Raise Up (YMCA) and The Green Room Workshop
In April, we had the privilege of bringing music to the YMCA's, Raise Up induction day!
Raise Up is YMCA's youth development programme for young people aged 12 - 18. It is run by youth for youth and operates from locations across New Zealand. Established at YMCA Massey, West Auckland in 2002, Raise Up has been built on the long and successful history YMCA has had working with youth in local communities. Raise Up activities include a mixture of regular weekly activities, events, workshops and personal development options. These are tailored to the interests of youth in each region and could include sports, music, dance, fashion, leadership training, art and much more.
Raise Up has been designed to offer youth a safe and positive environment in which to relax, socialise and achieve their goals.
We have a close connection with Raise Up, EMA Director Nick Douch was previously a Raise Up Programme Co-ordinator for 4 years, and having our own youth programme (The Green Room Charitable Trust) it was really special to connect with the Raise Up team and the Raise Up crew members and play some music together!
The format of this music session was the same as our Green Room Programme. Run weekly at both our Albany and Grafton academies, The Green Room Charitable Trust provides a safe and welcoming environment where teenagers struggling with anxiety and depression or bullying can express themselves through music.
Each week, much like Raise Up, a group of young people come along to EMA to connect through music and meet others going through the same journey. We have seen some really amazing growth, and friendships formed through the programme and we feel so privileged to be able to provide a space for young people going through tough times to come and express themselves.
You don't need to play an instrument to take part in the Green Room, if you can bang a drum, sing the chorus to your favourite song, or are open to trying a new instrument, our great team are here to support you through it .
We really enjoyed our workshop with Raise Up last month and hope to see many more events like this in the future.