e the chatterbox project · “we were invited to london to attend the 175th anniversary of the...

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Chat, Change Inspire The Chatterbox Project For more information visit: : Chatterboxes : @Chat_boxes : The_chatterboxes : Chatter Box Empowering young disabled people to make a difference Issue 33 or visit our website: www.ymcabournemouth.org.uk Proudly produced by members of The Chatterboxes

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Chat, ChangeInspire

The Chatterbox

Project

For more information visit:

: Chatterboxes

: @Chat_boxes

: The_chatterboxes

: Chatter Box

Empoweringyoung disabled people to make

a difference

Issue 33

or visit our website: www.ymcabournemouth.org.uk

Proudly produced by m

embers of The

Chatterboxes

“We were invited to Londonto attend the 175th Anniversary of the YMCA”.

“Over 4 days we were there with over 5 thousand people from across the world to celebrate this special event. The first day we arrived at Bournemouth coach station to get to the opening event at the ExcelCentre in London Docklands. There was lots of speeches, singers and bands playing and it was amazing”.

“After finding our hostel and enjoying some down time, on the second day we walked to Kings cross station to get a tube to go back to the event. When we arrived at the station there was a lot of confusion as many of us had never been on the tube before. When we arrived at the Excel centre we spent time in the main auditorium listening to some inspiring speeches from a range of different people like TED-Ed speakers, the President of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and World YMCA President; Patricia Pelton”.By John

“Over the next few days we enjoyed meeting lots of young leaders from all different countries and celebrating YMCA founding. We got involved in lots of different workshops about things like mental health, youth action and organisations from across the world sharing what they do as well as doing different sports activities like rock climbing and hockey. It was great to build news connections and make new friends. Everyone was so friendly”.

By Todd, Natalie and Warren

“This workshop was amazing! Thought provoking and full of smiles and laughter. I learnt a lot and I now know some Makaton! Thank you”

“We were also chosen to deliver a workshop about our project to inspire young people and organisations to set up similar projects in their own countries. It was an amazing experience and the feedback from people who attended our workshop was really positive”.

“Inspiring young people with lots to say. Just brilliant”

“I have been volunteering full time for the last month doing the gardening project. On my first day I did some lawn mowing around the main entrance with another

Chatterbox. There was so much grass that it took us about a couple of days to finish it”.

“Cherry Tree Nursery then kindly donated lots of plants to us so me and another Chatterbox pulled out all of the pallets to make them into a vegetable bed. We also

did some watering each week to help the plants grow more quickly. For the next task we painted the pallets and got extra soil from a hill to use in one of the

vegetable beds. We also fitted in litter picking as well and tidying the area to make it look more presentable to the public”.

“This project has been amazing. I’ve had the time of my life renovating Townsend Youth Centre garden to make it look more colourful and also I met some really lovely people during my time, I’m going to miss volunteering with

the team”.By James

Green SpacesOver the last few months lots of Chatterbox members have

been busy transforming one of our youth centres gardens from an unloved patio area which no one ever ventured into; to a space where young people can hang out and be inspired by

their surroundings.

For week 1 over 30 Chatterboxes from all the different groups got involved in the gardening.

“We each chose teams and worked well together. We all chose different roles including trimming the bushes, weeding, woodcraft and making food for a BBQ

party at the end of the week to celebrate our achievements. We switch from time to time to get a taste of each activity and roles”.

By George

Several Chatterbox members are now spending the next few months continuing the gardening project through a full time volunteer scheme supported by the European Solidarity Corps. They are busy building seating areas and planters,

up cycling donated garden furniture and planting the many plants which have kindly been donated to the project.

“I fully enjoyed the gardening project and I was quite proud of the results of what we achieved and what we did in general. I helped out with mostly shearing the bushes, weeding, mowing

the lawn and loads more”. By Cameron

Arts by the Sea FestivalWe spent time at the Arts by the Sea festival spreading the word about The Chatterboxes and giving out our magazines and flyers to the public. The focus of this years festival was Mind Matter, aimed at exploring and challenging current attitudes towards mental health through artwork and installations. In our tent we did lots of different fun games to get people talking about mental health like Positive Affirmations and Mirror in the Box where we got people to say something nice about the person in the box;which turned out to be their reflection as well as creating a wall of flowers filled with what people like about themselves.

Over the 2 days we experienced lots of different weather conditions from sunshine to rain but enjoyed the whole experience as a team.

“I had a great time although it was a bit windy”.

By Tom

People from the public who took part in our activities said:

“I really liked being the photographer for The Chatterboxes over the weekend and taking photos of all the Chatterbox members”.

By Warren “I LOVED blowing bubbles and

making flower”. By Elisa

“It’s fantastic. Such a great vibe. The Chatterbox tent couldn’t have been more brighter and full of positiveness and fun”.

“Brilliant fun. So lovely to meet such wonderful people”.

“Chatterboxes brought a bit of sunshine to a rather cloudy, rainy day”.

What have we been doing in our sessions?As always our evening youth sessions are filled with lots of exciting activities and visits from other organisations. Here is just a snippet of what’s been happening lately.

The Safe Schools & Communities Team came to visit our Monday night group.

“Lauren the police officer visited and talked to us all about online safety and how to stay safe on Social Media and when texting. We learned many new

important things and we feel safer now when we are using social media. We

also talked about being bullied online & what to do -> ignore it, talk to parents

& police if serious”. By Torin

Our Monday Chatterbox group visited Upton Country Park.

“We got up to alot at Upton Country Park. We first did shopping for our picnic and had to learn about budgeting. We then

arrived at the park where we played different games and then had a picnic

there which was pretty fun”. By Cameron

The sun was shining and it was lovely to say a big thank you and celebrate all the

hard work completed by several Chatterbox members who have had to

leave the group. We handed out certificates and ate lots of delicious

picnic snacks.

“Many Chatterboxes went to Splashdown Water Park. We had a fun experience on the water slides, however we had to wait long in line to go down the flumes. Before

the trip, all the planning and prepara-tion was made by me. All Chatterboxes

members who came along had a “flippin’ good time”. Most people spent the whole 2 hours sliding down “Mississippi Drifter” while the rest had their good time doing

what they wanted to do”.By James

Our Tuesday and Wednesday groups have spent time cleaning the beaches of

Boscombe.

Two Chatterbox members from our Wednesday group designed and delivered a

workshop about rap music. They shared information about the different artists they enjoy listening to and performed their own

music to the rest of The Chatterboxes and even created a few dance moves which

everyone cheered to.

“A Guide Dog called Spencer and his owner David came to our session to talk about his life and

when he got blind and things that he finds hard now.

He was really kind and he gave everyone a magnet each

and we got to stroke Spencer who was really nice.

We all loved Spencer”. By Sam

“We loved going to Boscombe beach to clean it. We picked litter and we had fun and we cleaned

all the rubbish to make Boscombe a

healthy beach”. By Jasmine

“Loads of us wanted to go and help make sure our local beach was clean so we spent time in

the evenings visiting Boscombe beach with our litter pickers and walked along the sandy beaches. We came across lots of rubbish

from childrens toys, bottles and wrappers.

At the end we felt really proud of what we had done”.

“I talked about my music, making beats and editing. I also talked about my djing skills. I enjoyed it and had fun. I will be djing at the

next magazine launch party”.By Trey

“Chatterboxes recently visited a

company in Westbourne that

develops software for public transport providers

and delivered a presentation about Autism

awareness, with a particular focus on how apps and other

technology can be used to help make different

forms of public transport more accessible.

It was great to be able to speak about our experiences and explain

some of the reasons why travelling on public transport can be more difficult for

those with disabilities, then discuss the specific things that this company and the organisations they work with could do to

help, while also raising awareness of the project”.

Our Instagram feedback included:

Autism Awareness

By Jacob

“Some Chatterboxes members attended the BCP Learning Disability Partnership Board meeting at St Mark’s Church in Wallisdown.

The Board brings together representatives from BCP Council, People First Forum and other organisations, to help improve the lives of adults with learning disabilities, by looking at key issues such as the funding of services and providing an opportunity for carers and self-advocates, these are people with learning disabilities who speak-up and have their say in decisions which affect them, to ask questions and provide feedback about local provision, or share their views and experiences to help improve local services.

The Board meets every two months. The meetings feature presentations from the council giving the latest updates on local services and by some of the otherorganisations present, explaining the work they do within the local community. At a previous meeting earlier this year,Chatterboxes gave a presentation, which was very well received by Board members, who were particularly interested in the fact that Chatterboxes is a youth-led project”. By Todd

Board Meetings

The Creative ChallengeSeveral Chatterboxes have been busy creating magical art puzzles for your enjoyment.

Within our sessions we are always learning skills to help us in the future.

Can you answer our mini quiz about cleaning?

1. Autumn means lots of spiders appear in our homes. How many types of spiders live in the UK?

2. Apart from Henry Hoover what are the names of his hoover friends?

3. Most people say that their favourite room to clean in their house is...........?

4. What country is apparently the cleanest country in the world?

1. 650, 2. Charles, George, James, Harry,

Hetty, 3. The Bathroom , 4. Iceland

How many different

coloured petals are on this

flower

Yellow = Pink = Blue =

Can you spot where Molly and Cheware hidden within the magazine?