A vSpecial Moment!

By Jack Welch

Volunteer Press Officer

Jack shakes hands with Alan Knott, DYA Chairman
and Trustee, at exhibition opening.

Jack Welch, a fellow volunteer of the Dorset Young Remembers, has recently been awarded a new position in the vInspired offices. Until August 2013, he will serve as a new member of the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) which helps create and make important decisions in all aspects which affect young people volunteering in their communities in the present day. It is a very exciting prospect as he will now be able to support the new and upcoming projects (including our new successor to the Dorset Young Remembers, to be revealed soon!) and others across the county. As well as this, he has completed an application for the v100 certificate, in which volunteers who give over 100 hours of their time can apply for the award, and has agreed to share his response to the ways in which he has benefited from working over a year in the exciting project: 

Please describe the volunteering you have carried out for this award

For the past year I have been principally involved in a Heritage Lottery funded project known as the Dorset Young Remembers. This has largely come as a result from an upcoming 70th anniversary of our main youth services body, the Dorset Youth Association. This project has looked at the importance of youth clubs past and present for young people and investigates the scale which many projects offer different opportunities. For this, I have been a lead volunteer in securing the funding for the HLF to expand our project, talking with key press journalists to gather awareness for the project and maintaining a regular blog online to describe some of the activities young volunteers participated in. I have also taken a role in interviewing the oral histories of vital members of the local county who have had a direct impact on young people (or being a young person themselves and recording their personal experiences) in the community. After our exhibition opened, I have had a significant role in organising a celebration at the museum, including Master of Ceremonies to announce the order of events and acting as a personal tour guide around one of the sections of the exhibition. As a direct result of the project, I have volunteered in small roles in the museum to support some of their facilities as well.

Please tell us about the difference your volunteering has made to other people or the environment

A large proportion of this project was to explain the purpose and motivations of the project to various figures of the community. This included journalists from different groups, statutory workers who work within children's services and our partners from the Museum, which hosted our exhibition. Overtime, skills in both public speaking and social & hosting situations were developed and I now feel much more able to approach people who I am unfamiliar with. Much of this project also consisted in collaborating as a team and one of the aspects of this was writing for different audience needs. As a result, peer reading and alterations played a key role in this and I have been able to adopt this in the respect I can absorb criticism for improvement later and also be honest with group members when I believe something could be achieved better.

What skills did you use or develop through your volunteering? Please include examples.

Through the research and knowledge gained from previously neglected news clippings and annual reports, both myself and members of the project have met with youth club visitors and people across the community who have made a difference to young people's lives. With their oral histories and giving them an opportunity to share their memories that might have otherwise been unrecorded, they will now be available for the public in the county archive centre. Also, our project has had a direct link to the future preservation of youth clubs and I have facilitated in giving the written evidence on our blog in regards to the effort and achievement young people can make in their community. DYR allows an opportunity for youth clubs to be protected in the coming years by council bodies. Thanks to the success of this project, we have secured seed funding for more young people to take part in an upcoming new project to follow on from this one.  

What have you learned from your volunteering experience? 

From this project alone, I have been able to advance both my communication and negotiating skills with members of the project and others outside it as well. An example is willingness for my own work to be challenged and then improved by suggestion about how it may be improved if done alternatively. As well as this, I have had to pay close attention to the conversations and responses of people during oral histories and make relevant statements which support the topic in hand. In addition, I have gained a new enthusiasm for working with members of the press and ensuring that our project could secure all the publicity possible. Other aspects include working independently and research skills, all of which supported the expected traits for university. If there was perhaps any changes I could have made, it would have been to have given more time to have investigated ways of getting our project even more publicity.  

Hiking to Hotpants, Tents to Twister - Celebration Release

Dorset Youth Association and Dorset County Museum

NEWS RELEASE

10 Sept 2012

HIKING TO HOTPANTS, TENTS TO TWISTER

An Exhibition of Youth clubs in Dorset

Celebration Event Friday 7 September 2012

A special event took place at 6.30pm on Friday 7 September at Dorset County Museum. Over 120 guests attended the exhibition “Hiking to Hot pants, Tents to Twister” which explores the history of youth clubs in the Dorset Youth Association Network over seven decades and is open to the public until 20 October. Guests at the event included current youth club members, veteran leaders (four of whom have received MBEs), Trustees and the Mayor of Wimborne Mr J Burden, the Mayor of Dorchester Andy Canning, the Mayor of Weymouth Margaret Leicester. Also in attendance were Senior decision-makers in Dorset, the incoming Chief Executive of Dorset County Council Debbie Ward and her two young sons and out-going Chief Executive David Jenkins and acting Director of Children services Jackie Last, the Chair of West Dorset District Council. HM's Lord Lieutenant, Mrs. Anthony Pitt Rivers, was unable to attend the event and was represented by Mrs. Lang on the night.

A core group of 12 young people with a huge range of abilities have worked over 1400 volunteer hours on the project. Supported by Dorset Youth Association (DYA) through the Heritage Lottery Fund Young Roots Fund, they have used multimedia to tell the story using a visual timeline, fascinating artefacts, comic style graphics and videos. It explores the simple but important youth club story of fun and friendship, allowing young people to be in charge of their own place where they can get away from the pressures of home and school. There is a huge range of activities on display from crafting to boxing. They show examples of clubs across Dorset, some led by volunteers in villages & others led by DCC Youth workers in towns which have up to 100 young people attending 7 nights a week. “It is a world where caring leaders inspire young people to become well-rounded, confident individuals and the leaders of tomorrow. “said Jack Welch a volunteer with the group.

Jackie Last Acting Director for Children's Services Dorset County Council said “I found it extremely interesting and the young people I spoke to were clearly very proud and very informed about what they had done.”

Issy Eastwood, Volunteer Event Manger, said“It is a way to say thank you to those who have taken part and for the community to see how youth clubs can and have benefitted everyone.”

Lorna Johnson, project worker for DYA, said, “I hope we can convey how important it is to support these clubs so they can run for another seven decades. Many counties around us have withdrawn support for the vital infrastructure that is needed to run them long term.”

“The project and the exhibition have already achieved considerable local support and acclaim.”  Dave Thompson, Director of DYA said, “I am really proud of the commitment shown by the young people and support offered by staff. The group learned many new skills from older members of the community, Trustees, volunteers and staff which helped them to produce the exhibition and to celebrate a unique part of Dorset’s heritage.” The group have also been working with staff from Dorset County Museum where the exhibition is taking place.  Jon Murden, Director of the Museum said, “Projects like this are vital to actively involve young people in the life of the Museum. They can help our local community tap into vital new sources of heritage funding and can fundamentally change our perceptions. They create positive impressions about teenagers and their role in society, as well as showing that museums today are not stuffy and boring.”

Catering at the event was provided by Smart Cookies - another young group of volunteers with a range of special needs, supported by Dorset Youth Association. In addition, the event included guided tours of the exhibition, speeches from representatives of the Heritage Lottery Fund, music through the ages and some youth club games for people of all ages to enjoy.

For further information about the project and event, please contact Lorna Johnson on 07788203003 or visit http://dorsetyoungremembers.blogspot.co.uk/.

The celebration event is on Friday 7September 6.30pm till 8.30 pm at Dorset County Museum.  The exhibition “From Hiking to Hot pants, Tents to Twister” runs until 20 October 2012.

ENDS 

For further media information, please contact:

Lorna Johnson

Dorset Youth Association

Tel: 01305 757027

Mob: 07788203003

Email: lornajohnson@dorsetyouth.com

From Hiking to Hotpants, Tents to Twister - The Celebration - Friday September 7th 2012

Dorset Youth Association and Dorset County Museum

NEWS RELEASE

29 August  2012

HIKING TO HOTPANTS, TENTS TO TWISTER

An Exhibition of Youth clubs in Dorset

Celebration Event Friday 7 September 2012

A special event will take place at 6.30pm on Friday 7 September at Dorset County Museum . It will celebrate the mounting of the exhibition “Hiking to Hot pants, Tents to Twister” which explores the history of youth clubs in the Dorset Youth Association Network over  seven decades and is open to the public until 20 October. Guests at the event will include current youth club members, veteran leaders and Trustees (four of whom have received MBEs) and senior decision-makers in Dorset.

A core group of 12 young people with a huge range of abilities have worked for over 1400 volunteer hours on the project. Supported by Dorset Youth Association (DYA) through the Heritage Lottery Fund Young Roots Fund, they have used multimedia to tell the story using a visual timeline, fascinating artefacts, comic style graphics and videos. This full year of hard work will allow the public to see how important youth clubs are as a place for fun and friendship, allowing young people to be in charge of their own place where they can get away from the pressures of home and school. At youth club inspiring, caring leaders help them try new activities and develop into well-rounded, confident individuals and the leaders of tomorrow.

“It is a way to say thank you to those who have taken part and for the community to see how youth clubs can and have benefitted everyone,” said Issy Eastwood, one of the volunteers.

Lorna Johnson, project worker for DYA said, “I hope we can convey how important it is to support these clubs so they can run for another seven decades. Many counties around us have withdrawn support for the vital infrastructure that is needed to run them long term.”

The project and the exhibition have already achieved considerable local support and acclaim.  Dave Thompson, Director of DYA said, “I am really proud of the commitment shown by the young people and support offered by staff. The group learned many new skills from older members of the community, Trustees, volunteers and staff which helped them to produce the exhibition and to celebrate a unique part of Dorset’s heritage.” The group have also been working with staff from Dorset County Museum where the exhibition is taking place.  Jon Murden, Director of the Museum said, “Projects like this are vital to actively involve young people in the life of the Museum. They can help our local community tap into vital new sources of heritage funding and can fundamentally change our perceptions. They create positive impressions about teenagers and their role in society, as well as showing that museums today are not stuffy and boring.”

Catering at the event will be provided by Smart Cookies - another young group of volunteers with a range of special needs, supported by Dorset Youth Association.   In addition, the event will include guided tours of the exhibition, speeches from representatives of the Heritage Lottery Fund, music through the ages and some youth club games for everyone to enjoy.

The Dorset Young Remembers Volunteer team. From top Left: Pippa Brindley Learning Manager Dorset County Museum, Ellie Garrett, Edward Trist, Amy Bradford, Jenny Palmer, Ashley Bradshaw, Jack Welch, Douglas Barrett, Bottom left: Rosie Silk, Lorna Johnson DYA project worker, Charlotte Johnson, Lee Burnett, Liz Silk adult volunteer.

 

Jack Welch young history volunteer showing Dorset Youth Association Trustee Allen Knott around the exhibition on DYA youth clubs.

For further media information, please contact:

Lorna Johnson

Dorset Youth Association

Tel: 01305 757027

Mob: 07788203003

Email: lornajohnson@dorsetyouth.com

The Big Museum Takeover - Week 2, Day 4

Last Impressions

By Jack Welch, Volunteer Press Officer

Edward tries his hardest to get
the technology working.

                             

Wally Gundry's (DYA VP) hiking stick, called Dino, 
hung above the timeline

The group at DYR faced their last hurdles today, as the finishing touches and final fittings took place to get the exhibition in healthy shape, and we brace ourselves for the opening that was to take place on Saturday. But, today was a special occasion for more reason than the one. Dorset was today one of the host towns for the ongoing Olympic torch relay across the country, and huge anticipation was building as the museum was crowded with visitors and foreign students. They could learn a lot from the exciting "Our Sporting Life" exhibition detailing Dorset Olympic athletes through the decades.  It was just a taste of what a busy day could present for visitors of  our exhibition.

As the fixtures and fittings got underway, Lee assisted Pippa in putting together a small box, decorated with fabric to support some of the smaller objects, as well as give an extra boost of colour inside the cabinet. Edward, Ashley and t he museum technician Ken were having great difficulty in their Go-Kart features, as button sender and its television recipient were just not mixing very well together. There was much moving around of the small vehicle as they tried their best to ensure that the interactive features could actually be interactive.We were grateful for their patience! 

On the other side of the room, Jack, Liz and Rosie were stationed on a table full to the brim of paper, bric-a-brac and laptops. It was going to be challenge for them to make the best of the confined space they were working in, as well as making the best of the computers available. Problems soon unfolded as the press release both Jack and Liz worked on was noticeably absent from the laptop they were on! Contingency plans had to be made and both volunteers soon found themselves assisting Lee in putting together the adhesive lining on the wall for our magnets. This was to prepare the feature where visitors, young and old, can write their memories of youth club days and stick it on the wall for everyone to see. It soon proved more difficult than we first thought and the lining soon started disagreeing with its handlers. No wonder Pippa said it had a life of its own! This, like many other things had to be measured precisely to avoid wonky measurements or a sloppy appearance afterwards.

Inspecting positions for the comic
boards.

Later on, and just in time for lunch, the Olympic torch made its historic appearance in the high street of Dorchester. It was a buzzy atmosphere, in spite of the hostile weather conditions. A large crowd of people came to see the handover of one torch to another. It was back to business. Liz and Jack were at last able to finish the elusive press release, as well as adding a couple of blog posts on top of that. The labels were all cut out and ready to take their positions. Some other members came after their school day to prepare the positions of the comic boards on the walls.

We think we are ready and now all eyes turned to the opening on Saturday...

The Big Museum Takeover - Week 2, Day 3

Cutting for the Final Edit

By Jack Welch, Volunteer Press Officer

Amy and Lee measure out the precise
measurements for timeline fittings.

With the group reduced in numbers to their technical and visual crew, it was time to sit in the hotseat of DYR's first taste as film editors. The task would not be easy. A visit to the Dorset Centre for Educational Technology (DCET) on the Marabout Industrial Estate was in order. When the place was at last found (after some confusion on its tucked away location), the team got to grips with the experts who knew how to ensure that the clip stays fast paced, as well as making it an enjoyable experience for the visitors. The two attendees, Edward and Lee, found this a very interesting experience and saw just how technology can make a significant impact on ways of looking at films. As Edward himself said, "It was interesting to see a proper editor at work and it was really helpful to have input from somebody who it is more knowledgeable and knows where to make cuts." Be the judges for yourself, as you could be one of the visitors who sits in the driving seat and watch our new and improved karting video. The team now feel confident enough to try and edit the next film themselves on the Mac.

(From left) Amy, Edward and Philippa with a mock-up
of one of two posters outside the museum.

Back at our base, Lee was also busy for much of the morning arranging final labels and object positions in the cabinets. The television was ready to be set above the Go-Kart. We couldn't have done it without the professional brilliance of our museum technician  Ken. So thank you to them! Edward returned and continued with his work on the black box hoping to make a button on the kart interact with the television to start the film. One small sigh of relief can be had in that the musuem has a music license for any songs we wish to choose for the slide show edit. This is a satisfying result so now the group can select any music that will blend in best with the photos. 

During lunch, Pippa came with the rush announcement that the window advertising display had to be placed inside the museum front window. There was no time to wait , as Pippa informed the group the printers had put us on hold for a few days so we could get our area ready. Phillipa and Amy, our knowledgeable museum guides, helped Edward paste our brand new posters for the public to look at. Come and see the result yourself, as the team at DYR were surprised to see the supersized results looking so impressive on the front of the museum for all the high street to see. With two days to go now, the final lap has now been reached to make the finishing touches for the big reveal on Saturday. It's looking promising!

The Big Museum Takeover - Week 2, Day 2

The Writing's on the Board

By Jack Welch, Volunteer Press Officer

Boards at last! Lee, Edward and Rosie
unwrap the biggest presents
yet.

Pippa oversees the cabinet display is
just right.

After yesterday's chaotic spell of getting the general preparation of the exhibition ready, the team at DYR found it best that the groups should be much more concentrated and focused on the points that need to be finished. It was a later start from the group that morning and already the largest cabinet was filled with all sorts of eye-catching objects, including a suspended baton and mace, courtesy of our Majorette youth clubs. It was very exciting to see all our decisions now coming visually together and some of the smaller features of this exhibition standing out very well amongst all the bigger displays around. Dotted along the wall, pieces of written descriptions and printed photographs were temporarily stationed for their final positioning. It was great to see the photographs looking so well upon our bright coloured walls and it's all the more hopeful to see their final result will not disappoint. As Lorna made some of the finishing touches to the labels (what a lengthy process!), Susan Blake once again made an appearance to give some valuable vinyl records from a fellow youth club member who managed to make the big time in the music industry. See for yourself from Saturday! Liz and Jack, on the computer, received interesting tips from a fellow member of staff at the museum about the nature of press releases. It's not as straightforward as they sound! After finishing the blog from the last week, they settled down to write a statement for the newspapers that will hopefully attract public attention. It didn't turn out to be very easy and the afternoon was spent in editing and altering the words on just one sheet alone.

The layering of number continues (Lee's
hands).

There was some very positive developments during the day and the group had now finally received the blown up posters, after those many tiring weeks it took to produce at Routes. The result turned out to be very impressive and credit must go to Edward, who was largely the one who spent most of the hours putting in the manual elbow-grease to see that they were finished. Talking about the process overall, he commented "It's absolutely marvelous to see the end result. It was difficult with all the changes we had to make, but it was worth it in the end." Later on during the day, the television was at last ready to attach onto the wall, unfortunately this came at a heavy price with the loud drilling disturbing the next exhibition and not well liked by some of our volunteers. To round off the day, Izzy and Eliza came round to decorate our display cabinets and though it was just as nerve-wracking to meet our deadlines, the day was much more relaxed than some others.

The Big Museum Takeover - Week 2, Day 1

In the Fast Lane

By Jack Welch, Volunteer Press Officer

Edward and Jenny pose with the
cheque.

Lee, our kart designer,
stands near our
new fixture. Zoom!

After the weekend we braced ourselves for an action packed week ahead.  First task however was to welcome the staff from Clay Pigeon Kart Club where Jenson Button learnt his trade. Our static kart with a video screen is the most interactive part of the exhibition. It was fascinating to see the pace at which Lee and his colleague put the kart together so quickly. Before anybody had a chance to sit down, the fundraisers who supported our project arrived and presented the princely sum of £600.00 for all the technological wizardry on the exhibition floor.

Lee and Jenny
question Leslie
Philips.

As Jack was left to blog for the remainder of the morning, the rest of the group set about the tasks of label writing and attaching numbers to our timeline on the wall.  This was a very difficult operation and was left in the capable hands of Lee and museum technician, Ken, as they had to accurately measure the positions of each number on the wall. Liz and Rosie got underway with filling in the necessary deposit forms for the borrowed museum objects that will be displayed in the glass cabinets. We think we have managed to tell the story of linked events and the stories behind the objects. Meanwhile, Lorna welcomed Susan Blake as she dropped off some of her photographs of her days as a youth club leader, but just where all these interesting materials were going to go was very much undecided. After a much needed tea break, it was onto a busy afternoon where the group were finally able to assemble the first glimpses of just what our exhibition will look like!

Izzy and Charlotte cast their eyes
to the cabinet features.

As the group's second stint began, Edward and Ashley were now able to test for the first time how the video clips will look, as well as ensuring their LED functions from the previous week could interact with the screen in front of it. Just how the TV will look above the wall remains to be seen and just how it will work with our Go-Kart will promise some very challenging (and noisy) times ahead. The production of labels also continued, as four of the volunteers (Douglas, Ashley, Rosie and Jack) were taken on a very entertaining exploration of other museum exhibits by a volunteer tour guide. It was exciting to imagine how this exhibition will look in comparison to adjoining rooms. Jenny and Lee then received another visit from four time ex  Dorchester mayor Leslie Phillips. He allowed us to display his MBE which he received  for volunteer work, including his work for Dorchester youth club over four decades. He also gave us a specially made mayor broach to put on display. Saying why he has supported young people for 46 years, he commented "Helping the young people in Dorchester has been very important to me".