Ramsbottom IMPACT Group Reflect On Recent Action

On Christmas Day 2018, St Joseph’s Ramsbottom IMPACT Group came together with parishioners and members of our community to make a difference by hosting a Christmas Dinner for the lonely, vulnerable, poor and homeless. Overall, there were 85 guests who attended.

To fund the event, the Group raised money at Church after making an appeal to the congregation after weekend Masses. Their remarks focused on the Gospel message of Jesus: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brother, that you do unto me”. The amount raised was over £300.

In addition to this, an online donation page was set up and shared on social media. This raised an impressive £2000 and allowed the Group to buy all the food and other items needed for the meal. It also meant that each guest would be able to receive a present from the young leaders.

One of the additional benefits of the action was the sense of community and collaboration that was generated by it. The local shopping centre donated a tree and decorations, parishioners gave chair covers, table cloths and help set up the room, the Manchester branch of the Council of Christian and Jews, as well as members of the Muslim community, provided the transport for the guests.

The young leaders said of the event: “We could not have taken on and carried out this challenge without the amazing help of our parish and wider community. It was very humbling and a beautiful experience, we can all honestly say that we couldn’t find a better way to spend Christmas Day.”

Marc Besford, National Training and Development Worker, congratulated the Group saying: “When I heard about how the young leaders had done such an amazing action, I was incredibly impressed. The Group is an inspiration and a fine example of how working through the YCW Method can produce amazing results.”

Sandbach YCW Group Visit Refugee Sponsorship House

Over the past year or so, we have been reporting on the amazing progress made by the Sandbach YCW Group in their efforts to sponsor and host a refugee family from Syria.

Recently, the National Training and Development Worker, Marc Besford, visited the house that is being rented by the Parish, to see the DIY work carried out by the young leaders and their fellow parishioners. It is intended that the family will arrive at the house very shortly.

In addition to this, the Group were joined by former National President Ricky Davies who came to speak to them about the current realities of Sandbach, what they liked and disliked and how they could change it.

As part of this they looked at volunteering, helping the local foodbank in the area and talked about loneliness amongst both young and old.

Marc Besford said: "Our movement exists to train young people to be leaders and an inspiration in showing their ability to lead and change the world for the better. I hope by Sandbach’s witness others will see the potential of our young people across the country.”

Preston IMPACT! Group Join Leadership Project For Women And Girls

With the focus on developing leadership among the young people of the YCW and IMPACT! Groups, we were proud to support an additional initiative from the Preston IMPACT!.

The group is getting involved in a UKYouth led project called “EpowHER” which is also supported by the British Red Cross. EmpowHER inspires young women and girls lead change in their community. The programme, delivered in partnership with the British Red Cross and Young Women’s Trust with funding from Spirit of 2012, aims to address low levels of well-being amongst young women and girls in the UK by empowering them to have a voice, be heard and give back to their local community.

Through face-to-face activity sessions, young women and girls will learn about individuals’ rights, empowerment and resilience. They will then be supported to give back to their community through inclusive and meaningful social action opportunities provided by the British Red Cross, as well as receiving specialised leadership training from the Young Women’s Trust.

The girls in the Preston Group are very keen to take up the opportunity to come visit London and visit the Red Cross Archive - with a  particular focus on the huge contributions and leadership of women and have lunch at Head Office. The Group will be joined by Red Cross role models for lunch. If there is time the Group may also arrange a visit to another Museum in London.

From the Calls to Action the group decided that they want to run a pop-up shop. They will collect and make items to sell and thought about combining with some other fundraising activities.

Kate Wilkinson, National President of the YCW, welcomed this fantastic opportunity saying: “We have been working hard over the past year to promote the development of leadership amongst young people and this initiative for young women and girls will really add to this. I’m looking forward to hearing about what they get up to!”

Trade Union Movement Looks To Support Young Workers

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has announced that it plans to do more to recruit, train and support young workers over the coming year. The move comes as recent figures show that nearly 90% of under 30s on low to median incomes work in the private sector — but just 6.3% of them are in trade unions.

Back in 1891 the Catholic Church acknowledged the essential role of Trade Unions as the only reliable way to protect the rights, safety, and well-being of workers and their families. Pope Leo XIII used his encyclical Rerum novarum to depict the plight of the urban poor and condemn unrestricted capitalism. Chief among the remedies it prescribed were the formation of trade unions and the introduction of collective bargaining.

Unions would go on to successfully lobby for the creation of a five-day work week, eight-hour work day, pensions and benefits for families, living wages for workers, and safe working conditions.

Trade Unionism was also a driving force in the creation of the YCW. Our founder, Joseph Cardijn, originally called the growing movement in Belgium the “Young Trade Unionists” and it was the plight of workers that drew Cardijn to his lifelong mission of fighting for justice and the empowerment of young workers.

Therefore, we are looking forward to supporting the TUC’s efforts to engage with young workers across the country. Already they have took time to explore the issues and found that young workers are more likely to be employed in industries that have seen huge increases in casualised work over the last decade. Retail, hospitality and social care employ large numbers of young workers.

In addition, zero hours, temporary contracts, agency work, all mean it’s getting harder and harder to balance your working life with your personal life. That’s doubly the case for young parents, trying to balance unpredictable shifts with costly and inflexible childcare. Low pay makes it hard to get by and plan for the future.

National Training and Development Worker, Marc Besford, commented on this saying: “There are so many common causes that the YCW and the TUC have been working on and I look forward to seeing how we can support each other over the coming months. We have already began greater collaboration with our colleagues at St Antony’s Centre for Church and Industry and we will be engaging with out young leaders to see how they want to get involved.”

For more information, please visit: https://www.tuc.org.uk/building-union-movement-works-younger-workers

New Oldham YCW Group Supports Women's Refuge At Christmas

At the end of last year it was reported that the Oldham YCW Group had been working through the SEE - JUDGE - ACT Method and the young leaders decided that they would help their local Women’s Refuge - a place where women and their children can take refuge when they are suffering from domestic violence and abuse.

These refuges are vital lifelines for many women and in the run-up to Christmas many victims have to spend time away from family and friends in order to stay safe.

The refuge in Oldham has 22 women and 24 children. The Group were aware that the refuge did not have very much and so it was an opportunity to make a meaningful donation of things which they need and maybe a few treats as well.

The young leaders had a meeting and came up with ideas as to how best they could help the families in need at Christmastime, aware of the fact that there would be restrictions as there are many regulations in place to ensure the safety of the women and children.

In the end they decided to fill stockings and gift bags full of goodies for the women and children in need. With girls and boys aged from 6 months-16 years they had to cater to a wide range of people. With support from their parishioners, donations were made of women’s toiletries and underwear, socks, gloves and scarves for the winter months, toys and games for the kids, and loads of chocolate.

One of the young leaders, Max, reflected on the initiative saying: “A few of our members went along to the refuge before Christmas and gave our donations to them. They were all very grateful. It was fantastic to be able to develop our leadership and organisational skills over the weeks and months we’ve been planning this. We are all looking forward to doing more in the near future.”

Billingham YCW Developing Leadership Through Service

In the run-up to Christmas, Billingham YCW Group decided to use this time of Advent reflection to think on those who go without over the holidays. In response, they wanted to continue their support for the local Billingham and Stockton Borough foodbank.

The foodbank, which has been open since 2012, supplied 6347 3-day emergency food parcels last year and have to grapple with increasing demand on their generosity. In fact, it has been reported that many of the people who need foodbanks are actually in work, but they still struggle to afford enough food to feed themselves and their families.

In response, the Group used £150 of their funds to buy specific items that the foodbank was most in need of and visited the centre to drop off the supplies in person. They wanted to more fully understand the reality of what the foodbanks actually do, including the range of services around just the supply of food parcels. Some of this work includes a job club, advice on Universal Credit and cooking courses.

Ben Sinclair, member of the Billingham YCW Group and current National Secretary, said: "It is really important that we develop our Christian leadership by being able to serve the poorest and most vulnerable. The Group have more plans in the near future to raise some more money, which we can then use to help even more."