Dear Stephen,

I just wanted to email you to thank you properly for the volunteering opportunity you gave me on Thursday. It was a fantastic experience and much more eye-opening then I originally thought. The way the whole charity is run and how the staff interact with each other and the children is inspiring, moreover, the way y…ou can see the effect of this contact with the children is something very special.

You really have a wonderful organisation at KIND and I would love to do whatever I can to support that. Please let me know if you ever need any help or volunteers in the future as, if you would have me back, I would be honoured to work with you again. I understand with the funding situation changing in the next few months that there will be a few alterations to how KIND works but if there is the opportunity it really would be a privilege to aid you with anything that KIND does.

Thank you once again and congratulations on creating something so fantastic.

Yours Sincerely,

Jessica

One of the children Millie aged 10 quoted; ” This has been the best week of my life. I loved it when we baked the Beatles biscuits. I can’t wait to come back and be part of the KIND team again. I love it here”.

The children took part in many great activities such as a tour around Liverpool, Singing, Arts and Crafts, Dance, Drama, group games, Dodge Ball and Baking.

Check out the week programme below;

 The project brought together and united 24 children of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds from 2 schools in the north and south of our city, St Vincent De Paul and Holy Cross. Tackling issues common to all their lives – bullying, racism, hate crime, unemployment, anti-social behaviour and use of language – it showed them that they face the same difficulties and choices within their different communities.

 The children explored issues utilising their own experiences and in many cases, prejudices. Coming from a diverse range of ethnic and religious backgrounds, they worked through many of these issues and produced pieces of work which explored the idea of ‘Same but Different’ and contributed to a more equitable and understanding community. These included making a short 5 minute video/DVD and designing their own artwork for hooded tops and bags with the slogan ‘Same but Different’.

 Using drama, the written word, music, movement and video, the children worked in small groups, coming together at various times of the day to report back to the whole group. They worked together to prepare lunches and breaks. Part of the project was an understanding of the importance of food and eating together. To facilitate this we had a variety of different ethnic foods prepared by someone from the community who also worked with the children in the foods preparation. This food maybe something that they may not be aware of/or would not normally try.

 The project aimed to address some of the major problems facing our community and which can only be addressed and solved by the community itself. The children in the project were year 5/6 and soon to start in secondary education. The two-week project aimed to widen their perspectives and give them a more positive outlook on areas such as multicultural Liverpool/Merseyside and the importance of respecting other peoples sexual preferences as well as their ethnic and religious backgrounds. It also highlighted the dangers of drug and violence i.e. knife crime. With the emphasis on staying safe.

 Outside of the schools that took part, an important part of the success of the project was the involvement of officers from Merseyside Police. We invited officers who specialise in hate crimes, gun and knife crime and just as important the aftermath of such crimes to have sessions with the children to discuss these issues and their work. This was a 2-way dialogue and encouraged the children to talk about their experiences and give them a better understanding of and respect for the work the police do. To cement this further we also had the officers engage with the children after these sessions in the less formal atmosphere of lunch/breaks.

  This two-week project, gave us the time to look more closely at these issues and how to counter the attitudes amongst some of our children and families. The overwhelmingly positive feedback and response from all involved in the project (the children, schools, Merseyside police and fire service), showed us that there was a need for this kind of project and that it can work for the benefit of the children and our community.

For example, friendships were made between many of the children involved, that, from what the schools have told us, have lasted beyond the length of the project and which illustrate how ingrained prejudices can be overcome to create bonds that they wouldn’t otherwise have thought possible. The schools involved in the project have also forged close links with each other and have been looking at ways of collaborating on other projects/activities.

You can find full details on their website by clicking this link http://queenofpeace.co.uk/events/fun-charity-night/ 

or watch a couple of videos on this page http://queenofpeace.co.uk/events/fun-charity-night/charity-night-videos/

Tickets are just £5 available from Ourselves or Queen of Peace 0151 928 7492 or Quarion 0151 284 8438

Dave at Quarion is looking after all of the sponsorship details as he is arranging for the racecards to be printed for the fluffy pig racing. See the request for sponsors details on the Queen of Peace pages.

Thanks for your support

In 2012 we face difficult ecomomic times but I know with the support of our friends we will be able to continue providing our children and families with those services they so desperately need and benefit from.

Please keep in touch and as they say in the movies ‘watch this space’!

All the best,

Stephen and the KIND Team