Fresh Futures are incredibly proud to announce that on Friday 06th May, at the Yorkshire Choice Awards, Fresh Futures were FINALISTS in the Covid Hero Award nominations.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for us, and to thank all of our staff and volunteers who worked throughout this difficult time providing support across our communities.
Although we didn’t quite take home the award on the night, this is still a fantastic moment, and highlights just how important and impactful our charity was during the pandemic. We couldn’t be more proud of the work that was carried out and the passion and dedication that so many individuals demonstrated, even in such difficult times
Mark Farmer, Chief Executive said: “”.
Fresh Futures would also like to congratulate Yorkshire Scrubs who took home the award on the night – another voluntary organisation who made and supplied over 23,000 sets of scrubs for frontline workers during the pandemic.
The service is available to adults over the age of 18 who may be experiencing isolation and loneliness.
Adults can be referred by a professional, family or self-refer.
The aim of the service is to encourage people to be more socially active and to build stronger relationships
Community Connections volunteers visit / telephone people weekly.
Our volunteers try to encourage service users to be more socially/physically active where possible.
Our Volunteers undergo training and are DBS checked.
We’re always in need of more volunteers! If you’re a good listener, enjoy chatting, and have a spare hour in the week, please get in touch. Volunteering is extremely rewarding and makes a huge difference.
Who can access this service?
Adults over the age of 18 who may be experiencing isolation or loneliness can access these services free of charge.
How to access this service:
If you would like to access this service, either for yourself or a friend or family member, simply get in touch with us using the below contact details, and we will send you any relevant application forms.
Our dedicated team will then seek to match the individual with a suitable volunteer as quickly as possible. This can take up to four weeks, depending on the availability of our volunteers.
Costs
Please note that these services are provided completely free of charge.
Contact Details
If you have any questions about this service, please feel free to check out our FAQ page, or contact us using the below information.
The advice I would give to someone thinking about volunteering is, “DO IT!!!”. It benefits in more ways than one. As much as it helped me, I also knew I was helping someone else at the same time.
Laura Cumiskey, Community Friend Volunteer
“Having my volunteer befriender has helped me so much. We go for a walk for a couple of hours every Sunday. We have a really good chat as we are walking, it’s great. I have become fitter since I met my volunteer which has helped me in other ways. I feel happier. My befriender is brilliant, he really is a great guy. ”
Regional charity Yorkshire Children’s Centre (YCC) hosted a special event at their site at Brian Jackson House, Huddersfield on 15th March to launch their new three-year strategy and brand-new website for the charity. The event saw 50 people from across the Fresh Futures team, external partners and supporters come together to celebrate the exciting plans.
The event had a great turnout, including two students from YCC’s alternative provision college, who presented Proactive Code with a thank you gift.
Established in 1974, and looking towards their 50th Anniversary, this is an exciting stage in Fresh Futures history, that will bring focus to the services they deliver to improve lives and inspire change in vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people, and their families across Kirklees and the surrounding areas.
Mark Farmer CEO said “It was great to get together to share plans that will shape the future of the charity over the next three years. It was also the launch of our brand-new website, and thanks must go to Martin Port (BigChange) and Dan Todd (Proactive Code) who have enabled us to complete this project.”
Fresh Futures is a regional charity that works with vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people, and their families within Kirklees and surrounding areas. We are thought leaders and, together with partners, our mission is to deliver the best possible outcomes through four interwoven strands of activity – providing education services and facilities, building healthy relationships, promoting health and wellbeing, and improving employability skills.
YCC’s partners and stakeholders were invited to the event to meet with Fresh Futures departments and learn about their services
For more information about how you can support Fresh Futures please contact Sara Eltman [email protected]
The kind and enthusiastic team set to work on the garden space at Brian Jackson House, Huddersfield
Spring is officially here! And what better way to enjoy the weather and work on some mindfulness, than with a little gardening under a blue sky.
At the end of March, YCC’s young onset dementia support group did just that!
YCC’s Brian Jackson House in Huddersfield has recently restored a large garden area located at the front of the building, nestled in a quiet nook between the charity’s main entrance and the trainlines. The space has long been an overgrown storage area, but thanks to a lot of hard work from some volunteers at Forbes Solicitors, the space was transformed back in October 21 and is now a clear, open space that can be used by staff and service users alike.
Fresh Futures are still working on the space, to make it as beautiful and welcoming as possible – and are dependent on the support from local communities to do so. Over the past few months, garden furniture has been installed and the area maintained by more enthusiastic volunteers.
Fresh Futures welcomed the young onset dementia group to the garden, who did some amazing work with the new planters. The group helped to fill the planters with soil, in preparation for them being used for growing fruit and vegetables.
YCC’s Young Onset Dementia Group kindly volunteered their time to help transform the garden space at Brian Jackson House
Since October, the space has really become something special. Take a look at these before and after shots to see just how much hard work has gone into making the space accessible. It’s still a work in progress, but you can really see the potential the space has to offer.
Before (October 21)
Currently (March 22)
Fresh Futures are still looking for more keen volunteers to support the maintenance and/or development of the newly refurbished outdoor space at Brian Jackson House. Members of the public are welcome to volunteer their time on a one-off basis, or may also like to form a gardeners’ group that look after the space on a regular basis.
Fresh Futures are also looking to collect donations of gardening tools in good condition, that can be used within the space.
If you would like to learn more about the garden space at Brian Jackson House, please contact [email protected]
What’s something people don’t know about you? I used to be a tv/film extra!
Your role in a nutshell: I teach financial education to years 10 and 11 at BJC in Heckmondwike- this course gives them education on financial matters and how to be a successful adult once they leave school which includes politics, paying bills etc, I also teach finance, life skills and employability to year 9.
Why do you like working for YCC? I came to work at BJC for 3 months on supply and was lucky enough to never leave after gaining the permanent role in September 2020. It’s an amazing place to work, the college is like a family and every day is different, there’s always something going on to make you smile.
What’s one of your favourite work memories? When I returned in Sept 2020 after being on furlough since March 2020 (through supply agency) and I got a round of applause and a cheer from the students that I was back. It was wonderful.
And finally, what advice would you give to people considering working at YCC? You have to be prepared to go above and beyond every day, it’s never easy but it’s always different. I love teaching anyway but it’s so rewarding to teach at the college as the students need us and what we offer, so much more than in mainstream.
During this difficult time, Fresh Futures stands with Ukraine.
Many of you have been asking about Fresh Futures stance on the events surrounding the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you our position.
Even as a children and family centred charity, it is difficult to comprehend the full extent of the devastation currently ongoing in Ukraine, and we extend our greatest sympathy to everyone affected by the crisis.
To keep you informed, Fresh Futures have been in touch with the Huddersfield Ukrainian Group, who have advised us that donations of items are not required by them at this time. They have requested that should anyone wish to make a donation, that they do so via this link.
As a charity, we will be committed to supporting as many Ukrainian children and families in our communities as we can. This will only be possible once refugees start to arrive in our local areas and subject to them qualifying for the services we are accredited to offer. However, it is important to note that as we are not a refugee charity (and therefore do not specialise in the support that some other charities will be offering at this time) it would not be correct for us to try and ‘step in’.
Although our services do not respond to any of the current urgent needs communicated from Ukraine at this time, we are keeping a close eye on ways that we can support Ukrainian refugees through our Children and Family services, and through government incentives.
We are aware that there may shortly be the possibility for us to offer employment to refugees arriving from Ukraine, with a special 3-year work visa being granted to all Ukrainian refugees. Should this be the case, Fresh Futures will actively seek to employ Ukrainians to help them build skills and support their families, where possible. Fresh Futures will also reconsider running a collection of items, should this need arise. And of course, our doors will always be open to our new Ukrainian community friends when they arrive, should they need to access any of our services.
If you would like to get in touch with Fresh Futures about this matter, please email[email protected] or call 01484 51 99 88.
Laura is a truly special volunteer and very worthy of April’s Volunteer of the Month award, since she not only befriends one person, but several! In this month’s post, Laura tells us how volunteering benefits in different ways…
Name: Laura Cumiskey
Tell us a little about yourself: I am a stay home mum (two children aged 8 & 4). I seem to be the one person friends and family come to for advice and help.
How long have you been volunteering for the charity? I have been volunteering for roughly 18 months or so for the befriending service.
Explain your volunteering role: My role includes phoning old and vulnerable residents for Fresh Futures. I have certainly made some good friendships while doing this role.
What made you want to start volunteering with YCC? I started volunteering after I broke up with my daughter’s dad. I was in a bad place and lost myself as a person. I wanted to turn my negative perspective into a positive one. And as much as it helped me, I also knew I was helping someone else at the same time.
Sum up a typical day of volunteering for you? I usually do my phone calls in a morning after I have dropped my children off at school. I sit down with a cup of tea and usually make my first call around 10am (or whatever time suits me best).
And finally, what advice would you give to people considering volunteering with YCC? The advice I would give to someone thinking about volunteering is, “DO IT!!!”. It benefits in more ways than one!
If you would like to become a telephone or face-to-face befriender, or volunteer your time in any other way for our charity, please feel free to check out our available volunteer positions on our website, or contact our Volunteer Development Officer, Lucy Martin, directly on 07849 398829/01484 415465
We are delighted to have been nominated for this award that shines a light on organisations that have continued to go above and beyond to help people in their communities during the pandemic.
We would like to thank all of the amazing Fresh Futures team of staff and volunteers whose dedication and hard work ensures that we are always here for the children, young people and families that need us.
We’d appreciate your vote – it only takes a few clicks & every vote really does count
DAPP stands for Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme. It is a 17 week programme that seeks to increase the safety of women and children, and the quality of life of everyone in the family, by working with men who recognise that they have been abusive towards an intimate female partner and who want to stop that behaviour. Domestic abuse includes physical violence, emotional abuse, or any other form of coercive control. The programme runs alongside one-to-one support sessions to ensure men are offered a robust intervention.
Fresh Futures is fully accredited by RESPECT, the National Association for Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes and Associated Support. The DAPP is open to men aged 18 and over from any ethnicity or religious background.
What happens on the programme?
17 group sessions are facilitated to provide participants with insight into how their behaviour is abusive and how to learn non-abusive behaviour strategies to use to enhance and reduce risk within families and relationships.
ISS Victim support is offered to all victims whilst men are on programme and up to 3 months post programme.
This support offers a robust risk management and safeguarding which is tailored to each individual’s needs.
During the programme, participants will cover:
The damaging effects of blaming others for their behaviour and how to stop doing it
The wide range of impacts of abusive and controlling behaviour in intimate relationships.
The (sometimes hidden) impact on children of a father’s abusive behaviour
How to be less reactive and prevent the actions of others affecting the choices they make
How arguments escalate and how to prevent escalation
How to recognise and stop abusive or controlling behaviour before it happens
How to avoid being trapped in destructive or repetitive patterns of negative thinking
How to know themselves better so they can stay calm
How to take appropriate ‘time outs’
How to negotiate more effectively in a relationship
Outcomes:
Research into RESPECT accredited programmes (like the DAPP) shows that most women and children feel significant improvements in their sense of safety after the man completed a programme of this type. This research also shows most women who had experienced sexual or physical violence from their partner stated that this violence had stopped after the programme.
Men who have engaged fully with the programme by attending all the sessions and participating with full honesty have told us they feel a great benefit from the practical skills and fresh perspective they have learned.
These skills and personal insights appear to improve their experience of life and can help them regain contact with their loved ones and build a safer environment for them.
Men also report they have experienced significant encouragement and support from meeting and talking with other men, helping them see they are not alone in their struggle and that progress and change is not only possible but is merely a matter of making better and more informed choices.
Other intervention services:
The DAPP Service also facilitate other different types of intervention as and when funding is available to roll out different types of Programmes to fully encapsulate the broad spectrum of risk and types of Domestic Abuse.
We are currently facilitating a DAPP 17 Week RESPECT Accredited programme to the Urdu & Punjabi speaking community. This is delivered by dual speaking facilitators, which also captures the complex issues of domestic abuse attached to some cultural beliefs held by perpetrators within this community.
The additional services will be updated on the site when available with details on how to access these.
What’s something people don’t know about you? Home is like a farm with all the dogs and cats!
Your role in a nutshell: Fix things (or ask other people to!)
Why do you like working for YCC? I’ve always enjoyed having a go at various projects at home – building, plumbing, etc. so it’s like a bigger house here with more varied (and stranger sometimes!) requests!
What’s one of your favourite work memories? Finally navigating the buildings and not getting lost!
And finally, what advice would you give to people considering working at YCC? Make sure you wear a Fitbit (alternative makes are available!) so you don’t waste walking up and down the stairs!
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