Izzie on the Genius project

I’m Izzie, I’m from London and I just finished my GCSE’s. I took media studies as a subject and I’m planning to take media as an AS Level, so I really liked the idea of being a part of or even just watching a professional short film being made.

I didn’t know what to expect on my first day – I came into the project closer to the end, so I experienced more of the production side of things. The first of the two days was about planning out the film – what the students wanted it to be; whether it be drama based, or more about the statistics. All of the students contributed, and eventually every idea was combined into something doable in the time we had.

As I had come into the project so late on, the first day for me was more about finding my ground and observing the process, until I had an idea of what I could help with. Towards the end of the day I took a small group of students and helped with writing monologues, trying (and failing) to encourage them to perform them to each other. On the second day I helped all around – capturing audio, helping with a scene. I also recorded voiceovers of statistics to be played throughout the video.

All in all, it was a great experience. It gave me a glimpse of what it was like to be a part of a professional video shoot, and it allowed me to explore the creative and technical sides of the media industry. It was a pleasure to be a part of, even if the part was a small one!

🙂

Blank canvas… time to make a mess!

Ok, so today was the first day of the GeniUS Dementia project and my first day working alongside the guys at Inspired Youth.

Over the next month, we’ll get to know a group of residents from Hartrigg Oaks retirement home who will share their life memories and experiences of living with dementia to students from Jospeh Rowntree School. These young whippersnappers will then create an artistic piece of genius to raise awareness of Dementia amongst young people.

Day 1 started with coffee at Hartrigg’s followed by an intro to the kids at ‘Jo Ro’. It was great being back at my old school, not sure the teachers were as pleased to see me though!

Tomorrow we take our first trip down memory lane, the guys at Hartriggs reminiscing through art.

Throughout the journey, I’ll be there to capture goings-on and what the kids are discovering about a crucial issue in society.

As a Demetia carer myself, I’m really excited by the project and honestly don’t know what to expect.

We’ve got a blank canvas, time to make a mess!

Ali 😀

 

Carer’s Strategy Meeting – Sami

 

On Wednesday 17th April I was invited to attend the Carers Strategy meeting at the new City of York Council offices, which was interesting to look around.

The purpose of the meeting was to see how the Carers Strategy could influence the Health and Wellbeing board, in terms of having more influence over carers services. The issues faced by carers cuts right across the key themes of the Health and Wellbeing board, showing that support for carers is a necessary part of the board.

York Young Adult Carers Charity Dinner – Sami

After months of hard work, weeks of planning, and too many meetings to count, the event finally arrived.

If I was in a fairytale the line “Cinderella you shall go to the ball” seems appropriate. But I’m not in a fairytale as much as it saddens me to admit, it doesn’t, however, discredit the fact that the night was just as wonderful, with a fantastic atmosphere enjoyed by all who attended.

Cat’s Induction to the world of IY – Sami

Today I met with one of my fellow YCR’ers; Cat. She joined myself and CJ in the office on her first day as a volunteer for Inspired Youth. We have another one!!

Before she joined, CJ asked her to think about 3 things that she could bring to the company, as well as 3 things she was hoping to learn whilst with us. This is what she decided.

JRCF Film Shoot Day 2 – Sami

I ask the question again, How do people not know about JRCF?

How is it that a charity which is supporting some of the most vulnerable young people within York isn’t widely known about?

I feel like standing and screaming about it to the people of York, and I would, but I’d probably be arrested for disturbing the peace or something like that. But the point remains, people need to know about JRCF, but that’s the purpose of the film really, getting the word out to those that don’t know about it.

JRCF Film Shoot Day 1 – Sami

I am incredibly lucky working with Inspired Youth, Kev and CJ work and meet some of the most amazing people, and with those people come heartfelt and inspiring stories.

We all have a story to tell, some of us just have more to tell, Some of the stories could have more twist and turns than even the bestselling author could ever dream about let alone write about, but these stories, these people we meet, they’re real.

These stories they tell are their life experiences, and granted some aren’t overly positive, but these people when you listen to what they have to say are absolutely amazing.

I had never heard about the Jack Raine Community Foundation up until the project with them was revealed, and after going there and meeting the staff, and those the charity helps, I felt awful. How is it that something so amazing and beneficial to the Young people in York is barely known about?

How to be an Outstanding Manager Day 2 – Sami

Day two of How to be an Outstanding Manager came around quickly, I don’t know if it’s because I had a lot to think about coming away from the first session, but the two weeks seemed to fly by.

After the success of the first day, I was looking forward to the second session, particularly because I knew we would be looking at how to recruit the staff that are best fit for the jobs available. Recruitment and the interview process has always been intriguing to me, more so since I realised that I wanted to set up my own company. I’ve always wondered how I could make sure that I would get the right person for the job.

It turns out that my questions were answered in the concluding training day.

Young People and Social Policy lecture – 14th January – Adele

So.. Me and Lauren went up to the York Uni to present our You Tell Me campaign, and smashed it once again!! 🙂 We got amazing feedback, not only straight after the event but via the Young People and Social Policy blog. It really does boost our confidence up, certainly the comments via the blog!! And we are more than happy to answer questions! We hope that we get our message across about our experiences of being young mums. This campaign does mean alot to us, as we are giving all young mums a voice. It is still hard for us to watch the film, and present it.. Most of the time we still get emotional!! But seeing the impact it makes, shows us that it really is worth it. I’ve said before, but no matter how many times we do these events, each one is different and we are still very nervous about it. But afterwards, especially hearing and seeing positive feedback, we wonder what we were nervous about. Without CJ or Kev, we wouldn’t have been able to do this so we are both grateful!! Hopefully, we will have many more events to smash!! 🙂

End of the Year :) – Adele

IT’S CHRISTMAAAAAASSSSSS!!

This year has been a mad rollercoaster.. And not just with IY 😉 In total I have volunteered for 57 hours (I wonder myself how I’ve put up with CJ and Kev!!) I have done many different things, first day I did become a white van man 🙂 I have also taken part in a few conferences, one being the huge No Wrong Door conference!! Reading back at the things I wanted to bring and what I wanted to learn, makes me realise how far I have actually come. I have learnt lots of things to be honest, mainly how to do complicated things on the computer!! I’m really looking forward to 2013.. Hopefully there should be many opportunities for me as a result of me being an IY ambassador.