Post written by Lisa Money. April 2026.
I’m a visual person so I often use imagery to make sense of the world.
A person recently asked how things at Imagine This are going and my brain offered a new visual interpretation that immediately made sense.
‘It’s like juggling sparkler-balls’
Ok, I know, my brain is… well…odd sometimes. But bear with me.
Across the Imagine This partnership there are a great many strands of work fizzing into life. They are all different and all have equal importance. My visual brain sees each of those strands like a sparkling ball, alive with energy, light and potential. The luminescence of each ball is beautifully mesmerising so has the potential for distraction! It requires a lot of energy to be across them equally.
Whilst the imagery of spinning plates creates a sense of potential doom (if a plate falls it will break), juggling sparkler-balls feels far more accurate – it won’t break if I drop it, but it could lose some energy and potentially fizzle out.
It is my very privileged role to have the birds eye view of our vibrant partnership, connecting internal and external dots, and keeping that fizz alive!
Here are a few of the sparkler-balls currently in play:
Transport
Having made new connections with three of Torbay’s main bus operators, we are exploring together how underused buses can be used to support school and community groups.
In direct response to what young people have said about bus travel in Torbay, we’ve also worked with Disability Together who are providing mandatory driver training for Stagecoach to include awareness of the needs of young people. There’s scope to develop this further with direct involvement from young people, but as a starting point they are creating a young-person specific section of the training to ensure drivers see young people as individuals who are navigating a system that often feels unsafe and unpredictable and that a driver’s attitude can either reassure a young person or heighten their anxiety.
Careers / Skills Development
We know young people want more opportunities to develop skills and gain meaningful employment. I’ve been busy plugging my knowledge gaps, utilising connections with the council, schools and the Devon, Plymouth & Torbay Careers Hub.
There are some sub-strands to this as follows:
Volunteering & Work Experience: The partnership is exploring the possibility of a partnership-wide volunteering / work experience opportunity for young people. LOTS to do on this but there is SO MUCH potential!
Green & Blue: We have submitted a bid to the Co Op foundation to support awareness raising for young people about green skills pathways. Jo put a lot of work in with partners to get this in – keep everything crossed please!
Creative Industries: We trialled a little mentorship project with Life on the Edge & Tonic Creatives. This has seen 2 older young people who were involved in Sound Communities Sound Futures project (and had an interest in creative arts) being mentored by the team at Tonic Creatives to plan and execute an art exhibition. This has been a small test & learn providing us something to build from, and importantly more evidence to show that there is an interest and need for developing creative career opportunities in Torbay.
Youth & Community Work
Very much coming out of the More Spaces and Safer Streets impact groups, the desire to build on what we did last year (getting 5 young people through their JNC Level 2 in youth work) is strong. A number of partner organisations are using their vast experience and knowledge to lead a conversation about what re-invigorating youth work will look like in Torbay. This is a very exciting sparkler-ball that is growing. Jo is working with them to develop a bid to the UK Youth Fund for youth work development.
The sky of Torbay really is shining right now with the glow of these – and more – sparkler-balls. The arc of light surrounding it comes from the growing energy of Powered By Youth and the ongoing work of each organisation within the partnership who do so much to support the development of young people in Torbay.
As these sparkler-balls grow, it will take more people to keep them up and fizzing. Whether you are an existing partner, a business or individual with an interest, or a wider stakeholder, we all have a role to play. If you can help keep this beautiful juggling act in the air, drop me a line!