New skills and new friends at Youth Connect

What connects mocktail making, pizza creating, Yo Chi and friends? Our Youth Connect event at Christopher’s of course! Youth Connect is a fantastic opportunity for young people supported by us to get together and learn some new skills and most importantly make connections with peers.

Caroline Brent-Field, Events Manager at Shooting Star shared more; “We had a busy day planned that kick started with a Mix and Match mocktail making lesson. Everyone in the room learnt something new and tasted new flavours and we even got to name our own drink. The highlight of this class was learning how to make a flavoured bubble to sit perfectly on top of the drink.

“When you take your first sip, your nose pops the bubble and enhances your experience even further. One of the young people had asked if they could have one eye on the football whilst we had the class, it was incredible to see them change their mind and get stuck in, his phone went straight into his pocket once he realised this was actually “epic”!”

The group then were tasked with pushing themselves out of their comfort zone by exploring the art of Yo Chi. “This unique programme gives young people tools to promote a healthier life through mindfulness and relaxation, with the ‘Organ Characters’ teaching the young people about the functions of their bodies, seasonal food and healthy eating! This was such a hit, especially with the girls who loved taking their socks off and feeling the earth beneath them,” explains Caroline.

All this learning built up a hunger and it was time to make their own pizza with fresh dough. Caroline continues, “Each person was able to build their own pizza, we also had some fantastic “out of the box thinking” and saw some calzone style pizzas being created!”

“After some down time around the hospice and the sun started to go down, we gathered around the fire pit,” said Caroline, “thank goodness for the expertise of a mum staying in the flats at Christopher’s at the time of the event, she was able to show us a fantastic trick of making our own firelighters out of cotton wool and Vaseline! Once the fire was toasty we made s’mores and of course got the candy floss machine out for everyone to have a go!

“Each year I have an event that stands out to me as being my favourite, even though we have a little while until the end of the year, I think this one will be a serious contender. Seeing the young people making new friends and putting themselves out there to take a risk and try something new. I can’t thank Paul, Rachel and Laura enough who donated their time from Mix and Match and Yo Chi to help support with this event and make it a special time for all involved.”    

We hope to run further events for this cohort of amazing young people to help them consider and prepare for adulthood. The range of events we hold is only possible thanks to your support. Find out more about the ways you can help.