Cheerleading Instructor, Fenton Manor
January 07 – June 08
I took the British Cheerleading Coach qualification in 2006. I started a squad at the local sports centre, Fenton Manor in Stoke-On-Trent. The classes have received great reception from young people and parents alike. The aim of the weekly classes is to teach the girls new individual and group skills in dance and cheerleading, encouraging regular exercise and healthy living. It also boosts self confidence and team work skills.
Photography Project Leader, Rising Stars Youth Group
May 07 – May 08
I volunteered at a youth group for people with disabilities and their siblings. Using photography I am teaching them to document all the things they achieve by being part of the Rising Stars Youth Group, helping them master new skills and gain confidence in themselves by becoming competent in photography. With new sponsorship and donations given to the Rising Stars thanks to a collection of images made by the members, they have recently acquired new cameras and printers. With this new equipment I have been helping the group create portraits of each other that will cumulate in a book of members. Future projects are planned to help get the group out of the centre and into the local area to get them experimenting with their skills in a new and interesting environment.
Volunteer Assistant Swimming Coach and Activity Leader, FISSSC
Sept 03 – January 08
I have been a volunteer at a swimming club set up for people with special needs for nearly four years and during that time I have helped children learn to swim as well as supported activities like trips to the beach, theme parks and outdoor activity centres. I have used photography to document these activities. With the images I made I wanted to show how people who are disabled could take part in activities including caving and canoeing. Because the children are used to me having a camera, I used my knowledge of the children’s personalities to capture them at their best. The images have been used in an Anthropological Study and will be used in the clubs website as evidence of what activities we organise for the children.
Photography Project Leader, Birmingham Childrens Hospital
August 07
I had to plan and organise a three-day photography project for in and out patients at the hospital using the theme of ‘A Picture of Health’, with the end results being made into large scale prints to decorate the corridor on one of the wards. As a group we discussed what being healthy meant to them. We developed mood boards and collages to get ideas about how to photograph health then, using digital cameras and instant printers we went on outings around the surrounding areas to make images within the theme of ‘A Picture of Health’.
Photography Project Leader, Abbey Hill Special School
February 07 – March 07
I completed two photography projects at Abbey Hill Special School, Stoke-On-Trent, with groups of year 11 pupils with varying degrees of disabilities. The aim of the project, supported by Stoke-on-Trent Youth Services, was to teach new skills as well as improving confidence in travelling on public transport. The skills they learnt within photography helped them to understand framing and composition within the camera and how to look at things in different ways. The end result was a set of postcards, each pupil chose one image and four were put together on one post card. I used my skills as a photographer and my experience of working with people with disabilities to make the skills easy to learn as well as making it fun and enjoyable.
“I never realised how good I could be at taking pictures”, Nikki Lowndes, age 15. Assistant Activity Leader, Fairkytes Art Center
August 06
During August I worked at my local authorities art centre as an assistant, helping the art leader with the classes they ran for children. The children would come in and make something; all the classes were designed so that every child could take part and leave with something they were proud of. I learnt a lot about working with a community and about planning and organising projects. How to give people just the right amount of help to get them started but not complete the work for them.