Empowering local communities: Tees Better Future Fund grants 2024

Fund grants support youth, health, and learning initiatives across East Anglia

Tees are committed to supporting our local communities to a better future. The Tees Better Future Fund builds on Tees’ heritage and legacy as a firm that values life-long learning and connecting people and communities through the generations. The Fund is delighted to offer grants of up to £5,000 for local projects focusing on learning and education and health and wellbeing, including supporting mental health for young people, children and families.

 We are delighted to announce that the four latest projects to receive a grant are:

• East Anglia Youth Rowing
• Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire
• Bishop's Stortford Youth Project
• Living Pictures

 Look out for more information about these four excellent charities and their invaluable work in their local communities.

 East Anglia Youth Rowing

Tees Better Future Fund is delighted to announce that East Anglia Youth Rowing is one of four projects to receive a £5,000 grant this year.

EAYR aims to give young people from all backgrounds access to the benefits of rowing in East Anglia and show that it is a sport for everyone. In particular, the charity focuses on supporting young people living in rural communities with “hidden deprivation”, where many students are entitled to free school meals.

EAYR’s programme introduces rowing to students at state schools; at the end, the young people who wish to continue rowing are fed into local clubs. The Tees Better Future Fund grant will continue this project in North Cambridge Academy – just a stone’s throw away from Tees’ Cambridge office.

East Anglia Youth Rowing runs a summer camp, which the Tees Better Future Fund grant will also help to support. As well as rowing, EAYR arranges talks with professionals from STEM subjects, plus breakfast and lunch is provided - a lifeline for some families during the holidays. Also, in a bid to break down barriers between the university and the town, EAYR has encouraged Queen’s College, Cambridge to hold a state school rowing competition, giving local students an excellent opportunity to visit the college.

The charity was only set up two and a half years ago, but 600 young people have already benefited from their brilliant work. EAYR is branching out into Norfolk in September 2024, and they have plans to expand further into Suffolk. Tees is proud to support EAYR as they grow and continue to have a significant positive impact on the lives of young people in East Anglia.

 Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire

 Tees Better Future Fund is pleased to share that Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire (HSRSC) is a recipient of a £5,000 grant.

HSRSC supports local families with children aged nine and under through tough times, either with a home-visiting service or specialised family support groups. The Tees Better Future Fund will help three families access home-visiting support in Royston, a service that offers practical and emotional support to families in crisis.

 Families come to HSRSC with a variety of difficulties – some might have fled from domestic abuse, others may not have any friends or relatives locally, or they could be struggling to cope with a child’s illness. The home-visiting service matches each family with a trained volunteer who visits them weekly and offers tailored support – they might help with a weekly shop, play with a child with additional needs, or support parents with behaviour management.

Families usually receive home-visiting support for an average of 6-9 months. By the end, HSRSC hopes to have empowered the families, improved their confidence, and helped them cope with the difficulties they face. In the year 2022-23, 100% of parents felt they were more able to be involved in their children’s early development and socialisation at the end of home-visiting support.

HSRSC, established in 1983, turned 40 last year, and its work is more vital than ever. The charity has recently seen an increase in the number of families with complex needs, and the cost-of-living crisis has significantly impacted their financial stability. Tees Better Future Fund is, therefore, proud to help three families in need access vital support from HSRSC.

 Bishop’s Stortford Youth Project

 Tees Better Future Fund is pleased to share that the next charity to receive a grant is Bishop’s Stortford Youth Project (BSYP).

BSYP was established in 2013 to provide safe spaces and opportunities to local secondary school-age young people. The Tees Better Future Fund will help to fund the drop-in sessions at Thirst Youth Café, a welcoming space for young people to meet, make friends, and take part in fun activities to increase happiness, health, and well-being.

The Fund will also support the continuation of BSYP’s youth volunteer programme, which helps young people learn new skills and develop their potential. Participants work in Thirst and connect with young people on their own. Not only does the programme give young people a confidence boost, but it is also excellent work experience and has helped many participants get jobs when they go to university.

 Alongside Thirst, BSYP have a 1:1 mentoring project in local secondary schools, where students meet with a youth worker every week for 6-10 weeks. They also run a wellbeing project; local GPs refer young people to BSYP who are on the waiting list for other services, such as CAMHS.

BSYP has seen a dramatic increase in mental health issues among young people in recent years, so their work is becoming more vital. With a well-established base in Thirst Café, BSYP are now continuing to explore ways that they can take their services to young people – particularly those in surrounding villages that may be isolated due to limited transport links. We look forward to supporting the café’s excellent work and seeing what BSYP does next to transform the lives of young people.

 Living Paintings 

We are delighted to announce that Living Paintings is the next charity to receive a grant from Tees Better Future Fund.

Living Paintings designs Touch to See books for blind and partially sighted children and adults. These books are then distributed via a free postal library service, allowing anyone to access the resources, regardless of financial position and location. The Tees Better Future Fund grant will go towards providing this vital service to blind and partially sighted children in Cambridgeshire for another year.

There are 26,000 blind and partially sighted children in the UK. They live in an isolated world, so Living Paintings’ books are intended to be a shared reading experience. These unique books help blind and partially sighted children gain literacy skills and integrate into the world. The books are visually impressive, so sighted children love using them, too, putting across a positive message to the wider population about the resources available for blind children.

Established in 1989 by Alison Oldland MBE, Living Paintings is the only organisation like It. In 2023, Thanks to their accessible picture books and resources, 100% of child library members had more shared experiences with sighted friends, family, and peers, and 99% benefitted from improved confidence in reading.

Demand is high for Living Paintings’ service. Last year, they doubled their child beneficiaries within six weeks thanks to a popular project for the King’s Coronation. The charity is currently exploring how it can support 0–3-year-olds at a time when they are developing key cognitive skills. Tees Better Future Fund is proud to support such a unique charity as it continues to provide a vital service to blind and partially sighted children.