Pathfinder Update

Well done to Chelsea (pictured middle), one of our Pathfinder trainees. Chelsea never believed she would be able to enter the care profession without experience or qualifications but now after 10 weeks on placement at David Cargill House she is on target to gain a Modern Apprenticeship. Carla (left) was a trainee with Workingrite 3 years ago and she gained a Modern Apprenticeship with David Cargill House. The difference this has made for her is unbelievable. Amanda (right) was on the Pathfinder programme last November. She was unemployed for a long time and couldn't believe it when after only 2 weeks she was employed straight away by David Cargill House and is now a Senior. 

Ultra White Collar Boxing - Sunday 13th September

Members of staff from the DRC attended a charity boxing event on Sunday evening in the Normandy Hotel in Paisley. We were there to see a long term member of the youth project, Ryan McMillan, box in his first fight. Ryan has been training for 8 weeks with his fellow fighters and professional boxing coaches at a UWCB affiliated gym in Maryhill. We've been so impressed with the dedication Ryan has shown throughout his training and the bravery shown to fight in front of a capacity crowd. 

DRC/ AFFIT 'Fun Day'

On Saturday the 'DRC Youth Project' and 'AFFIT' held a 'Fun Day' in Yoker. We were blessed with great weather and a brilliant turn out from the local community who had a great time. We would like to thank Brian and AFFIT 'North West Recovery Communities', Cope Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue's Knightswood Station, the DRC Environment Trust, NHS Smoking Cessation, Yoker Community Campus and all the young people for volunteering to help make the event such a great success. 

Throughout the day we arranged some old school sports activities to keep everyone on their toes! As well as 'beat the goalie' we held a few rounds of the sack race and the egg 'n' spoon race. These races were very competitive! We had a few dodgy tactics being used to get over the finishing line but all done in good spirit. Well done to everyone who took part.

We would like to thank the fire fighters from Scottish Fire and Rescue's Knightswood Station for visiting our Fun Day. After showing everyone around the fire engine they soaked anyone who needed cooling down. A great way to end the day. 

We were joined by some very talented people during the Fun Day. We'd like to thank our face painter Michelle Lynch for the fantastic artwork she created. The queues for Michelle's stall were continuously busy and quite rightly so. The face paint looked magic and the young people loved the designs. 

There were plenty of opportunities to get creative and take part in activities throughout the day. In the crèche area young people took part in arts and crafts activities while in the main hall everyone was welcome to test their fitness on the DRC Environment Trust's 'Pedal Power'. Pedal Power uses pedal powered electricity generators to power a smoothy machine. Using sheer will and determination, 67 people took a place on one of the bikes and powered the smoothy machine to make their very own smoothy. The hard work paid off for everyone in the end!

Employability - Positive Outcomes

Massive congratulations from everyone at the DRC and Workingrite to Tony, another Pathfinder trainee, who has been taken on full time by his employer Mac-Mas Construction Limited. Tony is a long term member of the DRC and has made great progress throughout his years with the project.  Here are some pictures of two jobs he’s been working on. Well done Tony!

2nd Scotstoun Session with Paul Brannigan.

We had a great turn out for our final session in Scotstoun with Paul Brannigan (star of 'The Angel's Share'). 19 young people (aged 13-16 years) attended the session and actively participated in a series of group activities and drama focussing on decision making and consequences. The session ended with the group viewing a hard hitting production from one of Paul's previous groups. Feedback from all involved was very positive. We would like to thank Paul and his team for the work they have carried out. 

Reward Trip for Yoker Group (Aged 12-19 years)

Following on from the 2nd 'Decision Making and Consequences' workshop with Paul Brannigan we arranged a reward trip for young people within our Yoker Group (aged 12-19 years) who have been playing a positive role within their community. Each member of the group has distanced themselves from anti-social behaviour taking place within the area and  made a conscious decision to take part in DRC activities. 

2nd Group Session with Paul Brannigan

Last week we welcomed Paul Brannigan (star of 'The Angel's Share') to our club in Yoker (aged 12-19 years) for the second 'Rehearsal for Life' workshop. Paul and his team of professional actors used the sessions to explore risk taking and how this can impact on the lives of a young person, their peers, their family and their community. We've had great feedback from everyone involved and the group have responded positively to the issues explored and the messages highlighted within the group work. Next week Paul will facilitate a follow up session with the Scotstoun group and continue to focus on 'Decision Making and Consequences'.