In the months leading up to the residential L was very adamant that he didn’t want to go. It was only a week before you managed to encourage him to actually go, but in his words “he was going but wasn’t going to do all the activities he would just watch the others”. He did feel very anxious about going but the school had put him at ease and told him he wouldn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to.
Luke went on the residential and if I’m being honest I was expecting a phone call to go and get him. That never happened and on the day they were coming home we went along to pick him up. As he got off the bus his face was glowing with pride, the first words out of his mouth were “I could have stayed longer it was so much fun”. L went on to say how much enjoyment he had gotten from all the activities and he couldn’t believe he had actually done every single activity. He was so proud of himself. There wasn’t anything he didn’t have a go at.
This changed his attitude and mind set to the challenges he meets in everyday life and since then has never looked back. He has tried and done lots of things he wouldn’t of before and that’s all because going to Lakeside gave him the self-esteem and confidence he needed and as a family we couldn’t be more grateful to the school for the encouragement they gave L.
Support our ‘Changing Young Lives’ Appeal for YMCA Lakeside
We could change 10,000 young lives per year with the new School Facility…
