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Category: Business Updates

News Update: Fresh Futures Charity Loses Parking After 35 Years Due To Railway Redevelopment

Posted on by Katie Shephard

Yorkshire Children’s Centre (YCC), which has its headquarters at Brian Jackson House, Huddersfield has recently been impacted as a result of the redevelopment of Huddersfield train station.

The changes come from the Transpennine Route Upgrade plan. In the plan, Network Rail plans to invest in the railway that runs through Huddersfield to Leeds and beyond, to improve connectivity and help support economic growth in the North of England.

To achieve this expansion, Network Rail have acquired the land next to the station, which was owned by company HD1 and has been used, in part, by Fresh Futures for 35 years!

After a long period of planning and consultation, Network Rail officially commenced the redevelopment of the station on 8th May 2023. In doing so, Fresh Futures – situated next door to the station – has with immediate effect, lost all access to the rear of their building.

This move means that Fresh Futures have zero rights to access the back of their building which was used for deliveries, staff parking, and an entrance for service users amongst many other things. Fresh Futures ultimately only own and have a legal right to access the land which the building sits upon – and not an inch more.

The instant effects of this to the charity are huge. Financially, employees, trustees and volunteers have lost access to free parking in the town when delivering services – an extra cost of around £4 per day per individual, which must now be burdened by the charity itself, which is working tirelessly to Improve Lives and Inspire Change throughout the community.

CEO Mark Farmer, said, “Whilst we are in support of improving the local area for communities, by way of both the Huddersfield Blueprint and the Transpennine Route Upgrade, it does seem that the needs of the charity – a huge part of the community – have been overlooked. We now face additional financial and holistic impacts when delivering some services – all whilst in the middle of a cost of living crisis. These billion-pound projects have failed to consider this and to date, we have been unable to reach any level of agreements with the organisations involved to reduce the impact to the charity”.

The goal of both Network Rail and Kirklees Council in these projects is to enhance connectivity. One of Kirklees Council’s 5-pronged approach to the Blueprint is ‘Better Access’. This in part is to be achieved by Huddersfield Rail Station Connections, a project which aims to ‘make it easier for everyone to make their way between the railway station and the places where they live, learn, work or visit in Huddersfield town centre’[1]. Although in doing so, it does seem that YCC, a local employer of over 100 staff, established in Huddersfield for almost 50 years, and operating from Brian Jackson House since 1988, has not been considered.

Fresh Futures Head of Children and Family Services, Catherine McKenzie, explained, “in terms of service delivery, we have already been impacted by simple things such as access into the building which has affected delivery of our much-needed child safety equipment. This has resulted in precious staff time being utilised to make alterative arrangements rather than spending time supporting families.”

Fresh Futures continues to operate within Brian Jackson House including delivering services such as Stay and Play, Child Contact and Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme work.

Fresh Futures are appealing for any individuals or local organisations who may know of any free parking opportunities/may have a few parking spaces to spare close to the Brian Jackson House building, to please get in touch with Fresh Futures to support the delivery of the charity.

To learn more about Fresh Futures and the impact it delivers across communities to young people and their families, CLICK HERE

#WeAreFresh Futures #ImprovingLivesInspiringChange

[1] https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/transport-roads-and-parking/transpennine-route-upgrade.aspx

News Update: Quality For Health Award

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

Fresh Futures has recently been re-awarded the Quality for Health and Wellbeing award – the accreditation for groups and organisations delivering health and wellbeing services.

The accreditation confirms that Fresh Futures has attained the highest service delivery standards possible and continuously seeks opportunities for service improvement.

It was a gruelling application process, with an evidence-based application stage, plus an interview stage, including formal conversations with 18 members of Fresh Futures – from staff and trustees to service users and volunteers.

Samantha Latchayya, Leadership Team Coordinator, told us, “It was a rigorous process, so we were extremely pleased to hear that our application was successful. We are really proud to be able to carry the Quality 4 Health and Wellbeing (Level 2) logo for a further two years, and it goes to show that our hard work to implement Health and Wellbeing procedures for staff, volunteers and service users has really paid off!”

Within the report, Fresh Futures was particularly commended for:

  • The use of forums (sustainability, safety, and employee) to ensure needs are identified and views are heard.
  • A robust HR system
  • An excellent position for the charity to deliver on local and national health campaigns and to meet local and national needs and priorities
  • Fresh Futures clear vision to Improve Lives and Inspire Change.
  • Successfully operating within a range of formal and informal partnerships which have a significant impact upon service user outcomes (including third sector groups, health and social care, and education provisions).

On behalf of YCC, we would like to send a big thank you to everyone who participated in the application process, from collating evidence and responses, to participating in the live interviews.

And of course, a big congratulations to everyone who was involved in the application process.

Meet the Fresh Futures Sustainability Forum

Posted on by Samantha Latchayya

To help Fresh Futures achieve its 2023 20-point sustainability action plan, the charity has established a Sustainability Forum made up of Fresh Futures employees, volunteers, tenants, governors and service users. The forum will meet virtually three times per year to ensure the charity is on target to achieve the action plan, and to work together to deliver the best possible outcomes.

Currently, the forum is made up of the following individuals:

  • Christine Rhodes (Fresh Futures Employee – Community Connections)
  • Gill Goodswen (Fresh Futures Trustee & College Governor)
  • Jodie Kavanagh (Fresh Futures Employee – Thriving Kirklees)
  • Lucy Martin (Fresh Futures Employee – Volunteering)
  • Rob Edden (Fresh Futures Employee – Senior Leadership Team)
  • Samantha Cashman (Fresh Futures Employee – Children & Family Services)
  • Samantha Latchayya (Fresh Futures Employee – Sustainability Champion)
  • Stephen Halliday (Volunteer – YCC’s Garden Space & Befriender)
  • Susan Greenwood (Fresh Futures Tenant – Kirklees Youth Alliance)

The first 2023 forum meeting took place in January, with special guest Councillor Andrew Cooper, Green Party Kirklees Councillor for Newsome Ward.

You can learn more about YCC’s sustainability plans, HERE.

If you would like to get in touch about the charity’s sustainability, please email the Sustainability Champion: [email protected]

YCC’s Huddersfield offices receive huge modernisation – Check it out here!

Posted on by Samantha Latchayya

Throughout the month of March, our Building’s Manager Emma Cavanagh was busy coordinating a huge refurbishment of the first floor of Brian Jackson House.

The work, which involved a lot of rewiring, painting and new flooring took place in just three weeks and has transformed the space from what was an outdated working area (last refurbished over 2 decades ago!) to a more connected and modern space.

The project did not go without it’s hurdles, and it was particularly challenging in the first week when the lift broke down! Not great timing as all of the organisation’s huge wooden desks needed to travel down two flights of stairs to be removed from the building! But despite everything, the project was completed and everyone is delighted with the results.

The new, modernised space has seen brand new hot-desks with a new layout in bright and airy rooms. We also now have meeting rooms, break-out rooms and quiet spaces for different working styles, plus an amazing service delivery space where service users can take part in group sessions and 121 sessions.

What’s more, for the first time, staff at Brian Jackson House will soon have access to their own private staff room, allowing for downtime during the working day, which is absolutely essential for our teams who often work in pressurised and challenging situations and deserve a space just for them, where they can relax and reenergise.

Emma wasn’t working alone, and she would like to send out a massive thank you to everyone who supported the project:

“Thank you to everyone on the building’s team for all your help with the project at Brian Jackson House. It’s been a tough couple of weeks and if things could go wrong they have!! However the team really pulled together. There has been blood, sweat & tears!”

I would like to thank Katie for all the cleaning she has done in the project rooms, she has been a superstar and made these rooms look and smell amazing. It wasn’t an easy job with all the dust, wires and random bits everywhere.

I would also like to say thank you to Rebecca, Daniella & Janine for being amazing helping with the moving of all desks, being an absolute super team when the lift broke down and for being there when I’ve had a meltdown!!

Thank you to Tony & James for all the shifting, lifting, painting and moving of everything and anything.

Last but not least I would like to send a special thank you to our volunteer Gareth who has donated so much of his time these past few weeks. He has been brilliant and worked so hard. We really couldn’t have done it without him!”

But of course we all also want to say a big thank you to Emma, who has given her everything to complete this project on time and to a high standard. This project will have a fantastic impact on staff and service users alike, who will all benefit from this new and improved space. We are sure that you will all agree when checking out the photos, just how incredible these new changes are.

Check out the before, during and after photos of the new main hot desk office to see the huge difference that has been made!

BEFORE
BEFORE
DURING
DURING
AFTER
AFTER

As a large charity operating across 5 buildings, we always have refurbishment and renovation projects lined up. If you or an organisation you work with would like to get involved in any volunteer or pro-bono work with Fresh Futures relating to decorating or any other building or gardening work, please email [email protected] or call 01484 519988.

News Update: YCC’s Sustainability Progress

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

It’s unbelievable to think that it was only 7 months ago that we set out on our mission to become more sustainable – in such a small space of time we are proud to have achieved so much!!

Since the Sustainability pledges were made in August 2022, our charity has taken huge strides in our sustainability initiatives. We have dramatically reduced the amount of paper and ink that is used, fully enhanced our recycling procedures, adapted lighting across all of our buildings, created a sustainability forum, set up the cycle to work scheme, started shopping locally, created a sustainability eBook for EVERYONE to access, AND MUCH MORE!!

We’ve been keeping you up to date along the way, ensuring full transparency in everything we do. And since our last newsletter in January, we have done EVEN MORE! Here’s a glimpse…

1. Glass recycling (Phase 1): As we aren’t able to recycle glass using our recycling bins just yet, we have set up a system at Brian Jackson House to bring in glass to reception, who have arranged for them to be taken to a nearby bottle bank – avoiding them unnecessarily going to landfill.
2. International Book Swap Day: We took part in book swap day by promoting the benefits of book sharing rather than buying new. Plenty of staff and tenants brought in books and took home different ones, with lots of left-over books from the event going straight to our charity shop and a permanent book swap shelf now in place.
3. Recycling: Our recycling initiatives have been so successful that we have had to invest in bigger recycling bins! This is fantastic to see, and we’ve also done a lot of work on learning about what can and cannot be out into the recycling bin.
4. Local engagement: We’ve been spreading our learnings far and wide through our social media & website, to help everyone understand the massive benefits (health, financial, wellbeing….) of taking sustainable actions. With the cost-of-living crisis affecting all of us right now, one small sustainable step can go a very long way!
5. Save water! We’re in the process of assessing the water quality at all of our sites, so that we can start to remove some of the water coolers (made up of lots of plastic) and move towards using tap water and refillable bottles.

YCC’s Book Swap
YCC’s Sustainability Pledge
Recycling at YCC

What’s next?
We’ve got big plans and a big strategy so here’s what you can expect to see us doing over the next few weeks:
1. Soft plastic recycling – frustratingly we can’t put this into our recycling bins so we will be setting up a separate recycling process to make sure our soft plastics don’t go to landfill.
2. Plant swap! It’s Earth Day on 22nd April and we want to mark it by doing lots and lots of gardening, on our sites and at home! Keep an eye on our socials for updates coming soon!
3. Save more water! We’ll be completing our research on our water quality and making some small changes around the buildings.

A huge thank you to everyone who has made our progress possible, from volunteers transforming our outdoor space, to the sustainability forum engaging in important topics, employees embracing small changes such as reduced printing and bigger recycling. If you would like to participate in the Sustainability Forum, or get involved in any way, we would be delighted to hear from you – just get in touch!


Samantha Latchayya, Sustainability Champion [email protected]

News Update: Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

In 2021 Fresh Futures were awarded a grant of £9,750 from the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation to support the Nurture with Nutrition Project at our alternative education provisions in Huddersfield and Heckmondwike.

This funding has meant that we have been able to provide up to 50 young people aged 13-16 with nutritious breakfasts, helping them to engage with others, keep their brains active and setting them up for a day of learning. This has also been a good opportunity to teach young people how to look after their physical health, the importance of nutrition, and how to prepare their own breakfasts.

The Sodexo team meeting staff from Brian Jackson College

The partnership with the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation team has enabled us to work together to find solutions to support the young people that access our services. The Sodexo team have also generously volunteered their time at our colleges, spending time with the students and providing advice about employment opportunities in the catering industry. These volunteer activities led to a student at our Huddersfield college being offered a place on an apprenticeship programme.

The partnership has grown from strength to strength, with Sodexo CEO Sean Haley pledging to provide new kitchen facilities which will allow the students to attain their GCSE Food & Nutrition qualifications and provide even more support reaching higher education or employment.

To see a video showcasing Sodexo’s partnership with Fresh Futures and the amazing work they have done CLICK HERE.

For a full list of YCC’s corporate partners, or to find out how you can support the charity by becoming a corporate partner click here or email [email protected].

News Update: Fresh Futures Sees Supporter Win £25,000 Lottery Jackpot… TWICE!

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

We are excited to announce that Fresh Futures has been able to share the good news with one of our Unity Lottery players that he won the £25,000 jackpot, not once, but TWICE over just a few months!

With the odds of winning a prize being 1 in 63, Unity has some of the best odds of all society lotteries. This was the case for our first lucky winner who, just two weeks after signing up, was called by Sara Eltman, Head of Income and Partnerships at Fresh Futures to let him know he had won the jackpot!

We caught up with him and he said “I was amazed to win the Jackpot on my second draw. It made my daughter’s Christmas more magical than I could have imagined. But to win a second jackpot is the most amazing part of it. This lottery is for an amazing cause, and wins do happen. This will help me out with clearing my debts and getting through this hard time.”

Unity’s fundraising lottery platform is designed to give good causes the chance to raise money through their own weekly lottery and for every person that joins up, at least 50p of every £1 spent goes towards their chosen cause.

Here are some amazing reasons to play:

  • Tickets are only £1
  • You can buy a gift voucher for a loved one to join up
  • Unique lottery numbers mean only one person can win the jackpot
  • Individual odds of winning a prize are better than winning the National Lottery
  • In 2021 the £25,000 jackpot was won 8 times
  • Unity has seen the jackpot won twice in two weeks, it’s all in the luck of the draw!

To be in for a chance of winning the Fresh Futures lottery or to buy a gift voucher for a loved one to join up click here https://buff.ly/38R3mCz

News Update: YCC’s Pass It On Shop

Posted on by Lynne Haigh

It’s a new year and we are ready for new challenges that running a large charity furniture store brings each day. We are very fortunate to receive good quality items to sell from our donors and we are grateful to all our loyal customers for the purchases they make, which help to support Fresh Futures with unrestricted funds which in turn assists all the good work that’s done for children, families, and the wider community.

All donated items are checked to ensure they reach quality and safety standards, from sofas and beds to fridge/freezers and kettles.  With the current cost of living increases, we believe that charity shops like ours will become even more important to people to help them get what they need and want.

This January, environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy is launching ‘Buy Nothing New Month’. We will be actively supporting this via our social media page Facebook Pass It On YCC – why not take a look and follow us?

Throughout January, Keep Britain Tidy will be sharing a host of tips and tricks on not buying new items and making the most of what you already have. They will be calling on the public to rethink what they want versus what they need, reconsidering if they can repair versus replace and think about whether they can rent, borrow or, of course, buy second-hand rather than new.

During February the Charity Retail Association, of which Fresh Futures are a member, are highlighting shops like ours with their campaign #CharityShopHome, celebrating the best in furniture and homewares found in charity shops and online charity retail. The campaign will run from 6th – 12th February and posts of members’ stylish room set-ups and expertly curated homewares will be promoted across their social media channels. Fresh Futures have sent in several photos which we hope will be shared far and wide!

Every day is different in Pass It On and we never know what’s in store. Why not call in and see us, one thing’s for certain, you will always receive a warm welcome.

Click here for more information on our Pass It On Shop and how you can support Fresh Futures.

Fresh Futures Looks Back at a Successful 2022

Posted on by Samantha Latchayya

And that’s not all. Can you believe we also packed ALL of the below into 2022, too!

  • We supported Children’s Mental Health Week, created by Place2Be, through our Thriving Kirklees Team, providing free activity packs and wellbeing guides and more!
  • We got a BRAND NEW website
  • We started a gardening group for our service users with Young Onset Dementia
  • We launched our 3-year strategy
  • We were FINALISTS for the Covid Hero Award at the Yorkshire Choice Awards
  • We ran mental health programmes with the Works Better team at Kirklees Council for our Brian Jackson College pupils.
  • We worked with Our Creative Connection to create a photography exhibition created by our Hopeful Families participants
  • We trained ALL our Service Managers in an accredited Management Training & development PRogramme
  • We hosted Safety Rangers for Year-5 pupils from disadvantaged schools – THREE TIMES!
  • We ‘Walked for YCC‘ taking on TWO walking challenges (Up Castle Hill in Huddersfield and the National 3 Peaks), raising awareness and funds for the charity.
  • We said good bye and good luck to another cohort of Brian Jackson College pupils
  • We launched a 3-year sustainability Action Plan
  • We ran our first ever ALL STAFF team day to develop the charity’s ‘One Team; One Charity’ ethos
  • We held a huge THANK YOU event for our employees and their families in the summer, plus a festive party at Christmas
  • We hosted a fashion show at Brian Jackson House to raise important funds for our services
  • We supported Ukrainian refugees through various projects including a Ukrainian job fayre and Christmas party
  • We hosted Stay and Play sessions for families through Hopeful Families where children could play whilst their parents and carers received essential support from professional mentors.
  • We celebrated Eid and Diwali across our sites with our employees and tenants
  • We were awarded the Household Support Grant by TSL Kirklees
  • We completed a big refurb project at Brian Jackson College, Heckmondwike with a cohort of volunteers
  • We sold Fresh Futures christmas cards, designed by a pupil at Brian Jackson College
  • We presented ‘Speak Volumes – the importance of amplifying children’s voices in domestic abuse perpetrator programmes’ as part of the White Ribbon Campaign with EdShift.

News Update: YCC’s 2023 Sustainability Action Plan Announced

Posted on by Samantha Latchayya

During the January 2023 Sustainability Forum meeting, the representatives agreed the following 20-step action plan which will be rolled out throughout this year, ending with a re-assessment of YCC’s carbon footprint, to determine if our actions have resulted in an improvement of our score.

You can also view the full presentation considered during the forum meeting, in PDF format below.

YCCs-Sustainability-Report-and-Action-PlanDownload

If you would like to join the forum, attend a one-off meeting, or simply make any sustainable comments and/or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact YCC’s Sustainability Champion, by emailing [email protected].