SAMYP
Aims and Objectives
St Andrew's Multimedia Youth Project (SAMYP) is a community mission project of St Andrew's Parish Church Bo'ness working locally, nationally and internationally.
Take a look at a video presentation that provides an overview of some of the work of SAMYP.
Background
During the early 1990s the Deacons' Court set a small budget of £1000 each year to help employ a youth worker. It was out of this aspiration that SAMYP was developed. For a number of years some members of the congregation had been covenanting small amounts to the church for the employment of a youth worker and a small balance of over £4,000 was built up over a two-year period.
In 1998 the Youth Committee agreed that a project working with the youth of the congregation and also providing the back up for TGI could be integrated. This project eventually became known as SAMYP. In order to raise the cash for the technological aspect of the project the Scottish Cathedral Bike Ride was launched. The Bike Ride fired the imagination of a number of congregation and raised around £6,000. The additional expenses of the ride were covered by grants from trusts.
The Vision and Work of SAMYP
The project aims to serve young people who have links with our congregation and also to work with the youth of our parish and others beyond who may feel alienated from church. The project seeks to find innovative ways in which technology can be used as a tool in creative youth work. This includes many ordinary youth activities as well as assisting the minister in his Chaplaincy role at the local Academy. SAMYP also works for the overall aims of the congregation in preparing services and activities that are attractive to those young people and others that connect with the technology. SAMYP is eager to enter into partnerships with other organisations and churches who share aspects of our vision.
How is the project managed
The management of this project is appointed by the Kirk Session. The structure of the management team has been left flexible to allow for growth and development. The Kirk Session retains the right to change this structure as it sees fit. The present structure consists of the minister as the chairman, a treasurer who is a member of the Deacons' Court Finance Committee, the congregational Youth Elder, and two members of the Kirk Session Youth Committee. The management team has the right to co-opt expertise as it sees fit.
The management Team have been granted permission by the Deacons' Court to manage the finances of the project. They have powers to raise funds through grant aiding organisations, this includes the hiring of members of staff and purchasing capital equipment when necessary. The management team reports to both the Kirk Session and the Deacons' Court on a regular basis.
The Kirk Session retain the right to review the work of SAMYP as it sees fit. In the event of the project having to dissolve, all the assets of the project which by agreements do not have to be returned to the original grant making bodies, will be the property of the St Andrew's Parish Church and should be distributed as the Deacons' Court see fit.