It has been a busy summer here at Spark UK. Although we have not bee very active on social media, we have been busily working away on an exciting new scheme.
Bridie, Conor, Tegan & Joseph all met at their school while participating in a scheme called 'Mental Health Ambassadors'. After participating in a 10 week training programme run by Young Devon , we continued as ambassadors within our local area & school. We run several assemblies & workshops for schools all across North & Mid Devon. After 3 years of participating in this scheme, covid hit and it was difficult to achieve the aims during lockdown. This was when Spark was born.
We are constantly asked how we plan on continuing Spark UK when we are no longer teenagers, and we have thought long and hard on our plans for the next year, 5 years & 10 years. After much consideration we and conversation with the team, other young people, schools & organisations, we are excited to announce the launch of Spark Ambassadors.
The aim of this scheme is to train students in both primary & secondary schools to talk about mental health, and lead the conversation around mental health within their own schools. Ambassadors will be provided with the resources & training needed to present lessons & assemblies to their peers as well as fundraise & raise the conversation around mental health within their schools and local areas.
Once enrolled, 10 students from a school (range of age groups) will complete a 2hour training session with a Spark Team member. After the initial training, they will gain access to our dedicated website filled with resources & videos to help their needs. We will also host a monthly webinar for ambassadors, to teach them new skills and connect them with professionals.
We are also excited to offer the opportunity for other mental-health organisations to become 'Project Patrons' and offer their expertise and resources for ambassadors.
This scheme will launch in September 2022 within North Devon, and enrolment for schools across the UK will begin in January 2023.
For any questions, queries or proposals on this project, email sparkambassadors@sparkuk.co.uk