ReachOut! Runners raise over £3000!

Last Sunday a team of ten ReachOut! Runners competed in the Newham Classic 10k race, raising well over £3000 to help ReachOut! continue its work in the community.

The ReachOut! Runners looking a little nervous before the race...

The team's combined total on Virgin Money Giving currently stands at an impressive £3491, not accounting for gift aid; testament to the value of ReachOut!'s mentoring projects and the importance of keeping them running in the future.

Joe KS bravely sporting a Millwall shirt in West Ham Park

This year's team consisted of ReachOut! mentors, staff, friends and family:

Joe Kinchin-Smith

Danielle Lawson

Zoe Reeve

Jasmine Reeve

Bryony Orr

Jacob Mohun

Alison Leach

Damian Haslett

Fran Blackwell

Alasdair Blackshaw

Well done and thanks to all the runners and to everyone who supported them!

A proud and happy bunch of top class athletes!

ReachOut! Charity Cup 2012

Oliver Wyman (yellow) v Macquarie (orange)

Friday 13th April 2012.  It’s early evening.  The Petchey Academy is a hive of activity, with Year 9 ReachOut! mentees buzzing around the building, making signs, moving tables, pumping up footballs, taping goal nets and practising speeches.  There’s a mild atmosphere of panic as adults start to arrive, mixed with an air of anticipation and excitement.

Tournament Director Tionne lays down the rules with the help of  fellow football organisers Chima and Bhavin

It’s time for the fourth annual ReachOut! Charity Cup, run by the ReachOut! Academy kids to raise money for their trip to Spain.  Current holders Bloomberg are favourites, but Oliver Wyman, runners up in 2010, are rumoured to have a strong team, as are UBS, making their debut in the competition.  Also debuting is the Salt Yard Restaurant team, wildcards with no prior competition history, but whose company have donated a fabulous prize for the winners - dinner for five at the Opera Tavern restaurant.  Completing this year’s line up are PwC and Macquarie – seasoned competitors looking to improve on previous years’ performances. 

Bloomberg (red) v UBS (green and white)

The kids have worked all week on the event during their school holiday, planning the format, arranging fixtures, trying to secure donations of refreshments from local shops (hence the slightly random selection of croissants) and ordering trophies and medals.  Boys greet the players as they arrive, showing them to changing rooms and toilets before passing them on to their colleagues in hospitality and then the football organisers. This year teams short on players can recruit extra bodies in the form of 17 year old ReachOut! Academy graduates who’ve not only attended ReachOut!’s projects for several years, but organised this very event four years ago when they were 13/14.  PwC, Macquarie and Salt Yard make quick signings to bolster their line up.  Running slightly late, but very much to plan, Tournament Director Tionne Tulloch-May kicks off the event and the football commences.

UBS v PwC

The football is frenetic, skilful, fast and occasionally farcical, but the next three hours whittles the competition down to a final two – reigning champions Bloomberg face PwC in their first final appearance.  Superior fitness and a more cultured approach seems to make the difference as Bloomberg’s flowing football sees them run out comfortable winners, with two aged competitors scoring for the first time in years.  Afterwards they are ecstatic, celebrating wildly when presented their winners medals and trophy by the boys.  It’s 20:30, and the boys are hungry and tired, but they’ve done a great job, and raised £3000 as well.  It’s been a fantastic event, a fitting way to fund their Barcelona trip as well as a great learning experience.

PwC (white) v Salt Yard (red)

See more photos from the tournament here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/reachoutuk/sets/72157629472614196/ 

Chima and Tionne present runner up medals to PwC

Bloomberg celebrate winning the title once again!

ReachOut! to Barcelona

Outside Be Dream Hostel, where dreams came true!

It’s not often you see a load of kids trundling around Hackney with suitcases, but when you do, the odds are it’s the ReachOut! Year 9s going on tour!

For the fourth year running a group of Hackney teenage boys travelled to Spain with ReachOut! on football tour, heading to Barcelona this year to see the magnificent architecture of the Sagrada Familia, the brilliant colours at the Parc Guell, and the glorious Camp Nou.  Sixteen kids and four leaders made the trip this year, the first ever holiday for five of the boys.  We flew out to Barcelona with British Airways (big thank you to Obi Agbarakwe) on Saturday 31^st March 2012 for a five day trip, with football and culture dominating the itinerary.

The ReachOut! Mentees in Park Guell

The boys played three football matches, drawing the first 3-3 with Brafa u14s, before losing a dire penalty shootout in which several players from both teams seemed to be practising passing to the keepers.  

Rashayne about to make a magnificent save!

In the second game, the ReachOut! boys made a truly magnificent effort in a narrow 4-3 loss to the Brafa u15s. Blair Massamba put in a masterclass display in central midfield, dominating the two older and larger Spanish opposition players and using the ball with real style and composure whenever possible.  In the two years I’ve worked with these particular boys, and the eight years at ReachOut!, this was the finest footballing display I’ve seen by our kids, and the boys were rightly very proud of themselves for both their performance and conduct.  Dinner on Las Ramblas followed, with an exotic menu of paella and (sadly) less exotic burgers.

The boys also took a tour of the FC Barcelona stadium (Camp Nou) and hit the beach in the sunshine – again, many experiencing the seaside for the first time.  A stone’s throw from the hostel, it was fantastic to see the boys having a great time in the sea, enjoying life as 13/14 year old kids, rather than being 13 going on 19 in their estates. 

Everyone needs a crazy mask... right?

In torrential rain the boys lost their final match against Braval u15s 4-3, but fortunately the skies cleared as we headed to the huge Port Aventura theme park!  The kids had a great day (thanks to Javi Segarra and Port Aventura), before returning to the hostel where ReachOut FC u14s Assistant Manager Arrigo Beino and centre back Bhavin Jamnadas cooked up a delicious pasta dinner. 

Feeling worse for wear after one of the rides!

We flew back on Wednesday 4^th April 2012, tired, but happy.  I honestly can’t think of a more worthwhile experience we can provide for these boys, and I know they’ll remember the trip for the rest of their lives.  


ReachOut! mentee Kashka said "The tour was an excellent opportunity to travel to Spain and to play football with a club and experience other international clubs.  The Camp Nou was a great place to visit as it is one of the biggest stadiums in the world!"


One boy's mum said “Thank you for this opportunity that you have given to my child, you have made the family very happy, given the boys hope and joy (rare gift).” "I pray you have the strength to continue" "for the joy you brought to these boys in hopeless Hackney. Thank you!”


Thanks to Yian Goh, Arrigo Beino and Stephen Hall for volunteering to accompany the group and sharing the sleep deprivation with myself, Jack Bond and Jacob Mohun.

Pete Blackwell

ReachOut! London Director

ReachOut FC u14 Manager 

Taking an evening stroll down Las Ramblas

Understanding your mentee

“Wagwon?” “Have you got the teckers or you just gassing?” “You are a wasteman!”


Struggle to understand the ReachOut! kids sometimes?  Ever wondered what on earth your mentee is on about?   Read on to find out what’s sick and what’s boogs in the ReachOut! mentor’s GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING YOUR MENTEE (or at least some of what they are saying!)


Bare = lots, many, very (e.g. I got bare chocolate this Easter.)
Pees/P’s = money (e.g. He owes me bare P’s.)
Garms = clothes (e.g. Where d’you get those garms?)
Dead = boring, rubbish (e.g. Man U is dead!)
What you sayin? = What are you up to?
Gassing = lying (e.g. Stop gassing!)
Well = very (e.g. I was well happy!) 
Wasteman = a person who’s pathetic (e.g. That kid’s a wasteman.)
Clock = understand (e.g. I just clocked it!)
Sick = good (e.g. Van Persie is sick!)
Dry = boring, rubbish (e.g. This homework’s dry.)
Long = hassle (e.g. Bring back the form?  That’s long.)
Bruv / fam = friend 
Wagwon = what’s goin on?
Peng / Piff (pl. piffies) = pretty (e.g. She’s peng.  They’re piffies.)
Boogs = dodgy, rubbish (e.g. That phone’s boogs.)
Teckers = good technique (e.g. Messi has teckers.)
Mandem = good guys (e.g. I’m going to meet the mandem.)


Hope that’s helpful!  Thanks to Blair, Tionne and the Y9 ReachOut! mentees for their insight.

Young people respond to latest unemployment figures

Following on from David Lammy’s comments on latest unemployment figures revealing that 55 per cent of British black males aged 16-24 are unemployed, (double the figure in 2008), Richard Godwin’s article in the Evening Standard on Tuesday explores some reasons why this may be the case; the associated stereotypes, labelling and common problems felt by young black males in Hackney.

Godwin interviews a number of young people at the Dalston Job Centre asking why youth unemployment is so high in the black community. A common response is that there is simply a lack of jobs for young black people in the area, but there is clearly frustration for other reasons too- “it’s just a fact that there are certain jobs that are never going to be available for black people, ’cos of the stereotype thing”.   The sense of weariness, apathy and hopelessness, rather than anger, shown by the respondents at the lack of opportunities available to them is both frightening and distressing.

Also disappointing is the lack of willingness shown by employers to consider applicants with criminal records “I would take any job, I don’t really care, I’ll take any job — but once you get a criminal record, even a minor criminal record, it’s hard to get any jobs.” How can these men be expected to turn their lives around if we won’t give them a second chance?

Even those without criminal records find it hard to get employers to consider them as one interviewee points out; black youths are often stereotyped as being involved in crime and gang violence. This is an image created by a minority of people in isolated, yet high profile, incidents, such as the summer riots of 2011. “People that’s in gangs and that is just making it bad for everyone else who ain’t. They’re making the stereotype.”

Is this what the future holds for the young people of ReachOut! and east London? Not much to look forward to if it is, but we can do something about it.  There are two things that all young people need to get into employment – the right skills and the right attitude.  Most of us learn these things at school and from parents and older siblings, however many young people find it difficult to get on in formal education and sadly do not have enough positive role models in their lives to outweigh the negative, often resulting in a life of crime and disillusionment.  ReachOut! aims to provide these young people with the opportunity to develop their academic skills and attitude through the support of a mentor at the ReachOut! Academy. If you have a couple of hours spare a week, perhaps you could join the hundred or so ReachOut! mentors helping to make the outlook more positive for these young people. 

By Jacob Mohun

Links
Become a mentor - http://www.reachoutuk.org/HTML/Mentor/become_mentor.html
Young, shafted and black - full article - http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/young-shafted-and-black-7585450.html
ReachOut! Academy- http://www.reachoutuk.org/HTML/Projects/LONDONROACADEMY.html