Aspire Ryde

I have had many roles at Aspire Ryde since it was created by my parents in 2014. in the early days this was as basic as bringing tea and coffee to the first volunteers, but as I got older this grew into volunteering in the cafe and in Aspire's charity shop, Aspire Ryde Community Hub. This later grew into more formal positions as project leads on creative projects, which have been my first experiences with teaching, and the organisation and admin side of running such projects.

Write On!

One of my first major projects was leading a writing group in the summer of 2022. The group consisted of a mix of local writers, including novelists, poets, playwrights and hobby writers. It was my first significant leadership role, and I encouraged members to set and maintain writing goals and to grow their confidence in sharing their writing with others.

Lifeline

the first iteration of the Lifeline Project was as a singing group which was run weekly in the Aspire Ryde Creative hub, aimed at teenagers aged 12-17. It aimed to improve confidence, performance skills, interpersonal communication skills, and to bring happiness to our community through music. I taught a number of songs to the project members from across a broad range of genres and periods to nurture musical diversity, and gave 1-1 sessions on the basics of healthy vocal technique. we also collaborated with the Aspire Singers and their first official recording session (and many Singers members were frankly offended that their favorites from back in the day were being taught in our sessions as "oldies!")

the second version of the project that was run in 2024 was a more inwards-facing group, with a specific focus on exploring participant's mental health, and building interpersonal relationships, life skills, communication skills, as well as continuing to foster their musical passion and talents. We incorporated education on mental health by professionals during our sessions, as part of our aim to create "mental health champions" that felt empowered to spread mental health awarenesses in their communities.

Ventnor Fringe Festival

I was given an opportunity to perform at Ventnor Fringe festival in 2024 at the Better Days Cafe as an example of a Creative Hub Practitioner- the end result of the hub's youth development framework. I was also given the opportunity to give short drop-in vocal and guitar lessons to the customers at the cafe throughout the day we were there.

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