L4G Youth: 1^st Event Review & Moving Forward

Tuesday 28^th January saw the 1^st event for L4GYouth. This will just be the first of many happening in Watford in 2014 and beyond and I thought it appropriate to let everyone know what is happening with L4G younger sibling since the last blog post.

Whilst I have to admit the turn out for the event was low (just myself and Chris Ogle to honest), the quality of guests was very high. Thanks to the work of Chris and his Buy Local campaign, Richard Harrington (Watford MP) popped by for the 1^st hour and this gave me another opportunity to discuss with him what L4GYouth plans to do and evolve. He was curious to know if L4GYouth has be tested and had success anywhere else and he was surprised to know that it was launched in Watford. He portrayed a tone of cautious optimism and wished me luck with the project. Richard himself is also working on getting youth employment down in the Watford area and I’m sure it won’t be the last time we speak about L4GYouth.

The next few hours of the event were dedicated to drawing up an action plan to see how we can progress L4GYouth and bring new people into events. Luckily, Chris has a wealth of contacts in schools and other organisations that he said he would be willing to contact in the hope of getting me a chance to speak to young people to tell them about what we are doing. I to, have spoken to my secondary school about this and look forward to hearing back from them. The plans also included creating a PDF and an AudioBoo for L4GYouth and using that to explain what L4GYouth is about. I’m sure once completed the concept of L4GYouth will be much clear and I hope you spread the word about it and how young people can benefit.

Outside of our own events, L4GYouth has been mentioned at a number of L4G Events including a coffee morning in Barnet where I has the pleasure to meet a lady called Gail who as well as working on websites focused on Barnet shops/traders, she has contacts at Barnet College and she said we will be willing to pass on my details and what L4GYouth is about in the hope that I can speak to the students at the college. Thanks to Gail in advance and I will inform you with any further developments.

February is shaping up to a busy month for L4GYouth. As well as the 2^nd L4GYouth event, I will be taking L4GYouth on the road to discuss it with a wide variety of people. With 6-7 events already booked into, I should have a busy month planned and I look forward to seeing what develops from it and how L4GYouth can grow.

I think that’s enough from me this time. I hope you all have great events and if possible spread the message of L4GYouth and help us change the lives of young people throughout the country. Until next time...

L4GYouth goes Live!!

The 9^th of January 2014 was doubly special for Link for Growth this year as it not only saw the 2^nd anniversary of L4G itself but also the much talked about birth of L4GYouth. I’m sure most of you who are regulars to the forum have read my post on why I got involved and also +ChrisOgle’s blog on why L4GYouth is needed. For anyone who may have slipped through the cracks, the link to these will be at the bottom of the blog.

The first meeting of L4GYouth will be on Tuesday 28^th January in Moon under Water in Watford between 6-9pm. Joining me and Chris on the project will be +A1DigitalMedia, also known as Aiden Nichols who at 22, will be helping me organise, run and grow L4GYouth. I urge anyone under 25 in the Watford area who is reading this to pop by, say hello and spend some time talking to us about what you’re passionate about and what L4GYouth is all about. Also, if you know of anyone who would benefit from what we are doing with L4GYouth, do not hesitate in having them contact me and see how we can work together. The link for the event of EventBrite is at the bottom of the page.

This week also saw Chris and I meet Richard Harrington, who is the MP for Watford. I am very grateful for Chris allowing me to join him at the meeting and I felt that Richard saw the potential in our project and has in part committed to coming along to a future event in the next month or so. With the support of people like Richard and Chris, it will not take long for L4G to grow and help to solve the issues and problems that young people face in Watford today.

I also had the pleasure this week in an email conversation with +JatinderBhogal who is running a similar program with a younger age group. He is looking to have a feedback session this weekend and has said he will let me know how he gets on. I’m sure there can and will be crossover between our two programs and I look forward to possibly meeting him in person on the 28^th. I’m sure i may have missed something and someone but it’s been one of those weeks for me and L4GYouth.

Next week is just as busy for L4GYouth as I go to L4GDrinks evenings in Piccadilly and in Watford where I am going to spread the word about L4GYouth and to find others who may be interesting in coming to events but also seeing whether anyone could be willing to come to the events to provide advice and guidance for the young people of Watford. With the skills and knowledge of people from L4G and the energy and passion that comes with being young, I’m sure that it won’t take long to change what is going on in Watford and make a difference. I hope you all have a good weekend and hope to catch up with some of you soon.

Links:

·         L4GYouth and Why I am Involved

·         L4GYouth by Chris Ogle

·         EventBrite Page