Day 196 - Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire

Strathclyde Park is a stunning man-made lake (loch?) which has been built to be able to accommodate Rowing Championships and is surrounded by a flat three and a half mile circuit for walking and cycling.  It has beautiful grounds and a stone’s throw away is a huge theme park complex for families.  I arrived at the Water Sport Centre this morning for the 196^th day of my BRIT 2012 mile walk and was delighted to meet the Lord Lieutenant, Fire Fighters from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service and the Covey Befriending Charity who had very kindly coordinated the day for me.

Day 196 at Strathclyde Park with the Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire, Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service and staff & young people from the Covey Befriending Charity

As you know, the BRIT 2012 mile walk is about raising awareness of BRIT and will culminate in an invitation for 2012 businesses to pledge their support to fund the BRIT Centre of Inspiration. However, when I am out walking in the counties of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, I am determined to champion local, regional and national charities that carry out superb work for their communities and for young people.

With a couple of the super young people who joined me on the walk
who are supported by a local charity I met today called Covey Befriending

I think Covey is a tremendous charity.  COVEY stands for COmmunity Volunteers Enabling Youth. They have a long history in recruiting, training and supporting volunteer befrienders and the young people they work with. COVEY volunteers provide befriending outings on a regular basis to young people in South Lanarkshire.

“Befriending provides a supportive reliable relationship to someone

who would otherwise be socially excluded”

(Befriending Network Scotland)

COVEY has core values; respect, openness, commitment, innovation and passion where everyone; befrienders, board, volunteers, other agencies, young people and staff contribute to effective team work.

Community Volunteers Enabling Youth (COVEY) is a voluntary project which recruits, trains and supports volunteer befrienders for vulnerable young people in the 7-16 age group. They also provide befriending for young people up to 18 who are involved in the Youth Justice system.

COVEY covers the geographically diverse area of urban Hamilton, Blantyre and Larkhall, and the rural Clydesdale area, and COVEY staff are based in Hamilton and Lanark.

COVEY was established in 1992 as a development of an existing Hamilton and East Kilbride Befriending project. An office was set up in Blantyre, funded through the urban aid programme until April 1997. In 1998 a successful bid was made to the National Lottery Charities Board to fund a base in Lanark to provide the same services in the Clydesdale area. The Clydesdale project was launched in November 1998 and in 2001 they introduced Next Step Befriending, giving opportunity for young people to be involved in other projects, and Transition Befriending, where young people are supported in their volunteering by an adult befriender.

Today I met their key staff and also a number of young people who COVEY supports.  I saw first-hand just how important the support and voluntary commitment of the staff has on young people and it was a humbling experience.  Please do have a look at the work and ethos of this super organisation and if you can assist in any way, please do; http://www.coveybefriending.co.uk/aboutus.htm

Great support on Day 196 at Strathclyde Park from Fire Fighters from Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service

I finished day 196 with 753 miles to go.

With best wishes,

Phil