March 2012

2nd Witham Boys’ Brigade. Introduction Overview

2nd. Witham Boys’ Brigade is a large local youth group, covering an area of 25 plus square miles, operating continuously since September 1972.

The Group has a membership of 150 including staff, with young people aged

from 5 years upwards, organised in four age groups. Each of these group's programmes is arranged by the staff at quarterly meetings and supported by four staff working from the office.

Whilst normal youth group activities are undertaken on three to four nights a

week, there is also a youth led Sports group, War Hammer youth - run

Project, Powerboat group based at Bradwell Waterside, and a conservation

land project at Twinstead in north Essex, where we have 18 acres of ancient

broadleaf woodland and a 7 acre arable field – all supported by a workshop facility in Witham, where a mezzanine floor has been recently completed, and an office in central Witham.

Car restoration and BMX rebuilding groups feature with older young people too. Other water – based activities include raft building and canoeing / kayaking. Woodturning, Life skills and film making, plus graphic design and art and craft, add a formidable array of activities on offer too !

Special Needs and Community Development

Around 65% of our membership and others we work alongside with, have

young people who are disadvantaged by way of family, economic,

unemployment or disability, including learning disability, challenging

behaviour or other difficulty or dysfunction. A mentoring programme is in

place, focussing on work experience, social skills, life skills, CV writing and job interview techniques.

Of late we are assisting several young people to gain apprenticeships / work in the town. Referrals are received from government agencies and other local groups. Some have been subject to exclusion from school and school work, plus drug abuse and high risk offending possibility. We subsidise activities for anyone who needs it, where possible and needed.

The Group supports other organisations in the area too, through a Community

Development programme, offering our facilities and activities to others.

Sessional work is ongoing in 7 locations each week, currently reaching up to another 200 young people each year !

Focus on Community Development

We have over 2011 to 2012:

  • Successfully maintained our presence at 7 groups, all year on a weekly basis, within Witham, all reaching an average of 70 children & young people per week. Ongoing waiting list for cookery at one of our location work.
  • A successful Showcase morning promoting local youth groups & clubs to the general public, within the town for the 36 youth groups working in the Witham area.
  • Begun work within Harlequin Childrens’ Centre on a Saturday morning – two adult BB staff and three Senior BB members, assisting with running activities and craft., during a parents – children Messy Activity morning too. This is to aid interaction between children and their parents.
  • Individual work during Boys’ Brigade of an excluded / removed from school, 11 year old, ex - member of BB – in cooking and literacy work and manual gardening to help disabled people. Up to five hours a week intervention – Two BB adult staff. Apprenticeship offers and search for several 17 year old BB member.
  • Work with The Princes Trust at Parkside Youth Centre - 14 older young people on skills courses – cooking.

The next steps in Community Development

  • To further extend our engagement with young people using Cooking & craft activities, and to re - introduce Car Restoration and wood turning again, the latter following building work to extend into a mezzanine floor.
  • To gain even more new members through our engagement of young people across the town.
  • To support street work in Witham by our involvement.
  • To aid & encourage young people in making the right choices, in their use of spare time and develop their skills, or assist in identifying them, with particular reference to the Humber Road Estate & The Courts areas.
  • To continue to encourage young people to prosper in personal development including CV writing and Apprenticeship searches.
  • To encourage young people to be proud of being a part of something that matters and in a town where they can make a difference too.
  • To further extend our activities with groups, by the following :
  • To carry out a survey using questionnaires at the Academies (Maltings Academy & New

Rickstones Academy) that asks the basic question what do they need from a youth

group or youth group setting, or activity session – so that we can integrate these

suggestions into all of our programmes, so that we can .

  • More School assemblies are being planned, with new promotional leaflets of all our activities
  • Production of a showcase brochure to be given to the public, detailing groups available within Witham
  • Further intervention through art and craft activities, with young people assisted through The Princes Trust programme in Witham.
  • To provide an apprenticeship in Business and IT linked to a recognized Youth Work QCF award, to work with young people, some of whom have special needs.

General

In September 2012 2nd. Witham BB will have achieved its 40th. Birthday with

celebrations throughout the month but specifically on Saturday 22nd. with a day of

activities, challenges and an Act of Celebration, all at The New Rickstones Academy.

It is hoped a new project of building a tree house complex, on our land at Twinstead,

can be launched too !

The post of CEO, has been funded through The Essex Community Foundation's

"Thriving Third Sector Fund" and will be funded for three years.

Part of the funding's terms and conditions, will include a six monthly progress report to

be submitted to ECF. This application was hugely supported by our local Member of

Parliament, and by Councillors from Witham Town Council and the Essex Council for

Voluntary Youth Services.

2nd. Witham BB became a registered charity in its own right nearly 10 years ago, and

is managed by five Trustees.

Although there are a total of around 50 volunteer staff, four work on a daily basis from the Office :

Chair of Trustees - voluntary

Admin and book keeping plus Community Development - 34 hours paid

Trainee Youth Worker - full time and paid post

Apprentice Business and Admin - full time and paid post

The latter two posts are due to end in September and will require re - funding if they

are to continue.

Each of the age groups have their own voluntary staff.

By end of March 2012, 2nd. Witham BB will have a new website - linked to several other sites and social networking.

Updated 5th. March 2012

Office: The Boys’ Brigade Office Suite, Freebournes Farmhouse, 3 Newland Street, Witham, Essex CM8 2AF

Telephone: 01376 520 400 Facsimile: 01376 520 410

Email: Web:

Captain: John Boon, 16 Harebell Drive, Witham, Essex CM8 2XB Telephone: 01376 512 930

Registered Charity No. 1098237