Ellie's first Believe & Achieve residential
Believe & Achieve Officer Ellie shares her experience of our recent residential weekend
During 6-8 September I went on my first Believe & Achieve residential for 18-25 year-olds.
We spent the weekend at the Sherwood Forest Center Parcs in Nottinghamshire with 11 of the young people who are part of Believe & Achieve. Some have been heavily involved in the charity and Believe & Achieve previously, but for some of them it was their first event.
The residential was made up with a variety of activities, including facing the inflatable aqua parc, archery, a murder mystery, bowling and creating a structurally sound construction to surround an egg as it is launched off the cabin balcony! We also invited a professional life coach to lead a session on identity and memory.
It was a really enjoyable weekend and so many moments stood out for me; seeing how many Believe & Achievers can you fit in a telephone box, games of pool, making and eating meals together, and of course seeing my colleagues dress in ridiculously funny outfits in the selfie challenge! A particular favourite activity of mine was the murder mystery, which included some very funny characters, accents and costumes; I had to play Robin ‘from the Hood’, with a toy bow and sword and a rather excellent curly eye liner moustache! It was so great to watch friendships begin and participants we have known for a long time offering advice to those who are newer to Believe & Achieve.
Very privileged
The events part of my job is a definite highlight; Believe & Achieve is made up of such a wonderful group of people and it is always great to see how they are doing and have a laugh with them. I feel very privileged to be a part of the team who are working with them!
The Believe & Achieve events are a great opportunity for the people to get together, make new friends, share experiences and have some fun. I would highly advise anyone within the age range who has been impacted by meningitis in some way to give them a try - you have nothing to lose!
Want to know more about our events? Visit our Events & Weekends page or alternatively email the team at believe&achieve@meningitisnow.org.