Club is due to be open in early June 2010 for young people between 8-17 years old.

If you would interested in finding out more information about the Youth Club please contact Sam Rose (sam@pro-actionherts.org). 

Funding success helps Watford Boxing Club start again!

Watford boxing club was established in 2002 and attracted a large number of young people. Unfortunately the boxing club was hit by a devastating fire.   The fire saw most of the equipment damaged or destroyed leaving the training room as a shell.  Furthermore young people who attend the club were left with nowhere to go.    

After much hard work the club was re-opened and became a member of Pro-Action.  Both organisations worked together to submit a bid to the Youth Opportunity Fund.  The boxing club was awarded £10,895 and has now been transformed with new changing facilities, including toilets and showers, new flooring throughout the building, a new boiler, a new roof and new electrics. The club also put the money towards buying new kits for members.

In addition Pro-Action supported the development of the boxing clubs policies and procedures as well as providing access to training to develop the coaches’ skill base. 

Tony Lloyd, a volunteer since 2002, commented ‘Prior to Pro-Action’s involvement with the club no-one took an interest in what we were doing and we were not aware of what was available to us for funding and opportunities to develop – we are very grateful for Pro-Action’s support’

The club now has a lively atmosphere and attracts over 45 young people.  Sessions run on a Monday, Wednesday and Sunday evening for three hours, as well as some of the members having the opportunity to attend competitions each year, which take place at the weekends.

For further information about Watford Boxing Club please contact nicole@pro-actionherts.org

7th December 09

Midnight Ice Skating Success!

On Friday 4^th December, over 310 young people from across Hertfordshire attended ‘Midnight Night Ice Skating’ at Alexandra Palace in London.  Organised by Pro-Action the event allows young people to Ice Skate together from 12am-4am in a lively disco environment.

Club leaders also put on their skates to join their young people in the ice rink fun. Robert Brown, St Albans Youth Connexion, commented ‘This has been a fantastic event for young people. Some young people did not know how to ice skate at the beginning of the night, this event has provided them the opportunity to learn and increase their confidence! 

Midnight Ice Skating was a county activity for the member clubs/projects and groups of Pro-Action.  A number of voluntary youth groups were supported with transport costs organised by Pro-Action.  Nicole Williamson, Pro-Action District Co-ordinator commented ‘It was great to see some many young people from across Hertfordshire. We aim to support our members to attend Pro-Action events, allowing Hertfordshire’s young people experience positive activities’

For more information about forthcoming events please see above dates.  

1st December 09

Pro-Action Celebrates Young People’s Achievement!

On Saturday 28^th November, Pro-Action hosted its first Awards Ceremony celebrating the achievements of young people from across Hertfordshire. Over a 175 awards were presented for Youth Work Training, Leadership, Sports, Dance, and Young Peoples Tutor training courses.

The event was organised and hosted by young people and supported by the Pro-Action team.  Parents, careers and young people attended the ‘Oscar’ style ceremony, dressed in black ties and glamorous dresses. As well as presenting awards the event showcased young people’s talents such as dance and media.

Jane Pitman, Executive Member for Children's Services, commented 'It was really delightful to attend this event which recognised the achievements of so many young people.  It is always enormously encouraging to hear about the contribution young people are making on a voluntary basis to their local communities across the county.  I am particularly pleased that it also demonstrates that Hertfordshire County Council's financial support to Pro-Action and the youth voluntary sector is having a significant impact'.    

For more information about Pro-Action and Young People’s Training please click on the link Young People's Training

19th November 09

Pro-Action Nominee wins National ‘Thank You’ Award!

On Thursday 19th November, Lorraine Cooke, from St Johns Youth Club, Hatfield, was awardedthe National Council For Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) 'Thank You' Award. NCVYS is the independent voice of the voluntary youth sector in England.  Pro-Action nominated Lorraine for the 'Than You' award as it recognises the hard work, creativity, inspiration and determination of individual volunteers all in the interest of young people.

Lorraine, shown second from left, is the heart and inspiration behind the volunteering work at St Johns Youth Club.  She volunteers weekly providing much needed youth provision for the local young people aged 8-11 years. Lorraine leads a group of 20 volunteers from the community in delivering a variety or sports, crafts, social and disco sessions.  St Johns Youth Club attracts between 80 – 110 young peopleattending each week, building relationships with the local families as well support of her volunteer team. 

Lorraine has made a key and marked difference to the lives of young people and dedicating hundreds of hours to developing the quality of provision and ensuring it is a safe and stimulating environment, but she also encourages local young people to come on board as volunteers. Her aim is to develop their self-esteem and provide them with an experience which will support them in later life.  Lorraine commented I’m quite overwhelmed, it’s lovely to be recognised.  It’s not just me, I couldn’t do it without my team and the support from the local community and Pro-Action!’  

Lorraine is also pursuing an idea to develop the club further, opening the club on another night and developing a new volunteer team.  For more information about Pro-Action support please click on Membership Benefits.

9th November 09

Highland Olympics!   

                                                                                      
Saturday the 7th of November saw Hertfordshire Sports Village in Hatfield host Pro-Action’s Highland Olympics! Over a 100 young people and some energetic club leaders from youth clubs across Hertfordshire were involved in activities including Lochness Surfing, Hurling the Haggis and Highland Relays!

The event was organised and run by young volunteers who have attended Pro-Action Leadership and Event Management courses, with support from the Pro-Action team. The day brought together a range of young people of all abilities and backgrounds aged 12 to 18 which all participated in an exemplary manor and encouraged fair play.

Winners 12- 15 years                        Winners 15-18 years                                                                                                  
1st  Faith Movers – Stevenage           1st   Ummah UK Boys - St Albans
2nd Ummah UK - St Albans               2nd  YWT - Hatfield       
3rd  Hope Junction - Stevenage         3rd  Salvation Fellowship - Stevenage   

           
Winners received £75 for their clubs and a trophy was also awarded to Girls Rule (Hemel Initiative Youth Action) from Hemel Hempstead for best sportsmanship.   Aayesha Shaikh from Ummah UK commented ‘This is the second Pro-Action event my youth group have attended. They had a fab time and we're all looking forward to the next! The volunteers were all really helpful, and made sure we were having a great time, thank you!

For more information about Pro-Action events please see above dates. 

2nd November 09

Rurban Project Success!

Pro-Action’s innovative partnership working with Hertfordshire Sports Partnership and Child UK has continued to produce successful results for the ‘RURBAN’ project.

Rurban aims to build upon the current programme of activities run by Youth Clubs, increasing young people’s confidence and creativity through the delivery of multi-sport sessions and art activities. Sessions are of equal quality whether in rural or urban areas, taking away the barrier of location and inequality of provision often suffered by rural or deprived areas.

Qualified coaches visit Pro-Action members for 1- 2 hours a week over an 8 week period and deliver sessions unique to each club designed to engage everyone, as well as using space and environments productively.  The approach is ‘fun first’ and a combination of this ethos and strong word of mouth promotion has lead to 90% retention rates in some areas and a waiting list of 48 clubs for next year.  The last tranche included 204 young people over 10 projects completing the programme.  Pro-Action members are also provided with an equipment filled sports bag and a Sports and Activities pack providing club leaders who are not necessarily sports qualified with the resources to introduce young people to sport and personal development.  Herts Sports Partnership have agreed to expand the programme due to its success and have funded another 7 groups this term, bringing the total groups benefiting from this free programme to 17. 

If you would like your club to be considered for the Rurban Project please contact your District Co-ordinator.

26th October 09

5-A-Side County Round

On Saturday 24^th October Pro-Action kicked of the national Clubs for Young People 5-A-Side Football tournament.  The annual event was held at Hatfield Sports Village and saw 15 teams take part in the fierce competition.  Congratulations to everyone who took part. 

The winners and runners up in each age category

Under

16 – First - Swan Youth Project              Runners Up - Watford Sports Development

14 – First - Swan Youth Project B          Runner  Up - Swan Youth Project A

12 – First – Ummah UK                         Runners Up - Get It 2gether

Sam Rose, tournament organiser commented ‘The day was a great success; this year saw bigger range of Pro-Action members entering the tournament.  Each team played competitively and to a high standard.  Well done to all who took part’ 

These teams will now progress and represent Hertfordshire in the central area finals being held on Saturday 14^th November in Derby. We will keep you posted with their progression!

Thursday 22 October 09

Pro-Action Volunteer wins National Boom! Award

Pro-Action Youth Volunteer, Amar Sejpal, won the national ‘Outstanding Volunteering’ award for his exceptional contribution to the Boom! project.  The awards, which took place at the Apple Store, Regent Street in London brought together more then 50 nominated young volunteers from across England. 

The Boom! project enables young people to raise issues which are important to them through the use of creative film making.  Clubs for Young People in partnership with MTV, TomTom nation and ‘v’ have made Boom! possible and accessible for young volunteers by training and providing clubs with film-making equipment.

Amar Sejpal, from Potters Bar, won the ‘Outstanding Volunteering’ award for his extraordinary enthusiasm for Boom! The judges were impressed by his film-making ideas and his contribution to support and share his Boom! experiences with other young people at training events across Hertfordshire.  The judges recognise Amar to be a key advocate for Boom! Amar commented ‘I can’t believe I have won, this is such an achievement for me, it was like combining two passions – being like Spielberg and volunteering for Pro-Action.  I’m so proud!’   Amar was presented his award by Konnie Huq, TV-presenter and Nick Ede, fashion expert, who both hosted the night. 

Hardeep Liddar, Pro-Action District Co-ordinator commented ‘It was a fantastic night, both in terms of seeing the quality of work young volunteers are offering and seeing Amar being rewarded for his volunteering efforts to support Boom! Pro-Action is very proud to have Amar as a volunteer’

Well done Amar for winning the ‘Outstanding Volunteering’ Award!  For more information about the Boom! project please visit

www.boomnation.net

Archive

Pro-Action Funding Newsletter Jan 10

Pro-Action Vetting & Barring Newsletter Sept 09

Pro-Action Newsletter April 09

Pro-Action Newsletter Jan 09

Pro-Action Herts Activities Centre Map