Our Leaving Care Team needs your help! Each summer the team organises a programme of activities for young people who have left care. Often the sessions are the only fun activities the young people access each year.

To make this year's schedule even more memorable, the team are asking you to consider using the Employee volunteering policy to support the sessions. The policy gives you an extra day of paid leave each year to volunteer in the community or help other council services.

By volunteering, you can play a crucial role in supporting the Leaving Care Team and making a positive impact on the lives of care experienced young people.

Activities

This year’s programme consists of five activity days, taking place on Wednesdays, designed to enhance the general wellbeing of care experienced young people aged 16 to 26.

With funding from Fairer Falkirk, the sessions aim to create memorable experiences and foster personal growth. Here’s a snapshot of the activities planned:

• Session 1: July 26 - Garden tour, quiet space, arts and crafts and healthy eating.
• Session 2: August 9 - Mindfulness, therapy, and healthy eating.
• Session 3: August 16 - "Grow your own" with recipes and cooking.
• Session 4: August 23 - Free exercise and slow-burning energy food.
• Session 5: August 30 - BBQ

All sessions take place from 2pm to 6pm at the Leaving Care Offices, Etna Road, in Falkirk.

Your skills

The team are looking for volunteers who can contribute their time and talent, especially if you have any of the following skills:

• Fitness instructor
• Yoga teacher
• Artists/crafter
• Beauty therapist
• Masseuse
• Gardener
• Cook

The young people

Feedback from previous summer programmes highlights just how important the sessions are and the positive impact they have on the young people:

"The leaving care events feel like family, we are all the same and nobody looks at you or wonders why you are there."

“We never have any money to do fun things and we always get good food!”

“We meet other young people who have been in care that we know.”

Mags Girvan, Through and After Care Workers, and programme organiser, makes clear the challenges faced by care leavers and the importance of the summer activities.

She said:

“We’re corporate parents for these young people who leave care much earlier than the rest of the population leave home, often with little or no family support. They can be socially isolated, live in poverty and experience poor mental health. They lack confidence in accessing mainstream services and often, our sessions are the only fun activity they participate in all year.

“We hope people will be willing and able to volunteer their time and talent to support the sessions, because they really do make a difference to the young people’s lives. They help them grow in confidence, empower them to access services and develop a network of informal support that support their overall wellbeing.”