Christmas is here!

ReachOut! is full of the spirit of christmas after some wintery themed events this week.

The team welcomed over 100 volunteers and staff to the ReachOut! Christmas Party on 3rd December. It was a great chance for volunteers to meet other volunteers from across all the London projects, get to know the ReachOut! staff and for ReachOut! to say a massive thank you for all the hard work this year (and we love any excuse for a party)! Scoll to the end for photos...

The Queen Mary ReachOut! Fundraising Group braved the cold for a day of festive cake selling. QM students and staff treated themselves to giant muffins, gingerbread men and homemade cake all in aid of ReachOut! Great job guys - they look tasty!

From everyone at ReachOut! - Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in the new year!!

ReachOut! Academy Volunteer of the Week - Joanna Deagle

Joanna Deagle

Jo has been coming to the project since September and has become a vital member of the Wednesday mentoring team! Working with a young man who is very difficult to engage, Jo has absolutely risen to the challenge. Charlie, the Project Co-Ordinator, commented on her mentee’s change in attitude - “he is now channelling his energy into the work rather than using that energy disrupting others.” Furthermore, Jo has offered to volunteer on more days, particularly impressive considering Jo works incredibly hard.

Thank you Jo!

Disappointed but not disheartened!

The final score may have been 9 - 1 to Cantelowes but the brand new ReachOut FC U12s girls team were in high spirits after scoring their first goal in a competitive match and playing the game of their lives!

This year the ReachOut! Academy has started a new girls football project for girls in Y6 and Y7. Every Monday the girls attend football coaching followed by an academic session where they get help with homework, maths and English from volunteer mentors. On the weekend they play in the Capital Girls League against other teams from around London.

It’s been a slow start to the season, losing a couple of games to nil (and one 5 – 1 thanks to an own goal by the opposition!) but the commitment and determination shown by the girls has impressed referees and opposition mangers. Their spatial awareness and understanding of the game has improved massively, as have their fitness levels.

It was a tough match on Saturday against Cantelowes, one of the best teams in the league according to the referee, and at half time the score was 7 – 1, but the girls’ heads never went down and they battled on through the second half chasing down every ball and keeping the second half score to 2 – 0. A great achievement considering their stand in "manager" (yours truly) knows next to nothing about football!

Well done to them all!

By Fran Blackwell

ReachOut! Academy Volunteer of the Week - Arrigo Beino

Arrigo Beino

Arrigo Beino is the most positive, resilient and affable person I’ve ever met. Arrigo has been working with the Year 8 group for the past eighteen months. As some of you know this is a challenging group. Arrigo coached this group the whole of last year, which involved taking football sessions with them on a Monday and giving up his Sundays as he took them to matches on Wanstead Flats.

This year Arrigo manages the Under 14s B team, coaching them on a Tuesday and taking them to matches on Saturday at Hackney Marshes. He also attends Under 14s A matches when Pete needs the extra support.

Arrigo does not let things phase him. After an incident with two pupils on Tuesday he got the rest of the group settled and carried on with the session. He’s always smiling and has more staying power than Occupy London.

Mille grazie Arrigo!