YCW 80th Mass and Celebration

Nearly 200 YCW Members, past and present, came together on Saturday to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the YCW in England Wales.

They met at Salford Cathedral for Mass, presided over by Rt. Rev. John Arnold Bishop of Salford and over a dozen priests, including our National and Assistant Chaplains, Fr John Marsland and Fr Mark Connolly.

The Mass saw many of the current YCW and IMPACT members participate as welcomers, readers, in the offertory, altar servers and in the music group. It was great to see them show their talents and confidence to all those gathered, with many former members commenting that they were happy to see so many young people taking part.

Afterwards there was a wonderful celebration, where members reconnected and shared memories of their time in the YCW. One member, Rose, impressed us all by her long service to the YCW, having joined in 1946! She was given the privileged job of cutting our very own YCW birthday cake.

National President, Kate Wilkinson, thanked all those who came along to support the event and took the opportunity to share our upcoming campaign on Young People and Mental Health, called “Mind! The Gap”. She said: “I would like to thank everyone for their service to the YCW over the last 80 years and especially all those who could join us for this magnificent occasion.”

YCW Launches Living Wage Resource

The YCW has launched it's own Living Wage resource to tie in with this year's Living Wage Week.

The document covers the background and basics of the Living Wage, including the recently announced figures for the new level set by the Living Wage Foundation.

It will also allow young people to use the SEE, JUDGE, ACT method, to fully explore the issue and see how they can engage with this in their own reality.

The resource can be found here: http://www.ycwimpact.com/downloads/ and can be downloaded for FREE!

Next Week is Living Wage Week - 5th-11th November

Next week will be 2017's "Living Wage Week" (5th-11th November).

The purpose of the week is to raise awareness about the need for a Living Wage and to celebrate responsible employers who pay it. (More details can be found online here: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/living-wage-week)

At the YCW we are committed to promoting the Living Wage as an essential part of ensuring dignity at work. At the heart of the movement is the idea that a hard days work deserves a fair
days pay.

We have produced a useful resource for any Group that would like to look further into the Living Wage, using the SEE, JUDGE, ACT method. This can be downloaded for FREE here: http://www.ycwimpact.com/downloads/

Sandbach YCW Impact Group Action for Refugees

On Sunday 8th October,  the Sandbach YCW Impact group organised a coffee morning after Mass in aid of the refugees in Myanmar/Burma.

There was a prize quiz and a presentation about the situation. It was very well attended and a very enjoyable event for the parishioners after church. The group were able to raise over £300 for Myanmar.

In the picture Mary, Kathleen, Joey, Luther, Esther (the section president) and Harvey.

YCW National Training and Development Worker, Marc Besford, congratulated the Group on their efforts saying: "This is a fantastic example of the young people working through the YCW method and building up their skills in Christian leadership. Well done to them!"

National Team Visit the North East

Last week, Marc and Fr John from the National Team, spent 4 days visiting the North East YCW and Impact groups, as well as potential new groups that being formed.

They first visited St Anthony’s School, Sunderland - alongside Sean Smith (National Treasurer) - where they met Sister Josepha and the Impact! group. The discussion was lively and all of the group were engaged in the topic of mental health. 

Next day they visited Carmel College, Darlington and St Michael’s Academy, Billingham. There was also the opportunity to join the Billingham YCW parish group in the evening. The team then met with Professor Peter Kelly, who is the Director of Public Health for the North East, in the hope that the we can work together in the future on issues that affect young people.

On the last day of the visit, Marc and Fr John visited St Bede’s School, Peterlee and the Ushaw YCW Group.

Overall the North East visit was a great success with a possible three new groups forming (St Michael's, Billingham & St Patrick's, Consett & Carmel College, Darlington), as well as another group in St Bede's Peterlee with the possibility of a third.

Marc welcomed the chance to visit the region saying: "It was nice to be back in the North East again, having moved down from here to join the YCW National Team in August. This region has seen a growing number of groups for us since we moved the HQ to the North and I hope we can continue to support the good work that's going on."

Training for New Adult Companions and Chaplains

There is an upcoming training session for new Adult Companions to be held on 23rd October, 7-8:30pm - at St Anthony's House, Eleventh Street, Trafford Park, Manchester, M17 1JF.

The course will cover the basic principles and methods of the YCW, tips on how to get started, an in-depth look at the role of an adult companion and how they fit into the YCW meetings. Finally, it will look at the most important aspects of being a companion, how best to support the young people in the group.

Please get in contact if you are keen to attend or would like more information.