If you are local to Northern Ireland, and particuarly Belfast, you may have seen the SOS Bus driving around the area. The bus is one small part of an organisation doing large amounts of much-needed and appreciated work.
This volunteer centred organisation provides a twin-track approach to helping people. In simple terms, the daytime work is about prevention – while the night-time work is about dealing urgently with vulnerable people at times of crisis.
Check out their fantastic work on their website: http://www.sosbusni.com
At BNL, we are grateful to have worked for two consecutive years with Joe Hylands and his team at SOS NI on their Summer Club projects.
BNL Productions worked with local school students in their task of developing a marketing strategy and video commercial on alcohol awareness.
They worked really hard to learn and use professional filming equipment, develop their own story boards, film and edit their own alcohol commercials as part of an overall ‘production crew.’
At the end of this week-long project, the groups review all of their work in front of their peers and another business panel decides on the winners of the competition.
This is a great project with our experienced facilitators look forward to each summer! The young people are really passionate and driven to produce memorable issue-based videos…and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition!
Why not watch some of the videos produced:
ABC – Alcohol Brings Consequences- August 2014
Booze Busters- August 2014
Think About It- August 2013
The SOS Schools Education and Empowerment Programme is a strategically important part of the education of young people helping them to make ‘better life style choices’ in relation to alcohol and drugs. In order to change behaviour it is essential to fully engage with the young people in our care, it’s also essential to get their input and to do this requires our educational teams bond rapidly with them, not an easy task with discerning and sometimes mistrustful 13yr olds.
Working with BNL staff has proven to be a great experience for us all with the end result being a professional quality video production that all the youngsters and SOS staff are so obviously proud of. BNL offer a professional service to our charity that meets the high standards we’ve set for the schools programme and a wonderful experience to those youngsters we’re working with.
It soon became obvious the BNL staff really care for the young people, the relationships formed are genuine and lasting and the feedback we have received even months later both from the youngsters and their parents confirms that in choosing BNL Productions as our partners we have chosen well.
I couldn’t recommend them more highly.Joe Hyland
Chief Executive Officer
SOS Bus NI