Easter HAF
Full Bellies and Five Stars
We are delighted that our Food4Success has been awarded Five Star status by the Council Inspector; a fantastic recognition of our cooking team’s hard work behind the scenes. Our amazing kitchen team provided over 60 hot, nutritious meals each day throughout Easter for children on free school meals. This is also thanks, in no small part, to the generous £500 Christmas contribution from BNI B4B Chigwell Chapter which has helped ensure the children were supported, nourished and able to enjoy the week to its fullest.
A big thank you to St Michaels CofE Primary School for hosting us. As for our brilliant team: the volunteers, cooks, facilitators and organisers, thank you for your energy and dedication. We’re already looking forward to doing it all over again in the summer!
Thinking Into Results: The Power of Positive Self-Talk
Thinking Into Results is our flagship personal development programme which teaches students accountability, positivity, resilience and the power of their own narrative. By helping young people to reframe how they think about themselves and their abilities, we equip them with tools they can carry throughout their lives.
The programme currently runs across several primary and secondary schools and something we see time and again is the difference it makes to the confidence and outlook of the young people we work with. If you’d like Thinking Into Results in your school, we’d love to hear from you.
A Moment of Calm for Year 6 children
One of our most wide reaching programmes is back and what a fantastic start it has been for our busy team on tour! A Moment of Calm reaches Year 6 students at a pivotal, and often anxious, stage of their lives, when they are navigating SATs and the transition to secondary school.
Our sessions guide children through a variety of mindfulness exercises: grounding techniques that bring the body and mind into the present moment, creating spaces of security, calm and control even when the world around them feels uncertain. Breathing techniques, visualisations, mindful colouring, stretching and gratitude practices all feature so every student can find something that works for them.
Each child also receives their very own A Moment of Calm mindfulness booklet to keep: A toolkit they can return to at any time, in any situation, for as long as they need it. This week one teacher commented:
“Success Club’s Moment of Calm gives children an opportunity to centre themselves before a very stressful part of the their life with transition to year 7 and sitting their SATs tests. It gives them tools to be in the the moment and to settle themselves. These are tools they can refer back to for the rest of their lives. A great workshop!” Grange Park Primary
Welcome to the Team: New Volunteers Join Us!
Volunteers are at the heart of what we do; without them, Success Club would not benefit from the richness of their experiences, gifts and knowledge and our reach would be greatly diminished. Every person who gives their time, is helping us to change the landscape for children and young people across our community.
Our volunteer community continues to grow and we are always looking for passionate, committed individuals who share our belief that every young person has the potential to thrive.
What Schools are Saying About Us
e work with children and young people across a wide age range, from primary through to secondary, delivering sessions and workshops with both large and small groups. Every programme is carefully tailored to meet the needs of the young people we support, creating spaces where they can feel engaged, supported and able to grow.
It’s always especially rewarding to see the impact of this work reflected back by the schools we partner with. Hearing first hand how students are building confidence, developing new skills and engaging more positively in school is what it’s all about.
New to the team
Javier
Javier has been a volunteer with Success Club for just over a year. He learnt about Success Club whilst looking for a job during the completion of his masters degree. After reading into what we do and our goals, he decided to fully involve himself as a volunteer, using his skills and experience as a psychologist to support the team. His dedication to support young children in different stages of their development has set him on a path further towards working alongside Success Club as he will take on the lead of our Youth Voice programme, focusing on making sure that children of all ages are heard and understand that their voices matter.
“I appreciate that Success Club recognises everyone’s impact and their dedication to their work. It motivates me to continue working alongside my colleagues and find ways to always make a better future for the children.”
Outside of volunteering, he’s training to become a part-time tennis coach. Good luck Javier!
Alessia
Alessia is joining Success Club as Volunteer Manager, covering Sarah’s maternity leave for the next nine months. Alessia comes to us with five years NHS experience as a Care Coordinator, in which she has built strong professional skills while supporting local communities. Passionate about making a difference, she developed an interest in charity work and joined Success Club to combine her experience in volunteer coordination and event management with her strong passion for working with young people. She is excited to contribute to our mission and values.
Outside of Success Club, Alessia enjoys art and photography and spending time with her young family.
Alessia will be working part-time on Thursdays, and on Friday mornings. She can be contacted at alessia@successclub.org.uk. Sarah will be going on maternity leave from 1st May.
Mindful Moment: The Gift of Springtime
Spring arrives not with a fanfare but with small quiet signals: A blossom on a tree you have passed all winter; the light staying a little longer each evening and birdsong returning before the alarm goes off. Nature does not rush into spring, it eases forward gently and with intention.
There is a lesson in that for all of us. Growth does not have to be sudden or dramatic to be real. For our children, for our families, for ourselves, every small moment of courage, every act of kindness, every time we choose curiosity over fear, is a kind of blooming.
As we move through this season, we invite you to notice your own moments of growth. Perhaps it is a child who spoke up in class for the first time or a parent who tried a new recipe and brought it home. Maybe it was a young person who chose to take a breath instead of reacting. These are the quiet triumphs that Success Club exists to nurture.
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than they seek.”
John Muir
This spring, carry one simple intention: notice the good: in your classroom, in your home, in your community. Growth is all around us – we just have to look.
