This weekend I had the privilege of attending the Premier Youth Work awards.
Be Loved had been shortlisted for the 'Best Youth Work Resource' category and the quality of the competition was high. The evening was a wonderful celebration of all things 'youth work' related, and I felt extremely privileged to be there.
Within my category was a resource called 'Deck tales' by Dylan Barker, another called 'Walking in their shadow' by Lex Bradley and 'Seriously Awkward' by The Children's Society.
The deserving winners were The Children's Society, who have produced an incredible, free, six session course exploring Identity, mind matters, healthy relationships, life online, seriously awkward (topics) and making a difference.
I really wasn't disappointed that I didn't win as for me, being nominated, shortlisted and recognised alongside such a well established charity, The Children's society, felt like such an honour.
I received a highly commended certificate along with a letter of congratulations. In the letter was the nomination I received, which when I read it, filled me with so much joy! I realised then that I didn't need an award to show how amazing the Be Loved course is, this statement alone was enough for me to know what an impact it is having, and how much it is helping young women. Here's some of what it said;
"Be Loved is an amazing resource which has positively impacted my youth work. All the young people that have participated in the course have loved it and raved about how much it has impacted them and encouraged them. They all said they have improved in confidence and risen self-esteem as a result of the course. It is also a course that teaches self image and self awareness through the verses of the bible, so the girls have now got a firmer understanding in their identity in Christ too, which has been so positive to see. There is nothing like this out there at the moment. It takes the best things about self esteem courses, mindfulness colouring, 'wreck this journal' style of engagement and turns it into something powerful that can be used for girls to learn what God says about them. It is an excellent resource for any youth work wanting to engage with groups of teenage girls.'
Yes an award, trophy, medal, commendation, pay rise or letter of appreciation is a wonderful way to be recognised, but the gift of knowing how you, or something you have produced, has had a positive impact on someone, or a group of people, is something to be treasured. That's when you know you are truly winning.
Life is a journey, and I want to be able to take my time and stop to appreciate the small victories along with the big ones too. For me, this was a relatively big victory, seeing as we only launched Be Loved this summer. This is definitely not the end for Be Loved, but only a beautiful beginning.
Thanks for reading.
Love and be loved,
Gemma x