Online events with Believe & Achieve
Our popular Believe & Achieve programme for young people aged 14 to 25 impacted by meningitis has gone online – like everything else in this pandemic – but has lost none of its appeal through the transition
Feedback from our Christmas social events was universally positive, with those joining in telling us…
"I thought the format would change the atmosphere of the event but I got the same run of emotions I get at in-person events. We got to talk through issues, be motivational and have fun without worry too."
“Thank you to the Meningitis Now and B&A team, I honestly feel so grateful to be part of this and it feels like a second family where I can talk when I am struggling. I have made friends for life and looking forward to seeing everyone in person again!”
“Thank you for making me feel much less isolated, I really appreciated the session this evening. I needed this feeling of community, especially since at uni everything is so restricted socially. It’s been pretty isolating, so it has been great to touch base with some faces from a pre-Covid life.”
Reach your goals in life
Of course, we’d all much prefer to be able to meet up face-to-face, but until we can it’s good to know that the online version is still hitting the mark in supporting young people to reach their goals in life.
The next online event for 16 to 25-year-olds at the end of January is on after-effects, focusing on concentration issues and fatigue.
Becky Hartwell, Believe & Achieve Programme Coordinator at Meningitis Now, said: “We’ll be looking at these after-effects, how they can impact you and what tips and support might be able to help.
“As it's Believe & Achieve, we will of course include a couple of activities. I’ll be joined by Caroline, one of our nurses from our Helpline team, for what promises to be a stimulating and rewarding evening.”
Number of online events
If you haven’t already signed up for this one though, we're afraid it’s too late as the event is full, but there are a number of other online events scheduled for later in the year.
The first of these looks at Anxiety and is aimed at 16 to 25-year-olds. It takes place between 7pm and 8.30pm on Monday 22 February.
Becky added: “Anxiety can affect us in a variety of ways and also make it more difficult to manage jobs, education, relationships and after-effects.
“Added to this the last 12 months have been difficult and unpredictable, which is likely to have had an impact on anxiety levels.
“We will have sessions on anxiety, what it is, why it happens and how to manage it. There will also be opportunities to ask questions and discuss what has worked for you.
“We will be joined by one of the counsellors from Teens in Crisis, a charity that specialises in counselling support for teenagers and their families.”
Find out more about our B&A Online: Anxiety event.
Easter Socials
This event is followed by two Easter Socials, one for 14 to 17-year-olds on Tuesday 30 March followed the next evening by one for 18 to 25-year-olds.
Becky added: “Our B&A Easter socials are everything you tell us you love about our B&A events, but all from the comfort of your own home.
“We’ve never had an Easter event before and we’ve missed chatting late into the evening as we would at one of our residentials or attempting something random at a B&A day event, so this March we’re looking forward to getting together to do some activities, play games and have a chat. We will be cooking during the event too! Do join us if you can.”
If you or someone you know would like to find out more about these events and get involved in B&A please visit our Believe & Achieve Events & Weekends page, or get in touch with Becky. You can email her at beckyh@meningitisnow.org.
Read more about Believe & Achieve.