- When did you first meet?
Jodie: "We met about two years ago at the youth centre in Carousel. A friend who was involved in the centre members' committee asked me to come along."
Darran: "When I met Jodie, I was the full-time youth worker of the youth wing at Carousel Children's Centre in Braintree, Essex. The members' committee for the centre had just begun and all were keen to get more young people involved. Jodie first came along with a friend and soon became an active member of the group.
- What types of activities do you run?
Darran: "We run a range of youth sessions in the evenings. There's the Torchlight special needs group, open centre nights, the Forte drama group and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Jodie is involved with the members' committee and as a volunteer for Torchlight."
- What have you got out of the project?
Jodie: "I have certainly become more confident. I volunteer with the special needs group, which is good fun. Being involved with these projects has helped me learn the skills I need to pursue my career in the children's centre day nursery."
- How has Jodie progressed since you've worked together?
Darran: "When I first met Jodie she was in her final year at school. From day one, she came over as mature, intelligent and fairly self-assured. She has a caring nature and is definitely one to roll up her sleeves and get involved. She now works in the day nursery of a children's centre that I manage and is very well thought of by her colleagues and the children she works with."
- What do you think about Darran?
Jodie: "He has been excellent. He always encouraged people to take part and do things such as volunteering. A lot of us on the members' committee all left school at the same time and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. Darran helped us all out in different ways. He helped me get an interview to work in the day nursery."
