NewsletterCroydon Youth for Christ

Autumn 2011

CO

NTA

CT

US CROYDON YFC

CHRIST CHURCHSUMNER ROAD

WEST CROYDONCR0 3LJ

0770 100 9320admin@croydonyfc.co.uk

www.croydonyfc.co.uk

Centre Director & Senior Youth Worker: Mrs Naomi George

Chair of Trustees: Dr Nick ShepherdTrustee Secretary: Mrs Hazel Whiting

Trustees: Miss Claire Bent,Mr Ronnie Campbell,Mr Stephen Goudge

DIA

RY D

ATES Saturday 29 October 2011

YFC Commissioning Service(Birmingham Christian Centre)

Monday 14 November 2011Youth-Workers Get Together

(New Life Christian Centre)

Saturday 19 November 2011Croydon Churches Forum AGM

(Shirley Methodist Church)

Thursday 15 December 2011Partner’s Christmas Party

(Venue to be Confirmed)

Sunday 13 May 2012In It Together 2012

(Selhurst Park Stadium)

Update from Centre Director Naomi George on page 3

Find out all the fun things we got up to over the Summer holidays on

page 4 & 5Want to join the CYFC Team? Check out how you can help on page 6 & 7

See how CYFC responded to the Croydon Riots on pages 8, 9 & 10Read a quick round up from our

Trustees and find out all about the Service of Hope on page 11

See how Induction Week at Croydon College went for the Chaplaincy

team on page 12

Introducing the Newest member of the CYFC Team... Dan Mapstone on

page 13See how you can help raise money

for CYFC on page 14

Don’t forget ... make sure you’re supporting CYFC in every way

possible, there’s a three step plan on page 15!

and finally, here are some points for prayer on page 16!

In This Edition of CYFC News...

Update from the CYFC OfficeOriginally we were only going to produce three newsletters this year as we didn’t think in our first 12 months we would have enough stuff to write about without boring you! But God has had other plans for Croydon YFC and although we launched less than four months ago, we have had so much going on that I am pleased to be writing our slightly impromptu “Autumn 2011” Newsletter.

July and August were meant to be simple months after the manic May and June, but just when I think I have planned life brilliantly, God comes in with His plan and out-trumps mine! After submitting what I thought was a weak proposal for some money to do summer activities in the east of the borough, we were granted the money by Croydon Council to run a programme of activities on the Shrublands Estate (you can read more about that on page 5)! This was a great boost for us, branching out into a new part of the borough and also working with a host of volunteers who had been keen to join us and for the estate which was losing its youth provision due to the cuts being made in the council.

Of course not all of the work we did came from such positive beginnings. The sad events of the riots that swept across much of Central and West Croydon had a massive impact on the Broad Green community, that we work in daily. It was impossible for us not to respond in practical way to the needs of those who had lost their homes and businesses in the riots and to show hope and love to anyone who was effected physically or emotionally through what had happened.

At a ‘Service for Hope’ on Sunday 4 September, one of our Council of Reference turned to me and simply said “...for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)! Six very short and simple words, that come with so much weight and responsibility. As I reflect on the last 6 weeks, and think about all that has gone on, all the people we have met, the position we have been put in by God, it is a little scary and yet a privilege to have been put in this place, for this time. As one tweeter put it “We are not a product of time but of eternity. We have been plucked out of eternity, positioned in time and given gifts & talents to serve our generation”... remember that!

Naomi George x

summer Monday and Wednesday evenings have seen Pulse take over the Community Centre on the Shrublands estate. Croydon YFC staff and volunteers have taken a whole host of different activities.

From the ‘normal’ youth club activities of Pool and Table Tennis, to Craft, Badminton, an Indoor Skate Park and Dance and a fun night of inflatables, the activities available to the young people to take part in were varied, with the hope that there would be something for everyone.

Pulse has been a great opportunity to meet a good number of the young people from the estate and to hear their thoughts and ideas for the future of youthwork in their community...!

PULSE

CRYSTAL PALACE V NORWICH CITYOn 26 July, some of the friends and volunteers of CYFC had a great night out at Selhurst Park watching the pre-season friendly between Crystal Palace and Norwich City! It was a great night, complete with a win for Palace and CYFC raised nearly £50 through the 50:50 scheme that Palace run for schools, churches and charities!!We’re very much looking forward to the next 50:50 match...! raising money for CYFC at the same time as watching our local team?? Sounds good to us!

Big Thank You to Rebecca Bennett, Tom Dutton, Stephen George, Steve Goudge, Kaela Joy, Beth Lee,

of fun!!

A two night a week project was organised for the young people of Broad Green through the summer. As an extra night through the summer holidays we have run The Lounge and on our normal Thursday nights we had The Club.Due to the riots and fires in the area, and following police advice, the group was unable to run every week through the holidays. But on the weeks we were able to run it was great.On Tuesdays we just had the use of the upper room and on Thursdays the run of the whole church. So a mix of pool, table football and nintendo wii with evenings playing football and basketball games as well as table tennis meant there was a good time to be had whichever day you came.

Every Monday afternoon through August, Croydon YFC in partnership with Kick London, have run Cage Sports, a detached sports programme on the Shrublands Estate, Shirley.

Each week we have had between 20 and 30 teenage boys out playing 7-a-side football matches and basketball games on the sports courts.

One of our volunteers commented, “The young people have really enjoyed the time we have spent playing the sports with them, many of the young people have thanked us for organising the activities for them over their holidays... one guy even asked if we could be there everyday!!”

CAGE SPORTS

the lounge & the club

Spencer Pearce, Trevor Puttifer, Sheridan Smith, Don Thomas & Hazel Whiting for all their help this summer!

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Join the CYFC Team?

As you can see, we already work with some amazing people from across Croydon, but we have four really important positions within the work of Croydon Youth For Christ that need to be filled! The roles are varied and require a whole range of different skills and gifts! Please pray into whether you or someone you know could fulfil any of these roles.

C Y F C a r e l o o k i n g f o r someone to join our board of trustees with experience in Marketing and Publicity in order to help to raise the profile of CYFC across the borough.If you think this is a role that you could fulfil, please email N i c k S h e p h e r d o n chair@croydonyfc.co.uk for full details.T

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Would you like to be part of our board of trustees? Are you a genius when it come to all things finance and understand how to use a spreadsheet? If the answer to both of these is yes, then you could take on the role of treasurer for Croydon YFC If you think this is a role that you could fulfil, please email Nick Shepherd on chair@croydonyfc.co.uk for full details.

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CYFC are looking for someone to join the team for just half a day per week to carry out some of the administration tasks in the office!Good computer skills are needed (preferably on a Apple Mac). Duties will include producing a monthly prayer d ia ry, wr i t i ng l e t te rs to partners & churches and other basic administration duties as they arise. The day can be which ever suits you best. If y o u a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n support ing CYFC in th is way ,please contact Naomi George.VO

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CYFC are really excited about the number of people who give to us financially and even more so that so many of you h a v e s i g n e d g i f t a i d declarations in order for us to get a parentage of money back from the government! But we really need help with making sure all our Tax reclaims are done properly. If you could give up just one day a month to help us get this sorted out that would be amazing!! Contact Naomi George if you can help in this way.

Full details of all these roles can be found on the Croydon Youth for Christ Website... www.croydonyfc.co.uk If you have any further questions please

contact Naomi George on 07701009320 or naomi@croydonyfc.co.uk

During the afternoon of 8 August 2011 gossip was flying across the borough that the r iots, that had started Tottenham two nights earlier and continued into other parts of the capital the next day, were on their way to Croydon.

Shops closed early, police presence on the main High Street was increased, yet no one knew how bad it could get.

What started out as a normal night turned into mayhem. On our way home from running a youth night in the east of the borough we could see smoke rising across the town centre. As we drove we were sent on a diversion after a man had been found shot in his car! Our diversion took us straight past Reeves Corner, once a Croydon landmark for being a furniture store that had been there over 150 years, now an iconic image of riots and vandalism that was seen by millions on the news across the globe!

Stuck in a gridlock, we had no option but to watch the fires rage just meters from the car and watch as riot police chased groups of young adults and teenagers from the town centre.

As we watched the news, along with the rest of the UK, seeing pictures on the

news of places that you walked by just hours before was not only scary but also upsetting. The

communities that we work in were being ripped apart by mindless criminals.

The news only gave half the story. As we walked to the office the next day, the devastation was horrendous. One police officer we spoke to described it as a war zone. Making tea and coffee for those who needed a listening ear was fine, as was making quick snacks for the fire and police service staff, but it just didn’t seem enough. People had lost their homes, I was sure we had the ability to do more than just boil a kettle.

I put a short message on Facebook and twitter asking friends of Croydon YFC to have a quick sort out and to donate clothes and toys. Well more than just the CYFC friends donated, the request spread so fast it was unbelievable. We had over 250 people come in to donate and people even sent boxes of stuff from as far off as Edinburgh! As well as the awesome donations by so many people of secondhand clothes and toys, people went one step further and went out to buy new things for the families. One donor came with a whole load of new mens shoes, another with new

Croydon YFC’s Re the Croydon

baby clothes and other necessities. It was tear jerking to see children bring in their toys to donate to other children who had lost all their toys, and I was moved by two teenage girls who had ‘had a sort out’ to donate some of their clothes and accessories to make a difference to the lives of those whom they had seen on the news.

We were totally blessed to have a number of volunteers come and help us with the project. Our youngest volunteer was just seven, she came along with her mum and brother & sisters to help sort through the donated clothes, and spend some time playing with some of the pre-school children who had lost their homes.

Those who had lost their homes were being hosted in B&B’s in the area, which was fine, but they weren’t allowed to stay there during the day. So each day we cooked a hot meal for the victims, volunteers and police and fire staff. There was a really great community spirit through the church with everyone sitting together and enjoying each others company at such a hard time.

To make it feel like home, we got the garden furniture out and people were able to chill out in the church garden and play games with their children. Some of the guys sat and watched the Cricket on a laptop, complete

sponse to Riots

with sportsmanlike banter between the England and India fans!

It was great the we gained support from some big companies who wanted to donate to help the families; Nestle and The Co-Operative both sent a number of goodie bags and one day Asda sponsored our lunch, giving us a gift card to cover our expenses for the day. The charity NightWatch helped the families by buying a number of kettles and irons, pots and pan and bedding for when they got re-housed.

We were very blessed to also receive a number of monetary donations. Many of these went to continue funding the kitchen fund so we could continue to provide meals every day for the families. But due to the generosity of local people we were also able to bless the families directly! I was privileged to spend a day out with two of the families buying the children and teenagers new school uniform, shoes, PE kit, trainers and bags to go back to school with! It might seem like a mundane thing, but speaking with one of the teenagers she told me that the idea of going back to school still being a ‘victim’ was not something she wanted, ‘I want life to be as normal as it can be’ she told me, ‘having a school uniform that fits me, because it is mine, is normal, right?’.

I can honestly say that all of the work we did helped the victims. It was so amazing to be able to be there in their time of need... And to end a slightly surreal fortnight, I was also interviewed live on Sky News about the project!

Please continue to be praying for the families... all of them have now been re-housed but are still adjusting to life ‘post-riot’!

Trustee’s UpdateI always think that September the 7th (or 5th, 6th depending on INSET) is the real New Year’s Day! The start of a new school year! The long drag of the holidays over (if you’re a parent), the dreaded return to work (if you’re a teacher), the end of roads you can actually drive down or park on (for everyone else)!.For Croydon YFC the start of a new school year is a milestone since it is also the beginning of our first full school-year! It will be the first full year of operation for Playstation in West Croydon, the first full-year of Naomi’s chaplaincy role in Croydon College, the first full year in which we can develop our links to schools and a full year to plan to build on the successes of our summer provision. I am sure that we will learn a lot in our first year.I hope we will learn even more effective ways of stimulating partnership work with the churches. I hope we will learn which of the varied opportunities we are being presented with are on God’s agenda for us. I hope too that by the end of the year we will have succeeded in securing the regular income needed to see Croydon YFC firmly established. This year being the first of many to come.  

Dr Nick Shepherd

Service for HopeOn Sunday 4 September 2011 over 300 Christians from across Croydon came together on Croydon High Street for a service of hope following the riots in Croydon three weeks before.Organised by Croydon Churches Forum, the service was a great time of worship and bought together worship from a whole spectrum of traditions and cultures, representing the whole church in Croydon.Church leaders from across croydon led the service with the ‘In It Together’ band leading the worship, prayers were led by a group of young people and our very own Naomi was asked to do a reading!It was a great service, well done to all involved!

REVERBCroydon Col lege Chaplaincy

You may remember from our last newsletter that Naomi has joined the chaplaincy team at Croydon College as a volunteer chaplain. Her first major event at the college was ‘freshers week’ or induction week for all the n e w s t u d e n t s . T h e chaplaincy team were invited to be part of both the enrichment fair and the support services fair which meant they got to meet every new student at the college, an amazing opportunity.As part of the week the team gave away hundreds of doughnuts to the students as a “welcome gift”! At the enrichment fair, as well as talking to students about what the chaplaincy team does across the college, we also asked the students to tell us how their day was going using just three words! Some of the responses we got from the students were quite generic “it’s been good”, but it was great that some of the students shared their jubilation “happy Palace won”, and others shared their worries and testing times with the team “just moved in”, “first day, daunting”.The hope is that the time the team spend in the college will continue to build great relationships with the students and staff! Each week the team run a student discussion group and they are also involved with the wider community at the college.

Big thank you to Sara Kennett, Nicola Bates, Hazel Whiting, Matt Harris, Chris Roe, Neil George, Luc and Diana Ray-Mathur, Stephen George, Simeon Whiting, Nicky Leonard, Clare Hutton, Clare Henson, Amy Woods, Festive, Danielle and Ian Dowding, Miriam Carter, Emma and Simon Owen, Barry Ring, Alice Preston and Maria Adcock who sponsored a box of doughnuts!

Introducing...

Dan MapstoneThe Croydon YFC team are really excited. On 3 October 2011 our full time team is doubling... from 1 to 2! We are please to introduce our new Student Youth and Schools Worker, Dan Mapstone!Dan has lived in Croydon for nine years and has a vast amount of youthwork experience after doing years out with both Kick London and the JAM team (schools work team at New Life Christian Centre) as well as volunteering with Emmanuel Church and Croham Road Baptist Church, South Croydon.Dan is going to spend this year doing the Engage: Youth Ministry course with the Centre for Youth Ministry and is hoping to go on to do their degree programme from September 2012.

Quick QuestionsChurch: New Life Christian CentreWhat’s your favourite thing to do in your space time? Go to the gym and spend time with friendsIn your opinion what’s the best thing about Croydon? Different cultures and everyone has their own opinion...and the worst thing? Umm... Different cultures and everyone has their own opinion, Oh wait, I like your answer... The reputation that it’s got.What about your new role with CYFC are you finding most exciting? The work with young people and making a difference to their lives.Favourite Ice Cream Flavour? Ben and Jerry’s Baked Alaska

Of course you may just want to make a cash donation straight to Croydon YFC!Log onto virginmoneygiving.org.uk and select to give to CYFC!If you would like to do a sponsored event for CYFC you can collect sponsorship through Virgin Money Giving too and they will do all the boring bits for you!

As many of you know we have been running our Junk for Joy campaign over the summer! So far we have raised just over £500 for our

work with young people just by recycling old CD’s, DVD’s, Computer Games, disused mobile phones & MP3 players and empty ink cartridges! Due to the success of the campaign we are going to continue collecting until the end of October, so please have a last minute clear out at home and drop off your unwanted stuff at one of the collection points (Christ Church West Croydon, Croham Rd Baptist, Emmanuel South Croydon, Harvest Church or Springfield Wallington)

Started thinking about your Christmas Shopping? Got a few birthdays coming up that you need to buy gifts for? Want to raise money for CYFC without having to spend a penny? Of course the answer is Yes!! Please, please, please register at easyfundraising.org.uk and you can raise money for CYFC just by shopping online! It works with a whole host of shops including iTunes and Amazon so for every new song you buy or new DVD you order we get extra pennies!! If you would like a direct link to support CYFC, email admin@croydonyfc.co.uk and we will give you all the details!

Got a clapped out old motor sat in the garage or cluttering up the driveway that you’ve not got round to scrapping yet? This could be another easy way to help raise money for Croydon YFC! C o n t a c t t h e l o v e l y p e o p l e a t giveacar.co.uk via their website and they will do all the hard work

i n c l u d i n g picking up the car from your h o u s e a t a c o n v e n i e n t time!

Funding Croydon YFC!

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Donating & Supporting

A Few Points for Prayer...!• Pray for Dan Mapstone as he joins our team in October! Pray he settles in well to his course

and to the work of CYFC.• Pray that the four volunteer positions are filled quickly with the right people to help the work

of Croydon YFC move forward into the new year.• Pray for Naomi as she settles into her role at Croydon College that the relationships built

with the students and staff make a long lasting impression.• Pray that money continues to come in to keep CYFC ticking over financially! We are still a

long way off our target income for the year. Please pray that a response is made to our financial needs.

• Pray for all those who were affected by the riots. Pray for the families who lost their homes in the fires, as they settle into their new homes.

• Thank God for our awesome volunteers, pray for continued energy and passion for the work we are doing.

• Pray for all the church youth-workers, both paid and volunteers, who work each week with the young people in their churches and local communities.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE OUR MONTHLY PRAYER LETTER PLEASE EMAIL ADMIN@CROYDONYFC.CO.UK OR CONTACT THE OFFICE ON 07701009320.