Creating work experience opportunities for disabled young people

Posted: 17th October 2017

Treloar College in Alton, which supports young people with complex physical disabilities, has been awarded £50,775 to help create valuable work experience opportunities for its students. This grant will fund the role of a Work Experience Officer, who will arrange work placements for students, helping to prepare them for life after college. This may include going into voluntary or paid employment with the aim of boosting confidence and skills for the future.

The Work Experience Officer is part of the Transition Team at Treloar’s. The total cost of this department is over £220,000 a year, which is funded solely through voluntary donations.

Disabled people are far less likely to find employment

Young disabled people are almost half as likely as their non-disabled peers to be in employment – 46.5% compared to 84%, according to a 2016 report from the Papworth Trust.  A shocking 44.3% of working-age disabled people are without a job; nearly 4 times higher than for non-disabled people.

Treloar’s Principal Martin Ingram said:

“We are very grateful to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Freemasons for their generous grant. It will help give our students confidence and develop skills and experience for the future.”

Mike Wilks, Provincial Grand Master for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Freemasons said:

“We are very pleased to be able to support the Treloar Trust, which does outstanding work in giving young disabled people in our community the chance to experience the world of work.”




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More young people are volunteering, says nfpSynergy research

But levels are falling among those aged over 45, according to the consultancy’s latest figures

Volunteering levels among the younger generations are increasing, but falling among middle-aged people, new figures from the consultancy nfpSynergy show.

Its latest statistics on volunteering, based on surveys involving thousands of people since 2004, the consultancy says that the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds who volunteer has increased significantly over the past 13 years, rising from 15 per cent participation to 29 per cent in August this year.

The research shows that there has been a similar rise in the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds volunteering over the same period, with 26 per cent of respondents to the most recent survey saying they had volunteered over the previous three months, up from 14 per cent in 2004.

The research shows that volunteering rates peaked at 33 per cent among 16 to 24-year-olds in 2013/14, but the rates for 25 to 34-year-olds are doing so now. According to nfpSynergy, this might show that people who volunteered at school and university are continuing those habits as they get older.

The figures show that 16 to 34-year-old men are now one of the most likely groups to volunteer, closely followed by women of the same age.

But volunteering rates appear to be falling among 45 to 54-year-olds and 55 to 64-year-olds, the figures show. In 2012, 20 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds volunteered, as did 22 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds, according to nfpSynergy.

This fell to 14 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds and 15 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds, according to the most recent research in August.

Both of these age groups have not been targeted with any major initiatives to increase volunteering rates, which nfpSynergy said could be contributing to the decline in volunteering.

The gap in volunteering rates between men and women has closed significantly in recent years, with increases in the proportion of men volunteering over the past 13 years.

Overall volunteering rates have remained generally stable at around 20 per cent, the figures show.

Joe Saxton, co-founder of nfpSynergy, said he did not think the National Citizen Service, which includes an element of community work, was responsible for the rise in volunteering rates among younger people.

He said schools and universities were better at encouraging people to volunteer and it was a more important part of building a CV than it used to be.

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Young Carers in Herefordshire supported with £53,000 grant

Posted: 17th July 2017

Herefordshire Carers Support, which provides support and advice to children and young carers, has been awarded a grant of £53,692.

There are more than four thousand young carers within Herefordshire, looking after sick and disabled family members. They are often responsible for cooking, cleaning, personal hygiene and emotional support of one or more people. It can be a confusing and lonely role for a child or young person and can lead to social isolation and damage academic performance, which can have life-long consequences.

Herefordshire Young Carers is a dedicated team within Herefordshire Carers Support who help children and young people who look after someone in their family who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or has a problem with drugs or alcohol. This grant will fund the role of a support worker who will work with schools, families and young carers themselves.

Susan Brace, Young Carers Community Development Worker said:

We’re very grateful to Herefordshire Freemason for their generous grant. There are around 360 registered Young Carers in Herefordshire but the true number is likely to be much higher. We want these children to be able to live a full life, like their friends, which means they won’t be missing out on their childhoods or education – getting the help and support they desperately need.

Rev’d David Bowen, the Provincial Grand Master of Herefordshire Freemasons, visited the charity to find out more about the impact of their work.

We are very pleased to be able to help Herefordshire Carers Support. The work they do is hugely important and can make an enormous difference to the lives of these vulnerable children.




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Norfolk Carers Support receives £10,000 to help Young Carers

Posted: 29th June 2017

Norfolk Carers Support has been awarded a £10,000 grant by the Masonic Charitable Foundation to help up to 100 young carers in Norfolk.

There are an estimated 10,000 Young Carers in Norfolk alone. These children have a range of caring responsibilities ranging from cooking, cleaning, emotional support, personal hygiene and medical or nursing care for a family member.

It can be a very lonely and confusing role for a child, and is often hidden as children do not wish to be seen as being different from their peers, or do not even recognize themselves as Young Carers. Young Carers miss many of the opportunities of a normal childhood and often struggle academically, which will inevitably impact on their future as adults.

This grant will allow the Norfolk Carers Support charity to continue with their Young Carers Project. This gives Young Carers regular free time away from their caring role and the chance to meet other young people in similar situations. As well as having fun, it is an opportunity to receive emotional support and a range of practical advice and assistance from specialist staff.

There are two age-related groups, aged 6-12 and 12-16, which meet for two hours every fortnight together with nine activity day trips and two residential trips every year.

Catherine Bibb from Norfolk Carers Support said:

 We are very grateful for this generous grant from Norfolk Freemasons. The grant will allow our Young Carers Project to continue making a positive impact on the lives of Young Carers in Norfolk, supporting them to develop healthy coping strategies, achieve their goals and reducing inappropriate or excessive caring.

Jack Jones from Norfolk Freemasons said:

“We are very pleased to be able to help Norfolk Carers Support. The work they do is hugely important and can make an enormous difference to the lives of these vulnerable children.”

 

 




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Young Gloucestershire receives £10,000 to help young people get into work

Young Gloucestershire has received £10,000 to help young people from across the country to get into work.Gloucestershire Freemasons, Tim Henderson-Ross and Derek Gunningham, visited a group of young people undergoing a 12-week work-development programme.  The group of under-25’s, all currently not-in-work, were completing a community project in Quedgeley to transform a children’s play area, but downed tools to receive their visitors and explain how the project works.

The group discussed the skills they were developing through the programme and their hopes for the future with the Freemasons who were hosted by Young Gloucestershire’s youth-worker, Tristam Meyrick. Tristam has worked alongside the young people while arranging a series of two-week work placements.

Ben Kittner (aged 24) currently taking part in Young Gloucestershire’s programme, said:

The Freemasons were genuinely interested in what we were working on and were keen to hear our views and our hopes for the future.  I said that working with Young Gloucestershire has really built my confidence and this community project has helped me see that I do have skills an employer would be looking for.

Young Gloucestershire Fundraising Manager, Karl Gwilliam, said:

“This generous, and vital, support from the Freemasons will enable YG to continue its work-based training to disadvantaged young people.  This donation allows us to continue a successful mentoring programme, matching young people to volunteers from the business community who teach young people the skills only gained from being in work.”

Tim Henderson-Ross Head of Gloucestershire Freemasons, said: “We were very impressed with the determination of the young people we met to get into the workforce. Young Gloucestershire are doing an excellent job and we are very pleased to be able to help them.”

About Young Gloucestershire

Young Gloucestershire is a countywide charity that supports disadvantaged young people (aged 11-25) who are facing challenges in their lives.The charity provides training & development, practical support and community involvement to young people across Gloucestershire.

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