Young Advisors are experienced volunteers who are actively involved with a community organisation in the StreetGames network. For StreetGames Summer Camp 2022, a team of 14 Young Advisors worked with StreetGames staff to take a lead on all aspects of the camp, from initial planning right through to the delivery of the event itself.
Mo is 19 and from Leeds. He is a regular volunteer with his local basketball club, Let’s Do More (LDM), having started as participant before progressing to supporting with leading sessions, and now coaching for the club. As well as practical tasks including arranging facilities and transport to away games and communicating with other teams, Mo’s coaching role also involves building relationships with participants to support their wellbeing and growth, serving as “a mentor to other young people that need an older brother figure”. He also credits his volunteering experience with LDM with supporting his own personal development: “Before volunteering, I was 15 and I had just moved from London. I was going down the wrong path so it redirected me. It still surprises me how much I can experience during volunteering.”
Mo was attracted by the Young Advisor role at Summer Camp after having attended previous residentials with StreetGames and seeing how the Young Advisors communicated with the young people attending and supported their positive experience: “I wanted to be that person!” As one of the oldest in the Young Advisor team, with a lot of volunteer experience under his belt, Mo saw one of his main priorities at Summer Camp as supporting the other Young Advisors, ensuring that they “all had somebody they could speak too and confide in”. As a result, he is proud to have further developed his empathy and understanding: “I had a few healthy disagreements with the other Young Advisors, because we understood each other’s perspectives and we wanted to find a solution instead of arguing.”
Mo also enjoyed building on other skills developed through previous residentials, including communication – in particular his confidence in public speaking in front of large groups and in a new environment. He was keen to put everything learnt through the Summer Camp experience to use back in his community: “I feel motivated to get back and work 10 times harder. I’m driven to learn more and I can’t wait to get home and research as many opportunities as possible.”
Mo has recently started his own basketball club – and alongside this, is starting a degree in law to support him with managing contracts in his planned career as a professional basketball coach. As he puts it: “There’s always room for improvement – you can never stop growing, you can never stop developing”.
