Live4Life launches new Crew Engagement Toolkit

An illustrated explainer of Live4Life, drawn by artist Alice Edy

Live4Life has been working on a new e-learning hub, LOOP! and a dedicated Crew Engagement Toolkit. Huge thanks to the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust who awarded Live4Life a grant to design and build the LOOP! hub AND to the Insignia Community Foundation, who supported the Crew Engagement Toolkit.

Developed in consultation with key stakeholders across five Live4Life communities, including Advisers, Youth Workers, Coordinators, Crew Champions and young people in Crew4Life, we took time to assemble a picture of what a best practice Crew Engagement Toolkit would look like and co-designed a tailored suite of resources housed in our new e-learning hub, LOOP! (linked to Live4Life’s CRM platform which enables seamless annual work plans/processes and real-time data input.

What’s included

The resources include a Crew workbook (online and printed), a dedicated Crew webpage, youth-friendly Live4Life illustrated explainer and animation, sixteen videos (12 scripted and presented by Crew Champions), a library of templates and ideas for mental health promotion events/activities, and Live4Life-branded hand-out cards with help-seeking information. Subjects explored in the videos include: best practice youth participation, co-designing and planning youth-led events, Crew themes and posters, strengths-based skill development, self-care, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

What’s good about it

The toolkit, housed in the e-learning portal, co-designed by young people and youth workers in communities, provides youth workers with easy access to a comprehensive guide on how best to engage, motivate, inspire, upskill and empower young people in Live4Life Crews — all in a way which is inclusive and amplifies the voices of young people in rural and regional communities.

The toolkit reduces workloads and increases efficiency, stepping youth workers through all the stages involved in working with young people in Crew, including: a school year planning tool, Crew recruitment and induction processes, Crew position descriptions, training modules and resources, ice-breaker ideas, event templates for the Crew inductions/launches/celebrations, child safety, risk assessments and surveys.

Why it's important

The content and platform are flexible. Materials can be updated and refreshed as needed — meaning continuous improvement is built in to the infrastructure. Best of all, with clearly laid out learning modules and an interface customised to individual users, it's perfect for onboarding new workers and maintaining a shared approach across diverse and geographically distant communities.

Watch Crew Champion Laura’s Youth Participation video