When it comes to working with groups of young people, one size does not fit all. Period.
I am not going to tell you otherwise, nor am I going to talk to you about a standard program of sessions that I deliver to schools or community organisations. You and I both know that those young people you have in your reach are more unique than that.
I develop and facilitate workshops and wellbeing programs that are individually constructed to meet the needs of the young people that you work with, in partnership with young people. This means that the workshop I deliver for you will most likely look somewhat different to the one that I delivered last week, and also to the one that I will deliver tomorrow. It also means that if you have an active youth committee, group of students or young people that are willing to have a yarn, their voices will be reflected in the proposal I put forward to you.
I wholeheartedly believe that sustainable learning comes from providing young people with practical tools that can be used well into the future, wherever their minds and hearts take them.
ANDREW EXTON
Director of Student Wellbeing, MacKillop College
Jo has been prepared to go well beyond the brief to develop and establish a meaningful and ongoing partnership with our College, which will continue to develop into the future. I would highly recommend Heart Sparks to other organisations because of the professionalism of Jo and her team, alongside their willingness to truly listen and implement our ideas. Developing the working relationship with Jo and Heart Sparks has been a real highlight for me – there is nothing she could have done to improve our experience of working with her.
This is how it works:
1 . You let me know that you are considering some support for your the young people in your orbit by completing the form here.
2 . I will meet with you briefly to learn more about the young people you work with, and together we will choose the topic(s) that you feel they would benefit most from hearing about or exploring in depth with me. We will discuss the amazing qualities you see in them and what you already know about their current challenges, their experience of working with you and their hopes for the future. During this time we will also arrange a time for them to provide input to me directly if this is something you would like to accommodate.
3 . You will have access to an intensive catalogue of keynote sessions/workshop topics in my repertoire of working with young people, running youth services and developing wellbeing curriculum in a co-design model for almost two decades. If you have something in mind for your event, I will have you covered!
Key topics include:
+ Feeling based goal setting and time management
+ Personal leadership and value-based decision making
+ Study skills and emotional wellbeing
+ Personal confidence, healthy self image and self worth
+ Respectful relationships and building connection
+ Creating powerful personal change
+ Challenging unhelpful thinking, self doubt and fear
+ Self care vs. self repair
+ Youth-led consultation and facilitation training
+ Public speaking and conscious communication
4 . I will propose some session options for you to consider, alongside some follow-up resources, bonus content and opportunities that may benefit the young people you support.
TRISTAN KNOOP
RYLA Co-Director, Rotary International
Jo’s skill and passion for working with young people is infectious and has been a privilege to watch. Her ability to engage with not only individuals but also groups of young people is incredible, and her natural ability to make everyone feel important and valued leaves each young person she works with feeling empowered to take on any challenge they face and to change their own lives for the better. The way in which she captivates and involves her young audiences in the session content is remarkable to witness, and I recommend hiring her without hesitation to work with youth on any aspect of their personal development and growth.
Don’t know the young people in your audience that well? Don’t worry! That is what I’m here for. How invested you want to be in the process is entirely up to you, but each professional I work with will be offered access to information and resources that will allow you to keep the conversation going with the young people in my audiences long after I have left.
Each keynote and workshop session will include the introduction and implementation of practical strategies that young people can easily introduce to all areas of their life and/or study; today, tomorrow, forever.
LISA MAC
Future Focus Program Lead, Doxa Future Focus
Jo is like no-one I have ever collaborated with. Having worked in the youth sector for 15 years, I am always on the look-out for unique, inspirational and genuine people who do what they do because they absolutely love it. I saw Jo present to university students in our Cadetship program and I wondered if she could translate the concepts she delivered so well there to the Year 7 and 8 high school students I work with. I invited Jo to present to these young people and the feedback from them after hearing her speak spoke for itself! Jo delivered a transformational workshop, supporting students to develop their self-confidence, build resilience and enhance their personal values while embracing fear and expanding their comfort zones. I am grateful to have met her and to work with her.
All Heart Sparks keynotes and workshops are filled with stories, built on a strong evidence-base, have clear links to the Australian National Curriculum, are underpinned by an awareness of Bloom’s Taxonomy, work from person-centred and future-focused models, consider societal conditioning, systems of oppression and the lived experience of diverse student groups, are trauma-informed and prioritise high levels of engagement, interaction and accessibility.
You can read more about Heart Sparks’ commitment to social justice and equity here.
Please note:
Heart Sparks also provides support options for youth leadership committees, the coordination and development of multiple-day school-based wellbeing programs with a suite of external, inclusive speakers, classroom wellbeing curriculum for Years 7 – 12 and guardian-specific support initiatives.
Please reach out to us for further information.
