Our Y’s Girls wellbeing day, in partnership with Mind Space, was hugely successful and saw over 20 of our mentors and mentees participate in a range of activities designed to get us thinking about our mental health and adopting a positive wellbeing.

The theme of wellbeing saw us play games such as self-care bingo and self-care Jenga. Young people even had the opportunity to create their own tote bags with designs that reflected their unique self-care techniques.

Following these fun activities, mentors and mentees had time to bond and have a chat over lunch served by Giraffe Café. During which our mentors and mentees had full access to our wide range of facilities in our drop-in space including our pool table, gaming stations and air hockey table. Participants had a blast playing games and getting to know each other in an environment that was positive, welcoming and friendly.

After lunch, we all worked together to make a visual representation of our ‘Y’s Girls Journey’ using our chalk board wall and chalk paint. This gave us the chance to look at what barriers we may encounter on our mentoring journey. These ranged from travel and public transport to anxiety and shyness. We then took the time to brainstorm what potential solutions could be used to overcome these barriers. This was a great way for mentors to share ideas and to help each other become the best mentors possible.

Mentors and mentees then got the chance to design t-shirts and write thank you letters to each other. We ended the day by focusing on our relaxation and breathing, tuning into our bodies and reflecting on our day.

This event was a massive success and was thoroughly enjoyed by our mentors and mentees and is something we are eager to replicate soon in the future. We have even discussed the idea of nature bathing which would allow us to reconnect with nature and focus on relaxation.

Alyxs Dellaquaglia, Y’s Girls Programme Coordinator for YMCA Tayside, said: “I am super proud and excited for our next Y’s Girls mentoring activity. It has been a pleasure to help these young girls at such a pivotal time in their lives. These days help bring people together and help to foster deeper bonds.”

Mind Space is a charity that helps to support people who are suffering from mental health issues and have been doing so for nearly 40 years.  Mind Space are enthusiastic to collaborate on another Y’s Girls mentoring activity with YMCA Tayside and thoroughly enjoyed meeting our staff, mentors and mentees!