Supporting Sussex and Kent young carers

For the fourth year running, the Osborne team joined volunteers from Optivo to support the Imago Kent and Sussex young carers activity day at Bowles Centre in Tunbridge Wells for a jam packed day of activities.

There are over 13,000 young carers in Kent and East Sussex and being a young carer can have a negative impact on them such as low confidence and self-esteem. The aim of Imago is to reduce the negativity surrounding young carers and highlight the positives such as increased resilience, empathy and a caring nature.

The charity was offered the use of Bowles, an outdoor activity ground where the group had the opportunity to explore in a safe environment. They were able to try rock climbing, low ropes, team high ropes, archery and wood craft. All of the activities were greatly received, and gave the children a chance to learn new skills and meet new friends.

Volunteers from both Osborne and Optivo helped to welcome the young carer’s arrivals and were then allocated a group to work with for the day.

We took along our interactive ‘Buzzer Game’, where all children won an Osborne gift bag containing a number of goodies.

At the end of the busy day, the group added their thoughts to the re-usable ‘graffiti wall’, made by our operatives. Moving forwards, Imago will be able to use this wall for future events and workshops.

Fiona from Imago said: “The Osborne team were awesome, I have heard how great the volunteers were and I think it really worked having them join the groups for the day to get involved. Thank you all once again”

We are looking forward to working with Imago and supporting Young Carers in the future.