We love to celebrate stories about how our grants positively impact young people! And this International Day of Happiness, we want to celebrate one great use of our Leader Award Grant to create a Happiness day for young people in Sutton! The day consisted of relaxing and mindful activities, which the Guides Greater London West Sutton partook in to realise the importance of happiness and well-being in their lives.

Nicki Richards, from the Guides Sutton organisation, used her £1,000 Leader Award Grant to provide various self-care activities for the girl guides in her unit.

Nicki won the Leader Award for her hard work and determination in making the experience for those in the organisation fun and joyful. Since Nicki won the Leader Award, she could apply for a Leader Award Grant of up to £1,000 that benefits the young people in her unit. Nicki applied for a grant that allowed the girls to decorate sleep masks, create jars containing notes of happy memories, do yoga sessions and have sessions with “Our Amazing Animal World” – learning about and handling the animals and having the experience of looking after them!

The Young Leaders and Rangers also met each other, some for the first time as they helped with different units, and had the chance to mingle and chat. The girls (and Leaders) had fun with the activities; it was a great way to meet other groups in the district.

Nicki Richards – Leader Award winner and event organiser, states that it “was amazing to see the whole district together, with the older girls not only taking on roles of responsibility but enjoying all the activities themselves and making new friends. All the girls were able to relax, learn new skills and find their happy places. Many of them also faced their fears of some of the animals or the zip wire and visibly grew in confidence. I think everyone went home with a smile on their face.”

The Happiness Day certainly promoted positive mental health and a joyful experience for those involved in District Day, and organising an event for young people to enjoy and learn new skills is a great way to use our Leader Award Grant.

You can use the Jack Petchey Leader Award Grant in many ways when applying. To have your school or club benefit from our funds, if you are part of the Achievement Award scheme, nominate someone for a Leader Award, so they can apply for a grant within 6 months of receiving the award.

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