Don’t diss young people #1000speak #BeWoW

Posted on Mar 4, 2015 by TanGental

syct logoMe, using ‘diss’. How cool. Yeah, right.

I’ll never be ‘street’ or ‘cool’ but I know one young lady who certainly fits the cool moniker.

One of many privileges I have these days is to be both chair of the trustees of a fantastic youth and community charity near where I live and a volunteer there. It is the

STREATHAM YOUTH AND COMMUNITY TRUST

Some will know it as the recipient of the proceeds of my first book – every penny spent by people buying it will go there so another reason to buy.

Here’s a link to the charity. Here’s what it says about itself

Streatham Youth and Community Trust (SYCT) provides high quality youth services and facilities to the young people of Streatham as well as outlying areas.   

SYCT meets the needs of the local community through the provision of a wide range of activities focusing on education and training, personal development, support for disadvantaged groups, sport and the arts.  

We are a dedicated, full time provider of youth services in our area.

You may not know Streatham. It is part of the London Borough of Lambeth and is not a glamorous part of London. But it is ethnically diverse, vibrant, difficult, run down, lively, happy and angry, open minded and challenged in every way. Lambeth is not rich, not an easy place to live, especially if you are young. In this study on poverty indicators, Lambeth is in the top 8 for unemployment (as well as suffering in a number of other areas)

SYCT does a great job trying to address some of these problems and to do that it needs a fantastic team. Both Angie, the chief executive and Mark, the principal youth worker are excellent people to work with, experienced and knowledgeable. But today I want to highlight one of our young team members, Sophie Manzi. Sophie is 19 and works on various programmes bringing some hope to the young people who use our club and take advantage of its facilities.

She works, like all our people, in the background mostly, but once in a while some recognition reaches these corners and sheds a little light on a worthy subject.

 That little light is an award by the Mercer’s Company that

recognises the achievements of three young volunteers for their contributions to developing sport in youth clubs

Sophie won. Here are the details. It was against a lot of competition from around London. We think it is well deserved. I hope you do too. It’s helping children of all ages get some confidence, self respect, fun and hope. So as you read this, please take your hands away from your keypad and give her a round of applause.

Well Done Sophie!!

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About TanGental

My name is Geoff Le Pard. Once I was a lawyer; now I am a writer. I've published several books: a four book series following Harry Spittle as he grows from hapless student to hapless partner in a London law firm; four others in different genres; a book of poetry; four anthologies of short fiction; and a memoir of my mother. I have several more in the pipeline. I have been blogging regularly since 2014, on topic as diverse as: poetry based on famous poems; memories from my life; my garden; my dog; a whole variety of short fiction; my attempts at baking and food; travel and the consequent disasters; theatre, film and book reviews; and the occasional thought piece. Mostly it is whatever takes my fancy. I avoid politics, mostly, and religion, always. I don't mean to upset anyone but if I do, well, sorry and I suggest you go elsewhere. These are my thoughts and no one else is to blame. If you want to nab anything I post, please acknowledge where it came from.
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14 Responses to Don’t diss young people #1000speak #BeWoW

  1. Ronovan says:
    Mar 4, 2015 at 4:25 pm

    Excellent. Informative. I love learning about other places. And in a very not tourist way. This is the real thing. Not the glitz and come visit here glossy image. This unites people. Thank you for the huge support for #BeWoW in this post. I’m amazed.
    Much Respect
    Ronovan

    Liked by 1 person

  2. lorilschafer says:
    Mar 4, 2015 at 5:57 pm

    What a nice story, Geoff. Congratulate Sophie for me – the award sounds well-deserved 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Sarah Brentyn says:
    Mar 4, 2015 at 9:32 pm

    Congratulations, Sophie! 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Geoff.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Charli Mills says:
    Mar 5, 2015 at 8:38 am

    I’m clapping for Sophie! Great organizations that build up the next generation. Not at all surprised you are involved.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Norah says:
    Mar 7, 2015 at 7:05 am

    Congratulations to Sophie for her wonderful contribution to the lives of others. It is great that she has received this recognition. Congratulations to all the others, including yourself, who work hard to make a contribution regardless of recognition.
    I hadn’t heard of the #Wonderful on Wednesday group of bloggers. Sounds interesting.

    Liked by 1 person

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