Young People’s News

The Chance to Street Dance

May 14, 2013 By administrator

Our members were treated to a Street Dance master class when 3 of the UK’s top street dance popped in, on their way to the ‘Keep Dancing Championship’ in Beijing, to teach them some of their best moves.

Dickson Mbi, a popping and contemporary dancer, boasts an appearance in Lucozade Revive adverts. Brooke Milliner, a choreographer with an aptitude for acrobatics, took part in the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony in 2008 and appeared in the “Street Dance” 3D movie, while Clara Bajado became a Nike athlete after winning their Dance Clash competition in 2007.

Organised by local business and Mahdlo Patron, Team Spirit Event Management the workshops saw over 30 young people learn the moves before all coming together to perform one big routine. Get Creative coordinator Rachelann Brooks told us “this has been a fantastic opportunity for our young people to learn from some of the best dancers in the country, only at Mahdlo could this happen. We want to say a huge thanks to Ian and the guys at Team Spirit as well as Simply Health who together have made this happen.”

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Young People's News, Your Youth Zone

Raving mad for Mahdlo

May 7, 2013 By administrator

Illuminous face paint, thumping music and glow sticks galore met our members on Friday night.

To celebrate a fantastic year of support from our very own DJ James Barry-Williams who has now landed himself a top weekly DJ’ing set in a local venue we put on a night to remember to thank James and wish him well for the future.

Ste Hardy Senior Zone ~coordinator told us “James has been a real asset to the club, he has created fantastic atmospheres on a Friday and Saturday evening with his live sets.” James has promised to keep in contact and make special guest appearances at upcoming Mahdlo events……..Watch this space.

To find out more about activities on offer on Friday nights contact u son 0161 624 0111.

Filed Under: Young People's News, Your Youth Zone

Do you have the Radio Factor??

May 1, 2013 By administrator

Aged between 8 – 12 and fancy being the next big name on the airwaves? Junior Zone may just be able to help you on your way…..We will be holding Radio taster workshops from Thursday 2nd May for 3 weeks, 7pm – 9pm, and what’s more, if you have what it takes we will have the opportunity to work with Mako Media to set up Mahdlo Juniors very own radio station!!!

Thursday 2nd May – Radio Presenting

Thursday 9th May – Music Making

Thursday 16th May – Radio Show Creation

To find out more call Mahdlo on 0161 624 0111

Filed Under: Young People's News, Your Youth Zone

Mahdlo v The Takeaway: Battle of the calories

February 13, 2013 By administrator

a picture of Mahdlo members cooking as part of the branching out initiative

Mahdlo members taking on the takeaways

Recently, Mahdlo members decided to see for themselves the difference between takeaway and home cooked food.

This was part of the charity’s ‘Branching Out’ initiative, a project aimed at helping our senior members develop the life skills they’ll need when setting up home independently for the first time.

Takeaway food has become a part of everyday life for many of us. Most families in the UK order takeaway food once or twice a week and it can seem like the best option after a long day at work or studying.

But often fast food favourites like Chinese, Indian and pizza are high in fat, calories and salt and lack vitamins and nutrients needed to stay healthy. They can also make a serious dent in your wallet, with most meals costing somewhere between £5 and £10 a head – four or five times the amount needed to feed a whole family using one of the many supermarket promotions available on fresh ingredients. And as our research showed, ordering out might not even be quicker than turning the oven on.

Eleven members aged between 14 and 19 started by looking at takeaway menus to decide which food they ordered most often, with pizza and chicken curry chosen as the favourites. They then shopped for the ingredients needed to make home-cooked versions at the local supermarket.

When they got back to Mahdlo, some of the team got busy in the kitchen – whilst others placed orders for the equivalent menu items from local takeaways.

A picture of a pizza cooked by Mahdlo members as part of the branching out initiative

Home cooked and ready to go into the oven – but will it be ready before the takeaway arrives? If the chef has anything to do with it, yes is the answer!

Not such fast food…

Thirty minutes later, and the Branching Out group was tucking into its home made dishes. It was another 25 minutes before the takeaway order arrived – and this was on a Monday night – not exactly rush hour in takeaway terms.

The group then compared the calories in the takeaway food with what they’d cooked themselves and the results were startling. The pizza had three times as many calories and the curry had 2.5 times the number – meaning that with just a few bites of the takeaway, you’d be in danger of damaging any new years’ resolutions about diets.

Ste Hardy, Senior Zone Co-ordinator at Mahdlo said, “I’m really proud of the work done by the Branching Out members – for some it was their first time they’d cooked for themselves, but they took it all in their stride. Hopefully our experiment will encourage them to consider how many takeaways they have in a week or month and think about reducing this amount. We showed how easy it was for all of the group members to cook their own cheaper, quicker, tastier and healthier options.”

Richard who lives on St Marys, who’s been coming to Mahdlo since March 2012, said, “This project has helped me meet new people and try new things. I will also think more about my lifestyle because of this project.”

In the coming weeks, Branching Out members will be learning more about the support they can access when living on their own, and finding out about the experiences of other young people who may be in similar situations.

The calories in the home cooked meal were much less than the takeaway, as this comparison shows

And the winner is… Home cooked food!

About Branching Out

The Branching Out project is a series of sessions run by Mahdlo and its partners with the aim of supporting young people moving into independent living for the first time. It has been funded in part by Warburtons and was developed in response to the needs of our members.

This type of support offered by Branching Out is particularly valuable for those leaving care but also young people who have lacked positive role models in managing a home.

Research has shown that those leaving care are more likely to have poor educational outcomes, low paid employment or unemployment, have problems with health, particularly mental health, and have difficulties with relationships.

The project focuses on key areas for support: housing, employment, budgeting, health and social networks. Partner agencies work with Mahdlo to deliver more specialised sessions such as pre-tenancy training by First Choice Homes, Health teams supporting on diet and health and Positive Steps Oldham focusing on training and employment opportunities.

A key part of the course is supporting the participants to plan, shop for and cook healthy meals; an area in which many young people lack skills or confidence.

A vital element of all sessions is budgeting – supporting young people to plan their finances and recognise how to sustain themselves on their available income. Some of the participants may need additional support around basic numeracy and will be supported to access wider services.

It might be tasty, but look at the grease on the box left by this pizza! calorie-tastic!

Filed Under: Get Sorted, Young People's News, Young Person, Your Youth Zone

A Junior’s perspective

January 29, 2013 By administrator

Mahdlo is good, Mahdlo is sweet, Mahdlo keeps us kids off the street.

We do fun things, we play cool games, there are no bullies to call you names.

Come and meet new people, make more friends, half six it starts at nine it ends.

The staff are fun, the staff are great, they’ll become like your best mate.

We do football, we’ve got a gym, we also do dance so come and join in.

There’s lots of activities, too many to name, so why not come down and choose a game.

So don’t miss this opportunity, to join in the community, coz Mahdlo is our name, where everyone’s the same.

Filed Under: Young People's News, Your Youth Zone

Hitting the target!!

January 16, 2013 By administrator

Ever thought of having a go at archery and not sure where to go to try?? Then look no further, if you are age 18 – 21, call into Mahdlo on Monday evenings from 7:30pm and give it a go!

Our weekly archery sessions are open to senior club members and no experience is necessary. We have two fantastic coaches from the Rochdale Company of Archers in the club running the sessions, for more information call Mahdlo on 0161 624 0111.

Filed Under: Young People's News, Your Youth Zone

Skating into Christmas

December 12, 2012 By administrator

Our junior members got the festive celebrations under-way last weekend with a visit to Oldham’s Ice rink. There was lots of slipping and sliding as the group managed to find their feet on what was a day to remember.

It didn’t take too long beforethe group were twirling and swirling on the ice, they even had a a dance routine all worked out, some even managed skating backwards.

They had a fantastic day and are now looking forward tho our Junior Christmas Party on 20th December.

Filed Under: Young People's News, Your Youth Zone

Birthday Party at Mahdlo

November 19, 2012 By administrator

This weekend party fever took over at Mahdlo as the ability family session held their very first birthday party and Marya and her team sprinkled that little bit of Mahdlo magic.

Everyone had a great time, especially the birthday boy, taking part in a variety of activities which included candle decorating, crazy golf, rugby and football skills, ten pin bowling and sensory play. The day ended when the team sang “in tune” to wish the birthday boy a very special and happy birthday.

“I would just like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you at MAHDLO for making our son’s birthday very special indeed! It means a lot to parents who’s children have a disability that they can have the opportunity to celebrate their birthdays without having to conform to a ‘norm’! You are fabulous people! xXx”

If you have a child with a disability and would like to find out more about our sessions for young people with additional needs call Marya on 0161 624 0111.

Filed Under: Young People's News, Your Youth Zone

Try Time

November 16, 2012 By administrator

Last Sunday our members were treated to a fantastic evening of thrills as they visited Salford City Stadium to encounter the final of the Autumn International Series final between England & France.

The trip was organised by our Chair of the Board, Terry Flanagan, who had a highly successful sporting career that included international appearances for Great Britain.

The group arrived at the stadium where there was a real buzz around the ground. Before kick off they all had the opportunity to get stuck in to a range of activities and tried their hand at rugby ball target practice and go karting. They had just enough time to sample a pre match pie before participating a two minute silence to mark Remembrance Sunday.

After witnessing Ryan Hall running in four tries, England easily overpowered France 48-4 with Oldham born and bred Kevin Sinfield converting all 8 tries.

When asked about the trip one of our members told us

“it has been an amazing weekend, we had a training session yesterday with St Helens and had a fantastic time watching England. I never thought I would do anything like this. This has all be made possible by Terry, thank you from us all.”

If you would like to find out more about the activities we have on offer and our opening times, please contact us on 0161 624 0111.

Filed Under: Young People's News, Young Person, Your Youth Zone

Pumpkin Madness at Holiday Zone

November 5, 2012 By administrator

Our Pumpkins on display in store

Last week our Holiday Zone had a spooky feel with lots of tricks and treats going on. As a nominated charity of Sainsbury’s Oldham, we took a special delivery of 20 pumpkins and our members got creative and spent the afternoon elbows deep in pumpkin seeds carving scary faces in their pumpkins.

Once the finishing touches had been made, the team took the pumpkins down to Sainsbury’s where they took pride of place in the foyer and were enjoyed by enjoyed by customers and staff.

Later in the day members of the British Legion arrived to vote on their favourite/most scariest! Once the votes had been counted, the team from Sainsbury’s visited Mahdlo to present the winner and two runners up with prizes.

Jessica receiving her runner up prize

We’re looking forward to seeing the team from Sainsbury’s again when they deliver apples next week for our senior and junior club members to make toffee apples with on Monday and Tuesday night.

Filed Under: Young People's News, Your Youth Zone

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