Author Archives: Clare Foster

Clare Foster

About Clare Foster

Clare is Advice and Training Manager. One of her main roles is to train and support volunteers and charity partners to provide expert answers through askTheSite. She is also involved in creating accreditation opportunities with OCNLR, bringing e learning to YouthNet and improving the quality and scope of the support services we offer. Prior to YouthNet, she worked as an advisor for Connexions Direct, taught environmental philosophy part time and spent ten months in Tanzania and Kenya, developing sex education and life skills with young people there.

Metaphor, mental health and online support

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Clare Foster

There is no foolproof formula for successful online support.  Using the written word to ensure a young person feels listened to, understood, informed and positive about their next steps is a complex and varied task.  As Advice and Training Manager, … Continue reading →

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The role of stories and writing in support on TheSite.org

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Clare Foster

True stories on TheSite.org On TheSite.org we have published editorialised true stories for years. These stories enabled us to give a more personal angle to some of the issues we were addressing in articles, and to cover other more ‘newsy’ … Continue reading →

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YouthNet staff volunteering – Radio Lollipop

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Clare Foster

As YouthNet runs Do-it, is a proud holder of the Investing in Volunteers kite mark and is reliant on our own volunteers it’s not surprising that we offer staff volunteering leave. My colleague Laura and I took advantage of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity world, Volunteering, Working at YouthNet, YouthNet | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Exploring different types of online support – at the In Petto conference

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Clare Foster

As mentioned in my previous blog, last week was one full of explaining our services to others. Along with both colleagues and volunteers I presented to a range of people, from CEOs of large companies and business leaders at the … Continue reading →

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Exploring different types of online support – at the Business in the Community ‘Seeing is Believing’ event.

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Clare Foster

For me, last week was one full of explaining our services to others. Along with both colleagues and volunteers I presented to a range of people, from CEOs of large companies and business leaders at the Business in the Community, … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity world, Volunteering at YouthNet, Youth, YouthNet | Leave a comment

Overcoming barriers and taking steps to support – why we’re developing services on TheSite.org

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Clare Foster

The notion of barriers to support is a common one in information, advice and guidance, but the particular way it is informing the new Step Finder project we’re working on grew organically out of our teams work. For example on … Continue reading →

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Volunteers Week at YouthNet – Thanks to our Peer Advisors

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Clare Foster

As part of Volunteers Week (1st – 7th June), the Engagement and Support team will be writing a series of blogs about the volunteers we work with and how their support enables us to run the range of services we … Continue reading →

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Running the Brighton Marathon for YouthNet

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Clare Foster

It was the end of October when I decided to sign up to run the Brighton Marathon for YouthNet. I had just bought some new running trainers and I think that the new-running-shoes-bouncy feel was making running feel fast and … Continue reading →

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If xLy iff yLx is true, then x cannot stop loving y unless y also stops loving x … Thoughts on Relationships Advising and Philosophy

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Clare Foster

Earlier on this week I rediscovered a website called askphilosophers.org. It’s a question and answer service where people post questions which are answered publically by philosophers. All the sections are pretty interesting (check out the environmental philosophy section) but particularly … Continue reading →

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Getting my hands dirty…

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Clare Foster

Since moving to London I have been working with volunteers; young people who want to work with YouthNet as Peer Advisors in the relationships section of askTheSite. However I’ve only met about 12 of them face to face. The same … Continue reading →

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