As we see the Royal Albert Dock springing back to life and the bars restaurants shops and hotels recovering after the challenges they have faced over the past couple of years.  The Royal Albert Dock Charitable Foundation has picked up its engagement in providing opportunities for young people furthest away from the job market.

What’s been happening?

Virtual Support for Schools - RADCF working in partnership with LCR Careers Hub, Growth Platform and Speakers for Schools.

 The Concept was to create a Royal Albert Dock Video by recording Dock Tenants in situ speaking about the wide range of career pathways available.  The video to then to be used within high schools across social media platforms by supporting career sessions. 

Launch of the RADCF video in the form of ‘Den on the Dock’ Enterprise Programme delivered to 80 SEND Young People 

 The Charitable Foundation worked in partnership with LCR Careers Hub & ‘Speakers for Schools’ to create an innovative launch for the first RADCF Virtual platform for schools by developing opportunities for SEND young people in Liverpool City Region in the form of an Enterprise Programme named ‘Den on the Dock’

Engaging with several tenants on the Dock and further afield, enabled the delivery of bespoke sessions throughout the programme which ran over 3 months.

5 SEND Schools took part with an overall total of 80 students involved.                                                                          

   

     

The final round of 'Den on the Dock' involved 2 schools attending a Tour of the Dock before they embarked in developing their 'Inclusive Map of the Dock'

                                 

Sean Morrison, Estates Manager speaking to the group about the importance of Health & Safety

Outcomes from the sessions

• After getting involved ‘Human Apparel’ an online fashion brand social enterprise project has offered various workshops for the young people taking part which will enable the joint design of a T-Shirt to be sold online with proceeds going to the charity choice of the winning school.    
• Innovative Ideas put forward from the young people when   designing an inclusive map of the Dock to be shared with Dock Management Team for consideration.

     

                                                  One of the Inclusive Royal Albert Dock Map Ideas

    

• £100 voucher donated by Whats Cooking towards a class meal for the winning school.
• 2x£50 Amazon Prime vouchers donated from LCR Careers Hub to winners and runners up.
• Full Day STEM Session offered from CGI at Albert Dock for the runners up.

Career/Education tours for Greenbank College

  The Foundation welcomed a group of SEND young people with their support workers over 2 sessions.  The First session was led by Charley Martin, Liver Tours giving a great insight to the heritage at the Dock and as always on hand to answer question from the many inquisitive minds.   

                                                             

 A stop at TATE followed, where Jed showed the young people around many of the exhibits ensuring everyone engaged with his fun delivery of the session.

     

 Helen, Roberts, Manager shared details of her role and that of her staff in the Holiday Inn Express prompting many questions from these young people.

Feedback from Greenbank College

“Thank you so much to all involved.  The Tour was amazing and informative and gave the interns lots of insight into different careers.  Thank you, Team Albert Dock.”

Return Visit from Greenbank College

An interest to explore the Discovery Zone within Beatles Story and a request by several the young people to see a demonstration from a Barista led to a return visit for Greenbank College.     

                                                     

Recreating Beatles tunes on the Floor Piano while some of the young people tried out the various instruments within the Discovery Zone.               

  This young lady’s vision is to work in a cafe, serving coffee and with the patience shown by Olivia from Beatles story, her dream has come true as she served up coffee for eager customers.   

                  

                        The perfect finished result

 Questions from the young people about what happens in the offices at the Albert Dock? Led to a visit and a talk from Louise Kelleher, Facilities Manager, CBRE with some light refreshments after a fun packed informative morning.  

Feedback from young people following the re-visit 

“I really enjoyed seeing the Beatles Story.  I also enjoyed watching a Barista make a couple of different drinks.  I finally enjoyed being in a office having a drink and biscuits.”

“I enjoyed every bit of it. Makin coffee and meeting Betty was fun.  Going to Beatles Story was fun.  Meeting Oliva and making coffee was amazing.”

‘Look out for what’s coming next and how YOU can get involved… …

‘ Work ready 2’ The Foundation is planning the delivery of our 2^nd ‘Work Ready programme where we support a number of young people, furthest away from the job market by providing  bespoke sessions over a number of weeks  preparing them for the world of work.  Involvement from several Dock Tenants will enhance their chances of future work opportunities so please get in touch if you could offer any support.  betty.boner@albertdock.com

‘Den on the Dock 2’

Following the success of the first ‘Den on the Dock’ Enterprise Initiative, plans are moving forward to deliver a second.  Thanks go out to everyone involved in the first:

• Claire & the Team from LCR Careers Hub
• Shaheen & Team from Speakers for Schools
• Dan & Jed from Pan Am & Whats Cooking
• Helen from  Holiday Inn Express
• Sean, Jennifer and Louise from CBRE
• Sophie & Rebecca from Curtins
• Mohammed from Human Apparel
• Charley from Liver Tours
• Luke from CGI

If you would like to get involved next time, then please let me know!

More Education/Careers  visits from local schools

We are planning regular Education/Careers Tours throughout the year and welcome support from businesses around the Albert Dock who could spare 15 minutes or so to speak to a small group of young people about how your business works and the career opportunities within your sector.

As and when we have dates for tours we’ll be in touch!

betty.boner@albertdock.com

Mental Health Awareness Week (18^th to 24^th May 2020) is hosted by the Mental Health Foundation. It’s the UK’s national week to raise awareness of mental health and inspire actions to promote the message of good mental health for everyone. The theme this year is kindness.

The changes we’re all experiencing during this current time will no doubt cause some levels of stress and/or anxiety. So, we are all having to work a little harder to look after our mental health and wellbeing. What things do you do to help?

Evidence suggests there are 5 steps you can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing. Trying these things could help you feel more positive and able to get the most out of life.

CONNECT:

Good relationships are important for your mental wellbeing. They can:

• help you to build a sense of belonging and self-worth
• give you an opportunity to share positive experiences
• provide emotional support and allow you to support others

There are lots of things you could try to help build stronger and closer relationships like:

1. try switching off the tv and chatting or playing a game with someone you love
2. eat dinner with your family
3. call a friend for a catch up

There are lots of new and exciting innovations which have helped make interaction easier as social distancing measures are in place such as video calling platforms and apps galore to help you keep in touch.

BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE

Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness. Evidence also shows it can also improve your mental wellbeing by:

• raising your self-esteem
• helping you to set goals or challenges and achieve them
• causing chemical changes in your brain which can help to positively change your mood

Staying physically active has become a little more difficult in recent weeks. But here are some ways you may like to try:

1. make use of free online exercise classes (there’s even dance classes too!)
2. utilise open green spaces in your local area (after all, the world is your gym!)
3. cleaning and gardening are ways to work out without even knowing that you are exercising

KEEP LEARNING

Research shows that learning new skills can also improve your mental wellbeing by:

• boosting self-confidence and raising self-esteem
• helping you to build a sense of purpose
• helping you to connect with others

Even if you feel like you do not have enough time, or you may not need to learn new things, there are lots of different ways to bring learning into your life. 

Some of the things you could try include:

1. work on a DIY project 
2. learn or practice a new recipe 
3. try a new hobby that challenges you
4. sign up for an online course

GIVE

Research suggests that acts of giving and kindness can help improve your mental wellbeing by:

• creating positive feelings and a sense of reward
• giving you a feeling of purpose and self-worth
• helping you connect with other people
• It could be small acts of kindness towards other people, or larger ones like volunteering in your local community.

Some examples of the things you could try include:

1. saying thank you to someone for something they have done for you
2. asking friends, family or colleagues how they are and really listening to their answer
3. spending time with friends or relatives who need support or company
4. offering to help someone you know with DIY project
5. volunteering in your community

TAKE NOTICE (MINDFULNESS)

Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your mental wellbeing. This includes your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.

This awareness is sometimes called "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.

Take some time to enjoy the moment and the environment around you. Here are a few ideas:

1. Get a plant for your workspace
2. Have a ‘clear the clutter’ day
3. Take notice of how the people around you are feeling or acting
4. Take a different route on your walks

Remember, give kindness to yourself and others. 

For more information and for useful links and videos visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/.

The Intern to work programme has been such a great success so far with young people getting work placements and learning vital skills they need in a professional environment. Placements have led to employment for some students and others take away the confidence of employment for the future. The programme focuses on young people aged 16-24 who may find it difficult in finding work. The Royal Albert Dock Charitable Foundation supports the ‘Intern to Work’ programme and helps find placements for young people around the Royal Albert Dock.

An event was held at Anfield Stadium in order to raise awareness for the ‘Intern to Work’ programme and encouraged more businesses to get involved. More than 400 people attended the supported Interns event on the 28th of January including potential interns and their parents, education providers and potential employers. It was an inspiring and emotional day hearing from past interns and how much their placement has benefited them, as well as see them go on to get employment. Stalls were set up from various employers so students and parents could ask questions and find out more about the ‘Intern to Work’ programme.

The event was a great success and hopes to bring a lot more employers onboard the programme that can give young people placement opportunities and give them the confidence they need in finding work.

 

As Visitor Economy week 2020 quickly approaches. The Albert Dock Charitable Foundation has organised four days of educational tours for young students. Running between the 3rd till the 6th February; a whole host of tenants around the Royal Albert Dock will be opening their doors and showing their spaces to young people from four different schools around Merseyside. It will be the highest number of educational/career tours the foundation has ever done for VE Week. The aim of the tours is to encourage and inform the students on a whole range of different career options looking at how businesses run and explaining certain job roles to encourage future job aspirations among the students. Maray is one of the restaurants taking part in the educational tours in which they will be sharing inspiring and positive stories from their staff members. Others taking part include Rosa’s Thai; explaining how their restaurant works in sustainability and their connection to local people in Thailand. All the tenants involved are offering a range of different expertise and different insights into careers which will be a great opportunity for young people to learn about the process of looking for work placements and job opportunities.
The Royal Albert Dock Charitable Foundation would like to thank all the following tenants for getting involved:
- TATE Liverpool
- Rosa’s Thai Café
- Liver Tours
- Smaller Earth
- The Holiday Inn Express
- Merseyside Maritime Museum
- Maray
- CBRE
- Gusto Restaurant
- Adventure Dock
- Lunyalita
- Royal Albert Dock Ltd - Events team
- De la Salle Academy
- Calderstones School
- Hillside High school
- Notre Dame Catholic College

The Winter term not only welcomes the frosty weather and the Christmas cheer but a whole host of opportunities for young people within our Mersey region. As well as welcoming into the new year brand new plans and ideas for the Foundation.  

What’s been happening?

October Event – Breakfast Information Session

 The Royal Albert Dock Charitable Foundation sent out an invitation inviting all the businesses around the Albert Dock to learn about what they do and how others can get involved with the Foundation. Listening to success stories from local business around Albert Dock, it allowed others to see how they could engage with the Foundation and what they could offer to support local young people. The event was supported by Clockwise; offering an amazing free venue space, and Gusto providing a complimentary breakfast to all those who came. The event was a great success and saw 42 people attend from various businesses around The Royal Albert Dock.

Jamie Griffin, Managing Director of Joint Rail Projects said: “I thought the event at Clockwise was very well organised, the hospitality was excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening and learning from the various speakers within the Charity. Great morning all round.” 

A presentation was delivered showcasing some areas of work and to encourage new tenants to get involved within the Foundation.  A pledges sheet was given out asking how each business would like to get involved. The event sparked so much interest from new businesses wanting to take part; either engaging with educational/careers tours, student work placements or showing an interest in the ‘Intern to Work’ programme. Many new pledges were received including Maray, Rosa’s Thai and Smaller Earth.

 

Lauren and Roisin from the Smaller Earth team said: “The presentation outlining the work they have done so far blew us away, and we couldn't wait to get involved. We felt the passion and enthusiasm from everyone involved in the charitable foundation and we at Smaller Earth are now excited to be part of the story. To say that the breakfast morning sparked an incredible partnership is an understatement.”

Who are Smaller Earth?

 Smaller Earth are an organisation that send thousands of young people on work and travel programmes each year. Having 15 offices all around the world, Smaller Earth believe that by inspiring people to go further, they can change the world one person at a time, by providing programs that provide meaningful cultural experiences for young people.