Volunteer Reporters Needed

The Youth Action Network, have an exciting opportunity for your young people:

The role is a volunteer reporter. 16 – 25 age restriction.

YP will receive training and be given a camera and digital recording equipment. They will then go out and interview youth projects and write about what is happening in their area. They can also travel all overEngland if they want to it’s a very flexible opportunity and we lots of personal development along the journey.

If you have any young people that you think would be suited for this volunteer role please contact me ASAP we only have 5 opportunities left.

All expenses will be covered.

For more information please email Mukith Miah ( mukith@youthactionnetwork.org.uk ).

NewTube (ish)

Yes I know you all know that Bully Free Zone has a YouTube account but you haven't seen the new channel look. Head on over to http://www.youtube.com/bullyfreezone and take a look. Tell us what you thinkin the comments section (click the comments link at the top of this post)

Opportunities with the Youth Action Network

Youth Action Network have two really existing new national volunteer roles

The first is a reporter role; you will be provided with a camera and receive training in how to collect case studies on Youth Action. These case studies will be published on the Youth Action Network website and showcase projects around the country which are good at delivering youth action and allow the young people involved a say in the project.

The second role will involve inspiring youth action and training organisations and young people around youth action to ensure that the organisations in our network are delivering the best quality of youth action to their young people as possible and allow the young people to have a voice in their volunteering.

Young people will have the opportunity to:

• Receive training for both roles outlined above
• Inspire Youth Action in your local community
• Travel around the country delivering workshops on youth action
• Travel around the country to attend socials with other young volunteers in the network
• Attend residential weekends to receive training and social residentials
• Act as reporters and advocates for the Youth Action movement
• Full expenses

Get involved

There will be a recruitment day in Birmingham on the 17th of October if you know any young people that may be interested in this opportunity please contact Mukith Miah at mukith@youthactionnetwork.org.uk 0121 455 9732 / 07852 955319

Finally Getting Round To It

So after eventually getting round to doing something productive with my summer I've joined 'Bully Free Zone' in Bolton town centre. Following my first meeting with Pete at the not-to-be-much-longer main house on Palace Street, the following Friday I had my first meeting with some more regular and long standing volunteers, Jenneh, Sarah, Nayan and Alisa.

The main emphasis of the meeting was to think of some ideas for, activities and events which could be done to raise the profile of BFZ and to provide entertainment for children who benefit from the time and effort BFZ provides for them.

After much fumbling about and Jaffa cake eating we eventually came up with some ideas (after much prompt from Pete...) using the handouts and volunteered for activities already suggested that we do and those which we felt we could do, hence why I’m writing this blog. Ideas suggested and volunteered for included:

Fundraising events
'Film Night'
A Video production
A drama production
Etc...

It was then decided that the following Thursday (6/8/09) we would meet and work on the video production as well as a viewing of the new head office on Chorley Old Road. Much fun ensued…

from the Chris @ BFZ blog

Guess-the-google! Addiction Alert!

Possibly one of the most addictive things i have come across online for a while. Give it a go and see if you can beat the high score.

Guess-the-Google

A letter

Occasionally we receive letters and emails from people we have worked with in the past thanking Bully free Zone for the work we have done to help them. We'd like to share them with you every so often so lets begin today with this one from a Girl we worked with a few years ago.

Dear BFZ,

I suffered from severe bullying consistently throughout high school. This started small with petty name calling, and pushing, but as it continued got worse and worse with each year. By the time I was in year 10 a group of girls had made a malicious website about me which was both racist and crude. This was passed around to everyone in my High School. Despite this the teachers didn`t manage to put an end to the abuse, and by year 11 a large group of pupils planned to follow me home and attack me. Although the incident happened just over four years ago, I still remember it as if it were yesterday. I was faced with the bullies alone, and had no choice but to fight back.

That experience was one of the most frightening ones of my life, to know that you one are almost against the entire school and that even your friends were too frightened to stand up for you. In defending myself one of the bullies ended up worse off than myself and took the matter to court. I hoped that this would be the end of the bullying and that the courts would see just how frightened I was but unfortunately I was wrongly convicted as they stated that I had defended myself “too much”. The bullying didn`t stop there either. When I returned to school I had to get escorted from lesson to lesson, eat my lunch alone, and even leave 10 minutes earlier to prevent them from attacking me again. One of the bullies stated that now I had a conviction I could never go on to college or be a lawyer like I had always dreamed of being.

I am telling you this story, as it was during this time that I was given a 3 months probation sentence and was working with a member of your team, Pete. I worked with Pete over a number of months and engaged in a number of different activities which allowed me time and space to be able to express myself, in the end I produced a poem called “I know” which has featured on the BFZ website.

Producing that piece of writing was very therapeutic for me and helped me to deal with my feelings. I will never forget how difficult those years of my life were, and how much BFZ helped me.

I am now studying Creative and Professional Writing in London and am about to go into my final year. I will never forget what you have done for me!

Yours Sincerely,

D

Girl bullied to death for being "too pretty"

A 15-year-old girl jumped off a bridge to her death after suffering years of "extreme" bullying at school because of her good looks, her mother claimed.

Simone Grice leapt 40ft off a bridge to her death after suffering years of bullying, despite the pleas of two passers-by.

The teenager had recently been removed from school to be home tutored after suffering at the hands of a group of girls who were, according to Simones mother Linda, 45, "jealous of her good looks".

Read more here

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