Aviva Community Fund provided £435 of match funding
The UVG - Mentoring Through Music
Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom
Aim
To provide music mentoring sessions to disadvantaged young people as a means of improving their emotional, social and personal wellbeing
What we do
Since 2008 the UVG's mission has been to inspire young people aged 11 - 25 to participate in music and the arts as a means of developing transferable skills and to foster positive mental health and wellbeing. We have provided over 18,000 free creative opportunities including gigs, recordings, masterclasses, mentoring sessions, and workshops, and delivered training in a wide variety of activities such as songwriting, broadcasting, event management, graphic design, and marketing.
The ethos of the UVG is to offer access to a safe, friendly environment for young people to learn through enjoyment and aspire through achievement. Through music-making, our participants develop creative skills that help build resilience and confidence and that nurture a positive image of themselves and their abilities.
“Through UVG my daughter has become more confident socially and more determined to succeed in school. UVG stopped her from feeling like a failure and allowed her to express herself, gain respect and interact with others” – Parent
"The UVG are people changers!" - Parent
Who we work with
The UVG works in some of the most socio-economically deprived areas in the South East (PO9/PO1/PO12) where there are higher than average levels of unemployment and child poverty and lower than average levels of education, skills, and training. For many of these young people, their situation is further compounded by anxiety, adverse mental health conditions, bullying, or negative peer pressure.
"Being a part of UVG made me comfortable to be there and helped me to realise that not everywhere I was going to be judged" - Leah (17)
“I wasn’t good at making friends before I joined UVG, I only had 2 friends. UVG gave me the confidence not only to talk to other people but to sing in front of them too, it pulled me out of my comfort zone.” - Allanah (14)
The Issue
The pandemic has put further pressure on young people who are feeling isolated, anxious, or just plain frightened of the future. We believe that it is vital for their mental health and wellbeing that they are provided opportunities to express their thoughts and feelings through creativity and that the choice to do so should have nothing to do with financial circumstances. Since the lockdown, the charity has been working on ways to deliver its activities safely and effectively so that young people can continue to experience the wider benefits of participation in music and the arts.
Our proposal - Mentoring Through Music
“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves” - Steven Spielberg
Mentoring can ease feelings of anxiety brought on by isolation or the stresses of home, school or social life and can provide the focus a young person needs to remain active and engaged. It can encourage positive risk taking and develop new skills whilst also being effective in redirecting a young person's life towards a more positive future
Music mentoring encourages young people to reflect on the wider outcomes gained through music-making and can have a huge impact on social-emotional development
Our project will provide opportunities for young people to work with professional music mentors to hone their musical skills whilst having a safe space to open up and talk about their lives; their hopes, their fears, and their aspirations. Activities will cover a broad range of music-based interactions including singing, songwriting, recording, and performing and young mentees will be supported to develop musically, personally, socially, and emotionally and to express themselves through words and music.
We will draw upon a wide network of knowledge and expertise to deliver both one-to-one and small group-based mentoring sessions (in person and remotely) with mentors providing motivational and constructive feedback.
"I was encouraged to think about my life and subjects close to my heart and to turn them into lyrics" - Faye (18)
Our previous mentees have consistently exceeded expectations both in terms of the musical output and personal growth and this funding we will ensure that we can continue to offer more of these life-changing opportunities to a greater number of young people.
"Thank you for the inspiration, the pushing me to find myself and believe in myself and for throwing me into things I would usually shy away from" –Josh (18)
Who else will benefit?
The program will also be hugely beneficial to music professionals many of whom are currently facing a bleak future due to their primary source of income disappearing almost overnight. We plan to develop and deliver a comprehensive mentor training program for local musicians, providing them with opportunities to expand their skillset whilst earn through their craft. Our goal is to create a pool of music mentors, spanning a wide range of disciplines, who can be called upon to support young people not only musically but socially and emotionally.
"I'm SO happy that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone ... it was a learning curve for me which concluded with me feeling so much more confident in my ability to mentor and teach" - Marley (Music mentor)
This project successfully funded on 7th October 2020