A Big THANK YOU to our Intern!

Danika outside the office building

This is Danika, our wonderful intern! Danika completes her year-long internship with us this week. We are so sad to see her 'flee the nest', but excited for her future.

Danika is originally all the way from Australia, and so has had an interesting year living in the mildly cooler North-East.  We interviewed Danika this week to find out what she thought about A Way Out and the voluntary year she has just spent with us. Read on for the interview!

When did you first hear about A Way Out?

I'm from Australia and I've wanted to do some missionary work for some time. When I felt it was the right time to go, I felt God call me to England, so I booked tickets and flew here!

When I first arrived in England in January 2012, I met a pastor there who used to live in Teesside. As they talked about Teesside, it jumped out right away to me and I knew it was somewhere I wanted to visit. I went to Stockton to visit the church that the pastor used to run. After hearing my story, the church in Stockton recommended that I speak to Jessie, which is the first time I heard about A Way Out! It all went from there, really.

What first drew you to want to volunteer with A Way Out and do the Internship?

I met with Jessie first of all and told her my story of why I came to England and what I wanted to do. I was looking to be trained 'on the job' or in an internship. Jessie was surprised, and said they had just begun advertising for the A Way Out Internship, so my visit was perfect timing!  I was shown around the building and met the staff. It sounded really good, so I begun the internship!

How long have you been a part of A Way Out now?

1 year! The internship has been a year long, and it ends this week.

What sort of activities have you been involved in since you came here?

Youth and Community Outreach

I think I've helped on every project over the year!  Mostly, I've been working with women and youth client work. I've been supporting drop-ins and been involved in pop-up youth club since the beginning.

I've also been involved in Roadshows for colleges, such as alcohol-awareness and have been regularly attending prayer meetings in the prayer room at A Way Out.

What are the key things you feel you have learnt since being a part of A Way Out?

Facepainting for outreach days

I am much more confident in building relationships and repor with people. I've learnt how to run drop-ins and run youth clubs. I feel confident talking to people from youth to vulnerable women and I feel I have built up relationships over the past year.

I think I've got to grips with North East culture more quickly too, since working here. It's very different to what I'm used to.  I now feel that I am a part of things, and I've 'learnt the lingo'.

Do you have a heart for any of the activities you've been a part of in particular?

Community building

I really love youth work, especially on Port Clarence. There is unique community there, and the kids are really special. The youth team has changed a lot over the year, but it's a great team that I love being a part of!

I also enjoy the office 'banter'...

What would you say to any future long-term volunteers for A Way Out?

You have to be flexible and open minded, because working with different types of people means that things can change, often!

You have to be able to do 3 different accents... that's a standard minimum requirement...

Finally, you need to have fun to work here. The staff are really fun, and the clients are fun too, even when life is serious and things are difficult for them. It's really enjoyable to engage with people, even in difficult times.

What's next for you after the internship? 

I've been living on an estate in Thornaby, where I want to stay and be involved with the community there. I want to help the kids club in Thornaby, and I've been starting up a homework club that I want to continue. I want to continue partnering with A Way Out and I might have something to do with the Community Hubs that will be setting up soon.

I'm excited to see what God fills the gap with!

Danika and Volunteer Coordinator, Kate

We at A Way Out are thrilled that Danika has been such a supportive, long-term volunteer with us over this past year and we are deeply sad that she's moving on to pastures new!  Thank you, Danika for all you've done over the past year!

Our life-changing work really couldn't continue without the help of our wonderful volunteers. If you would like to volunteer with us here, then get in contact with Kate, our wonderful Volunteer Coordinator. We have plenty of opportunities from just an hour a week, and are sure to find something that will suit you.

With love from A Way Out x

A Farewell Post

This may be more of a personal blog than you've been used to reading from A Way Out. 

It is my last day of work at A Way Out, the sun is shining, a new season is (hopefully) just around the corner and this is my farewell blog- a look back over the last fourteen or so months that I've been working here and a ponder over what I have learnt and what memories I will be taking away with me.

A Way Out is a remarkable, unique and inspiring charity. It is only ten years old (birthday on June 25th!), has just twenty-two members of staff (the vast majority of which work part-time) and it is working at a time when funds are being cut and purses are being drawn tighter. However, despite these potential challenges, A Way Out is growing in influence, impact and awareness.

When I started just over a year ago, we had three followers on Twitter, our Facebook page didn't exist and I don't think Pinterest had been invented! We now have hundreds of amazing followers who are engaging with us and showing their support through retweets, sharing posts, becoming volunteers, running events or joining the staff team!

I believe that A Way Out has always been doing amazing work in Stockton and the great thing about being in my position is that I can now see how many more people have now heard about that. I love to be able to hear about a new project, or an amazing life-changing story or a fantastic group activity and be able to turn that into a post that you can all read.

I am staggered by some of the stories that I hear from my colleagues about the situations our service users are living in on a daily basis, Katie and Daniel's stories are not exaggerations, they represent so many young people that we work with. But A Way Out is making a difference. Last year we reached hundreds of vulnerable young people and were able to offer them hope in dark situations, wholeness in the face of difficult family backgrounds and freedom from life-controlling addiction. 

And this is all down to the people. Our team is made up of an odd assortment of people from all across the UK with a wide variety of backgrounds and passions. We like to surf, do graffiti, travel, take photos, go to the gym, bake cakes, play live music, kayak, organise parties, go camping, look after our grandchildren... the list could go on. But one thing we are all really passionate about is reaching vulnerable women and young people in Teesside and seeing lives changed. Whether that is the Finance Administrator or the CEO, everyone has a heart for the work of A Way Out. I think that is one of the main reasons why this charity is so remarkable and inspiring and that is the biggest thing I will miss.

I have loved being a part of this charity and I will take away so much from my experience. And I will definitely be keeping up with what happens next because I think it's going to be very exciting...

Will you be following too?

Love from A Way Out x

(Jenny)

p.s. next week the Love From A Way Out blog post will be coming to you from Robyn, our wonderful new Marketing Assistant. She is brilliant!

Why is A Way Out so good at what it does?

A Way Out is a Christian charity and we are fully reliant on God and grateful for the way in which he has blessed our work and made it so effective. One of the biggest things we are thankful for is the amazing team here that are so passionate about seeing lives changed and who work so hard to make that happen.

We have just updated our staff page on the website and we thought that it would be appropriate to dedicate this week's blog to our team. So here's a little introduction to a few people:

Sarah Jane is our Community Fundraiser. She is the mastermind behind Rags and Muffins, Total Warrior, Transporter Bridge Bungee Jump, Winter Ball and much more... If you are interested in anything to do with events then she's the person to talk to! For all the latest on our events visit our website page here.

Mark is our Community Development Worker. A lot of his work is based in Grangetown and the TS6 area of Teesside which is a relatively new venture for A Way Out. He is pioneering new projects to engage young people, give them skills for the future and build their aspirations. For more on the Grangetown projects, you can visit our blogs here.

Iona only joined the staff team in November after volunteering for A Way Out when she was a student at Durham University. She works specifically with girls and young women who are struggling with their attitudes to alcohol. This is so important in the North-East at the moment and for more on this issue you can read our blogs here.

We don't know how A Way Out kept going before Rob started last year! He sorts out our computers when they stop working, makes sure we keep the office nice and tidy, manages our hours holidays, fixes the internet... the list goes on!

To meet all our staff then check out our Meet the Team page on the website: http://www.awayout.co.uk/. 

If you want to get involved with A Way Out and work with us then check out our opportunities for volunteering on the website. You could work with clients, help with fundraising, work in the cafe or help with admin. Just get in touch and we'll find a space for you!

Love from A Way Out x