CONNECT: A Career and Life Planning Programme

[Stepping Into a New Game: Pickleball!]

We tried something new this time—pickleball🏓, a trending sport that combines elements of tennis🎾, badminton🏸, and table tennis🏓!

At first, we felt a little nervous🫣 because the session involved more focused practice in a small group setting. Hitting the ball🤾🏻‍♀️🤾🏻 was not easy at the beginning, and we missed many times😥🥹. With Coach Zaki’s individual guidance and practice, we gradually improved our skills💪🏻, became more confident😅, and began enjoying the game more and more😜🤭.

Trying something new can be challenging💪🏼, but every attempt helps us grow👏🏻😉.

[Learn Together, Share Together]

A good book is always worth sharing📖😎! We enjoyed taking turns presenting our chosen books, passing them around, sharing our favourite parts of the stories, and having fun with questions and discussions🗣️🧏🏻‍♂️.
We also learned more about the authors🖊️👨‍🏫👩🏻‍💻, explored the stories together, and reflected on the valuable lessons we could take away from each book🤩💪🏻.

Let's keep sharing stories📖, learning together🫱🏻‍🫲🏼, and spreading good vibes through reading🤩🥰!

Do you have a favourite book you'd recommend to us? We'd love to hear your suggestions!😉💪🏻

[Riding the Waves Together | July 2026 Newsletter]

In our latest YES & CONNECT newsletter, we invite you to go behind the scenes and discover how we ride the waves of growth together as a community.

📖 Read our July 2026 newsletter here:
https://mailchi.mp/fb802e66dac7/youth-empowerment-service-newsletter-for-yes-connect-july-2026

As our community continues to grow and our needs become more diverse, we thoughtfully set our sails through everyday sessions—supporting learning🤓, communication🗣️, and friendship🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 in ways that meet each person where they are. Sometimes that means celebrating progress🎉🥳; other times it means slowing down⏸️, staying flexible💪🏻, and responding with understanding🙇🏻🙇🏼‍♀️.

Through community experiences, life skills, friendships, and supportive routines, we create a steady environment where people can pause⏸️, reflect🤔, and respond with care🫡.

We hope you enjoy this glimpse into how we support one another, celebrate our growth, and continue our journey together😉🫱🏻‍🫲🏼🙏🏻.

💚 [Carer Appreciation Day: Our First Step in Building Connections]

As part of our Green Business Project, we would like to connect with our community🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 and share love🫶🏻 through small acts of kindness and gratitude🙇🏼‍♀️, finding ways to give back to the people around us🫱🏻‍🫲🏼.

For our first community engagement activity, we started with the people closest to us—our parents and carers👩🏻‍❤️‍👨🏼. They support us every day, prepare meals👨🏼‍🍳👩🏼‍🍳, and help us grow, but we do not always have the chance to show how grateful🙇🏼‍♀️ we are.

To express our appreciation, we hosted Carer Appreciation Day. We prepared a special lunch🍴🍝, cooked the dishes ourselves, and proudly served them to our families. It was a meaningful opportunity to show our growing independence in the kitchen and share what we have learned😋💪🏻.

We also created personalised certificates and heartfelt messages to thank our parents and carers for their love and support🙏🏻🥰, and presented them on the day. It was a joyful and touching moment filled with smiles😊 and conversations🗣️.

💚 Thank you to all our parents and carers. We are proud to celebrate you.🤩🥰🫶🏻🙇🏻‍♂️

[Mental Health Awareness Month – Finding Ways to Cope]

We are learning that mental health is not only about what is happening around us, but also about understanding our own emotions and finding healthy ways to cope🫱🏻‍🫲🏼🙇🏼‍♀️🧠.

Sometimes, when we feel overwhelmed😱, we may not immediately notice how we feel😖😢. Through daily activities and discussions,we are learning to pause⏸️, recognise emotions🙇🏼‍♀️, and explore different ways that help us feel calmer😌 and more balanced🙌🏻.

Some helpful ways we practise caring for our mental wellbeing include:
- movement 🙆🏻‍♂️🙆🏼‍♀️
- breathing exercise😮‍💨
- listening to music🎶
- reading📖
- taking a short break✋🏻
- talking with trusted people💬🗣️

What are some ways you take care of your emotions?💬

[Discover Your Healthy Habits! 🏃‍♂️⚽]

We believe that everyone can find their own way to stay active and healthy💪🏻🏋🏻🏋🏻‍♀️—and it all starts with trying something new!😉
Every two months, we look forward to our exciting sports sessions with Coach Zaki🤾🏻‍♂️, where we explore a range of activities such as rugby🏉, football⚽ and light cardio games🏃🏻🏃🏼‍♀️. Each activity is adapted to suit different abilities🫱🏻‍🫲🏼, so everyone feels confident💪🏻 to take part.

Through fun😊 and supportive experiences🤩, we practise skills such as passing🤾🏻‍♀️, dribbling⛹🏻, kicking, running🏃🏼‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️ and teamwork👯🏻🫱🏻‍🫲🏼, while building confidence💪🏻 and enjoying movement together🤩🥰.

Come and discover your own healthy habits with us!🤗🫶🏻

[Happy Mother's Day]👩🏼💐

Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible women who nurture🤗, lead, and love🥰! Whether you are a mom🤱🏻, grandma👵🏼, aunt👩🏼‍🦱, or mentor👩🏻‍🏫, today we celebrate the heart🩷 and strength 💪🏻you bring to the world🌎.

To show our appreciation🙇🏼‍♀️, love🥰, and care for our moms🤗, we put our hearts into crafting handmade greeting cards🗂️ filled with personal and heartfelt messages💬. Through every word and little detail, we hope they truly feel how lucky we are to have them, and know that they are cherished🤩, valued, and deeply loved🥰—not just on this special day, but every single day🗓️.

Cheers to the multitaskers, the caregivers, and the dream-makers—you make life even more beautiful🤩🎉!

[Gratitude in Action]

Being part of the MIC community gives us meaningful opportunities to learn🤓 and grow through real work experiences💪🏻, and also to appreciate what we have and give back🫱🏻‍🫲🏼. We’re always ready to help🤗, no matter how big or small the task💪🏻.

Recently, we helped with event preparation by decorating the hall and placing stickers🐾 on the floor. We also supported the coffee corner kitchen with urgent repairs, from scraping and smoothing reused tiles🔲 to mixing cement and laying tiles🔲. Although the tasks felt challenging at first😱, Andrew and Alex guided us step by step👣. In the end, we’re grateful for the chance to experience different types of work, and we feel more confident👊🏻💪🏻 and better prepared for future career exploration🤵🏼🤵🏼‍♀️.

[🌍 Earth Day: Small Actions, Big Change 💚]

This Earth Day, let’s take a moment to reflect on what “waste” really means. Protecting the environment isn’t just about reducing pollution—it’s also about creating opportunities💪🏻.

We’ve been exploring ways to give new life to everyday waste. From paper waste📰 to used flowers🥀, we turn them into handmade recycled cards📜, art, and crafts using dried flowers instead of throwing them away🥀.

At the same time, we collect metal cans from our daily drinks🥤. Beyond reducing waste, these cans can be passed on to individuals—especially the homeless and elderly👴🏼👵🏼—who collect and sell recyclables to earn a small income💲. It’s a simple way to support both environmental sustainability🌳♻️ and the community🫱🏻‍🫲🏼.

It’s all about making something meaningful out of what we usually think of as rubbish🗑️. Small actions can turn into art, gifts, and even opportunities for livelihood or future projects💪🏻🤗.

[💙 Autism Acceptance Month♾️]

This month is about more than awareness—it’s about accepting capability and providing the right support.💪🏻🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

We’re proud to celebrate our trainees on the autism spectrum🧠🌈, who demonstrate strengths💪🏻 such as punctuality⏱️, attention to detail, focus, and dedication🤓. When appropriate accommodations and support are in place, these strengths are able to come forward💪🏻☝🏻.

We recognise that they experience work and work environments differently, and that sensory needs and emotional regulation can sometimes present challenges. This is why intentional, flexible support is essential. 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼💪🏻🤗

Our team provide appropriate accommodations such as sensory tools, quiet spaces, regular breaks, and tasks broken into small, manageable steps. With clear guidance, advance preparation, and the time to progress at their own pace, they can gradually adapt, build confidence, and enjoy their work.💪🏻🤩🥳