A few words of reflection from Natalie Forrest, member of the winning YPI Team... supporting Beyond Boundaries.

YPI was an incredible experience, because not only does it raise awareness of the social issues within our community, but it actually gives us the opportunity to go out there and to help combat them,  and to see for ourselves why it is so essential that help is provided for others.  Initially, we discovered more about the social issues occurring locally.  That was hard hitting, and to be honest, rather shocking.  Because whilst complaining about how you feel slightly under the weather, it’s easy to forget how there are some people suffering from illnesses they won’t recover from, and whilst turning up the heating, it’s easy to forget others are living on the ice cold streets, and whilst out playing hockey, it’s easy to forget others don’t have the ability to walk properly.   After the necessary reminder about those not as fortunate as many of us, we then had to then choose a specific issue that we were particularly passionate about.  As a group, we took a particular interest in helping those with mental or physical disabilities.  It can have such an effect on people, the poverty rates are significantly higher amongst those who are disabled; 19% of individuals in families with at least one disabled member live in poverty, compared to 15% of individuals in families with no disabled member. This can be due to the fact that employment rates are much lower, at only 46%, and the fact that equipment is incredibly expensive.  Also, it can significantly restrict the amount of activities one can participate in, which can make them left out and isolated, especially in childhood.  Therefore, when it was time for the class to research different charities combating a particular social issue, we were determined to find a charity which combats everything aforementioned.  However, we watched last year’s YPI presentations, and remembered that one group were trying to win a charity called Beyond Boundaries the three thousand pounds, the work that Beyond Boundaries carried out seemed remarkable, and we hadn’t forgotten about them. 

So we decided to learn more, and met up with the man who runs Beyond Boundaries, he is called Steve. Within about a minute of speaking with him, we were absolutely set on choosing Beyond Boundaries as our charity.  I don’t think I have met anyone as selfless, compassionate, or as determined to improve the lives of others as he is, and there is nobody we would rather win the money for.  He spoke about how he would give up his work to run the charity full time, however, lack of money was an issue.  Furthermore, he said his voluntary work made “every day worth getting up for”, which just conveys how much this means to him, and how much he would appreciate the three thousand pounds. Beyond Boundaries is a charity which aims to combat physical and social barriers, by providing activities adapted for those with a mental or physical disability, improving the health and quality of life for all members, and preventing feelings of isolation and loneliness. It provides emotional and physical support. They can also provide free, adapted equipment for members, which can help them with costs. We then had the opportunity to meet those who Beyond Boundaries helps, and the impact Beyond Boundaries has on them was evident.  They looked so incredibly happy on their bike, and spoke of how they had met so many people and achieved so many things that would have been impossible without Beyond Boundaries. However, activities do not occur on a regular basis, the charity only received a small grant for starting up in 2011,  from the Lottery ‘Awards For all’ (£10,000) and  East Lothian council (£10,000) most of which was used for equipment, and activities normally cost over £350 pounds due to costs such as; accommodation, instructors and equipment. The money was desperately needed, and is put to such good use, it made us all the more determined to earn them the three thousand pounds.

And after gathering an adequate amount of information about your charity (their history, financial information, aims and objectives) you present to the class, and the group who scores the highest from the judges (one or two teachers) goes through to the school final. The competition was fierce in the class, and we only won by a single mark, therefore, we had a lot of work to do before the final which was only two weeks away.

I don’t think I’ve experienced anything quite as emotional as the day of the YPI finals.  I’m not going to lie, we all felt slightly sick with nerves, and it is different from the nerves before an exam or any ordinary competition, because this time, it’s not you who the outcome has an impact on, it’s somebody else you could do something good for; the pressure was immense. We watched the other presentations, and they were absolutely touching. There were so many amazing charities such as Leuchie House and East Lothian Food bank, combating issues that were prominent within our community, and are so incredibly important to tackle.  Learning more about the work that they do was so inspiring.  Furthermore, you could really tell how much everyone cared about the charity they were representing, their presentations were full of passion, and we were completely engaged, however, after a while of being captivated in what everyone else had to say, it was our turn, and we took to the stage...

We had a waiting audience, we had a video to show, and we had a presentation which wouldn’t load.  We were panicked.  Initially, were rather adamant that there was no way we could present without.  However, after five minutes of constant attempts to get it working, and making near to no progress, we didn’t really have an option.  So after a two minute team talk, establishing that three thousand pounds was too much to throw away due to the fact a presentation wouldn’t load, we began.  And soon, the nerves dissipated, and the determination to earn Beyond Boundaries the money was the only thing left in our minds.  So we tried our best and gave it all we could.  As it turns out, we were fine without the presentation, and it wasn’t such a big deal after all; we all knew what we wanted to communicate anyway. The fact that Steve was their made presenting rather emotional, and there were times where I couldn’t really look at him in order to keep it together, but I’m glad he got to see how amazing we think the work that he invests so much of his time and effort in actually is. We made it to the end, and completely forgot about how the judges normally like to ask a few questions afterwards, so we pure sprinted offstage, and much to our embarrassment, had to all return and speak for a few minutes longer.

Once we answered the questions, we returned to our seats in anticipation, as the judges had just left to decide the winner of YPI. I normally don’t have any issues with chatting to people, but this time I could think of nothing to say.  We just all kept reassuring Steve that we would be raising money for him anyway, so it’s not like he won’t get the three thousand pounds, it’s just he may need to wait for a while longer. After about five minutes which felt like an absolute eternity, the judges returned to announce their decision.  Mrs Ingham thanked our guests for kindly taking time out of their day to judge, the audience for being so considerate and supportive, Mr Redford for organising the entire event so well, and all participants.  And after a drum roll from the audience, she announced that Beyond Boundaries had won.  You feel a sense of shock, because it seemed so out of reach only a few weeks ago, you feel so incredibly happy and thankful that the charity, you care so much about, have received the money; however, it is somewhat bitter sweet.  Because in order for your charity to win, five others must go home with nothing, and after speaking to the other charity representatives, you know how much it means to them as well.  I can’t justify it by trying to discern which social issue is more important; they all are.  All I can say is that I don’t think you could be more passionate than Steve, and Beyond Boundaries needed that money so much, and I feel that the impact they have on people is so outstanding.  We went up to thank the judges, congratulate the other charity members and pupils representing them, and receive the check.  Steve then approached, and seeing the look on his face made the months of hard work, stress, and attempts at trying to work windows movie maker, completely and utterly worth it.

I don’t think in the eleven years of education we have experienced anything that shaped us like YPI did.  It teaches you about teamwork; you learn that it’s okay to disagree, because it means everyone is having their own say, and you need to respect that, and realise that you all have a common goal, which brings everyone closer together.  Also, the diversity is good, you need people who stress out to motivate the team and look for areas to improve, and you need the level headed ones to calm everyone when you are on stage trying to win thousands of pounds with a broken presentation.  It also brought out compassion and empathy within people, as I said before; we forget how fortunate we are and we forget how many are in need of our help, and there is no way better to remind us all than letting us see it for ourselves.  Most importantly,  you get the chance to give a charity which is so important to you three thousand pounds, and develop a relationship with them, and hopefully volunteer for them in the future; I don’t think you could ask for anything more.  It was an incredible experience to have been a part of, and I’m so grateful

Natalie Forrest