A WOODLEY charity has been lifting the spirits of teenagers with additional needs by hosting online bingo sessions.
Me2 Club runs a monthly mobile youth club for young people aged 13-19 but has had to cancel this due to social distancing restrictions. As a way of brightening up their time in isolation, Me2 piloted their first online youth club, to help combat the sense of loneliness being experienced during this challenging period.
Nikki Tee, activities and volunteer coordinator at Me2 Club said: “A lot of our young people get particularly anxious, this is an uncertain time and many of them struggle with the change of routine. It’s very unsettling for them, we wanted to address that and make things more manageable at such a difficult time.”
For the first session, the group of seven were split into two separate video calls; with young people and several members of staff, allowing everyone more of a chance to talk.
Ms Tee said: “We started the session off with a catch up, getting them to talk about the fun things they’d been doing. We wanted to put a positive spin on the group.
“We then played two rounds of Bingo, then at the end had a general catch up, to try and restore some normality. They were able to catch up with their friends and have a laugh.
“It was really successful,” she added. “We asked for their thoughts at the end and it seemed a really positive experience for everyone. They all said they really enjoyed it and they wanted to do another one, it was so lovely to see lots of happy smiling faces.”
Staff will be hosting the online sessions fortnightly, and plan to run a pub quiz-style event next time. For more information visit: https://me2club.org.uk
