infusenews

Young People are good!

Taken from the BBC website....."Reading the great British press, one might be forgiven for thinking that all our teenagers are binge-drinking, drug-addled, knife-wielding thugs ready to leap out and stab a granny for a fiver. There is a real problem with knife-crime in some parts of the UK, let's not pretend otherwise. And there are many other problems concerning young people in this country.

But I thought it might be timely to remind ourselves that youth doesn't necessarily mean yob. So here are ten reasons to cheer our teenagers:

1. Teenagers are more likely to do voluntary work than people from any other generation. In fact, they are 10 times more likely to be volunteering in our communities than regularly being antisocial in them.

2. More teenagers than ever before are staying on at school after 16 to study.

3. And more than ever are going on to further and higher education.

4. Despite the vilification, young people are far more likely to say England is a good place to grow up in (90%) than adults ( 71%).

5. And yet it is young people who are the most likely to be victims of crime.

6. They work hard at school - a record 62% of teenagers achieved 5 GCSEs grades A-C last year compared with 44% a decade earlier and 26% ten years before that.

7. Nearly two-thirds of 10-to-15-year-olds have helped raise money for charity.

8. According to English schools inspectors, bad behaviour in comprehensives is at its lowest level for at least a decade.

9. 175,000 under 18-year-olds are unpaid carers in the UK with some 13,000 providing more care than a full-time job (50+ hours).

10. In a recent survey more than nine out of ten young people said they thought their schoolwork was important and more than three-quarters enjoyed going to school.

Bold & Courageous Gap Years

This summer, amidst the revelling of summer sunshine and celebrations of Olympic competitions, hundreds of thousands of young people will reach a crucial milestone in their lives. August 14th is their d-day, the day that they will finish secondary school and be presented with the results of their A level studies.

For young people in decades gone by this end of secondary school journey used to bring them to a decision making fork in the road. Their options were simple, turn right and choose the higher education path that often led away from home and onto University (or polytechnic!) and the life of a student, or turn left and take a career and the world of work, being paid with no more exams.

However in recent decades a new path has emerged at the end of the secondary school journey, one that heads up right up the middle of these two historical options. This new path, seemingly short when it first emerged, is one that provides a decision making 18 year old the chance ‘to explore the world’ or ‘learn more about themselves’ as they seek new experiences, opportunities and ventures. This new third option is the gap year, a chance to do something different, to take up to 12 months exploring, enjoying and investigating the world. Estimates at the number of young people who now take gap years is set between 30,000 and 100,000 , with the participant spending around £4,800 for their experiences.

Read the rest of this article by clicking here

Make a Difference your own way.....

Have you ever wanted to make a difference? Well, so do we. Sometimes however, life can get in the way.

But what if you could devote a whole year of your time to a charity and get paid to do it? Vodaphone are offering the amazing chance to work for a charity of your choice, plus you could earn up to £25,000 plus £20,000 in expenses for your time. It's all thanks to World of Difference, a programme established by The Vodafone Group Foundation.

They have four places to offer, so if you are ready to follow your calling, apply now. Applications close 31 July 2008.

www.vodafone.com/world_of_difference.html

WANTED: Project Worker, 14 hrs pw

Kingston Voluntary Action (Registered Charity No 257551) are looking for a Project Worker for 14 hours per week, Salary: £10,241 p.a. including OLW

In an exciting opportunity to take forward an important piece of work for the benefit of Kingston’s children and young people. As project worker, you will involve and support voluntary, community and not-for-profit independent organisations in Kingston’s Children’s Trust arrangements. Key areas include representation, capacity building, multi agency working and workforce development.

You will have excellent communication skills, a knowledge of the Every Child Matters agenda and an understanding of workforce development issues particularly in the voluntary and community sector.

For further information and an application pack please
email : lyndae@kva.org.uk
Or download from www.kva.org.uk
Or telephone on 020 8255 3335.

Fresher Fare Plans 2008

Although exams have only just finished University is already getting ready for next year going.  We’ve had a meeting with Churches Together representatives to think about our preparations in the Christian community for the arrival of new students in Sept.  Last year we offered a free Sunday roast dinner, with stalls from the local churches.  This was a new venture and although successful we need to learn from it.  The feeling this year has been that there are really two things that we are being called to do here – one is to help Christian students connect with local churches and the other is the calling to a ministry of welcome and service to all the student population.

It took a little time to tease these things out in our preliminary meeting so plans are still a little vague but the consensus was that we should offer:-

•    A Churches Together stall at the Freshers’ Fayre (25th – 26th Sept.)
•    An event with food and information from the local churches on the afternoon or evening of Sun. 5th Oct., targeted at students who are looking to get in touch with a local church or find an Alpha Course etc.
•    Continued contact through the year via e mail with all the students who give us details at the Freshers’ Fayre altering them to what is going on in the local churches
•    Possibly a second event at the very beginning of the summer term with a more outreach focus– this is a point of considerable stress for many students as exams approach, and often proves more of a crisis than the arrivals period.  It would be a good time for us to be expressing the concern and support of the Christian Community.

We will keep you posted – for more information contact me at chaplaincy@kingston.ac.uk or Richard James:t richard@oxygen-online.org

Jesus loves ASBOs

Inside the July 2008 issue of Youthwork Magazine, Anti-social behaviour….Why have 21st century young people been labelled 'antisocial' and what is the cause of this ongoing complaint? Kingston YFC Centre Director, Richard James suggests some explanations, and offers a way that youth leaders can engage with this issue.

thecalling: June

thecalling is Oxygen's bi monthly youth event at which we seek to inspire young people to love God and their neighbour. The next calling is set to take place on June 13th at Oxygen. For more information contact amy.condon@oxygen-online.org

Tags: thecalling, june, kingston, oxygen

VACANCY: Primary Schools Worker

Schools Christian Action Team in Woking are seeking a Full-time PRIMARY SCHOOLS WORKER. This is an exciting opportunity to join a team taking the Christian faith into schools in Woking. For over 10 years, SCAt has presented assemblies, storytelling and clubs in 40 local primary schools. Are you the enthusiastic person they are looking for to develop and advance this work? If so you will be managing a team of volunteers and working alongside the Secondary Schools Worker (Salary package commensurate with qualifications and experience).

The opportunity is available from September 2008 and applications are invited up to Wednesday 2nd July 2008. Application packs may be obtained from the SCAt office or downloaded online at www.scat.org.uk.Interviews will be held on Tuesday, 8th July 2008.

Bank Holiday Hope: Roy Crowne's Message

“What did you do over the May Bank Holiday?” is the familiar question asked the length and breadth of the UK each year, as many respond by mumbling the benign mantra “We had a barbecue and then did some DIY.” How refreshing for many of us to answer this question differently, by citing the many projects we’ve helped organize or taken part in as part of Hope08.

Early May Bank Holiday saw Hope08’s One Million Hours Of Kindness initiative roll out across the UK. The Hope website highlights a few other events below that took place or are scheduled to run over the next few weeks, to encourage you that Hope08 really is building in missionary momentum.

What next? Well, fast approaching on the horizon is the next key initiative: Summer Activities. Here we’re going to see some amazing Hope social action projects taking place. For exampleBath YFC are running a huge BBQ in addition , there’s the usual summer festivals scheduled in, but this year the feel and sense of practical urgency is going to be tangible as we hear many youth feedback all they’ve been doing so far in Hope08 and together thousands more are inspired and commissioned to lock into the remaining initiatives: Hope Explored - Harvest & The Gift Of Hope - Christmas.

The Hope Revolution continues to go from strength to strength, with so many young people feeding back on our social networking sites the amazing and the inspiring times they had encountering God at Spring Harvest.

Take a look at the messages left on their Bebo site.

Paid Vacancies with Oxygen

Oxygen is pleased to be able to announce two (part time) paid vacancies at present. The first, details to come is a Vacancy for a Extended Schools Worker, running an after school club for young people called Rm1. For further details email richard@oxygen-online.org. This post is being provided by the YMCA in partnership with Oxygen.

The second post is developed in partnership with St Peters Norbiton and is a a new post of external youth worker, taking faith deeper with young people. Click here for more information