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Tag: #Community

HAF Schools Out Club – October Half Term

🍂 FREE October Half-Term Holiday Club with Fresh Futures – Huddersfield!
* Please note this event is now fully booked*
Looking for fun, free, and active plans for your 9-15 year old this half term? Our Schools Out, Holiday Club! is back – running exciting sessions every weekday during the October break at Brian Jackson House.
Completely FREE for children on free school meals!

People Helping People – Batley

Local network meeting for community, voluntary & mutual aid groups in Batley & Spen.
Explore funding, find volunteers & unlock transport solutions.
Come along to:
-Meet local support charity TSL Kirklees. Find out about local funding and ways that they can help your group.
-Meet your local TSL Community Anchor, Fresh Futures . Find out what they are and how they can offer even more local support.
-Hear from local community groups and charities.
-Share information and updates about your services and activities and hear news from other local groups.
-Learn about ways to promote your group, stay connected, recruit volunteers and get funding.
-Network – connect and collaborate to work together and help each other.
This event will focus on two key challenges:
-Community transport – exploring issues faced locally and learning from solutions developed elsewhere.
-Volunteer connections – linking organisations with the people and skills they need to thrive.
Guest speakers will share best practices and ideas that could be adapted for the local area.
We’ll also provide updates on the current funding landscape and discuss opportunities available to support your organisation.
Although this meeting takes place in Batley, it is open to groups from across North Kirklees.
Come along to connect, share, and strengthen our local third sector together.
If you cannot attend this time, a follow-up event will be held in Dewsbury later this year.
These meetings are run by the local TSL Kirklees Community Anchor organisations in partnership with TSL Kirklees, which means that we can really tailor the information and support for your local area.
Please note: This event is organised by Fresh Futures in partnership with TSL Kirklees – a local charity that gives free support, advice and training to any charity, community group or social enterprise in Kirklees – and is only open to any workers, trustees or volunteers from third sector organisations based or working in Kirklees. Our events and services are free because, like any other charity, we rely on grants and funding. If you have booked a place and then cannot make it, please cancel your place via Eventbrite or by emailing [email protected], so that we can offer that place to someone else and so that our funding isn’t wasted.

Fresh Futures: Brushing Up on Oral Health

Titled community impact in action with a cartoon figure brushing their teeth, on a light purple background underneath Fresh Futures logo
Posted on by Lucy Martin

Fresh Futures focuses on providing support for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people. That’s why we were thrilled to receive funding from Public Health to deliver a new Oral Health campaign for children.

Since February 2025, Fresh Futures has distributed over 1,000 toothbrush and toothpaste packs through community events and partner organisations. Our Community Champions have attended more than 16 local sessions, from stay-and-play groups to coffee mornings, creating welcoming opportunities to talk about oral health.

By working alongside other charities, early years settings, and local networks, we’ve extended our reach and impact, ensuring more families have the knowledge and tools to protect their children’s teeth.

Our approach combines practical support with accessible education. Champions use engaging resources, like a giant teeth board where children “brush away” coloured-in plaque, to show the benefits of brushing for the full two minutes.

Parents receive tailored advice, guidance on registering with dental practices accepting new patients, and help overcoming barriers such as waiting lists, inconvenient appointment times, or uncertainty about the importance of check-ups.

To reinforce these messages at home, we’ve distributed 100 copies of To Be a Star, a storybook designed to help under-fives understand and enjoy daily brushing. Shared through early years groups, libraries, and community sessions, it’s proving a powerful tool to help children build lifelong habits.

Mark Farmer, Chief Executive, at Fresh Futures says:

“We’re incredibly proud to have shared such important oral health messages with children across Kirklees. By working hand-in-hand with local partners and empowering our Community Champions, we’ve been able to deliver these messages in a way that truly resonates , the project has been powerful, practical, and centred around the real needs of families. At the heart of this project is a simple goal: giving every child the best start in life with a healthy smile.”

The impact of the project has been tangible and Fresh Futures noted:

  • Greater awareness and confidence among parents to support their children’s oral health.
  • Early intervention reducing the likelihood of preventable dental issues.
  • Reduced stigma by delivering information in trusted, informal spaces.
  • A bridge between knowing and doing, families leave with both the understanding and the resources to act immediately.

As one Champion put it: “Seeing children get excited about brushing, and helping families find a dentist, is incredibly rewarding. The change starts small, but it lasts a lifetime.”