Action Towards Inclusion – Project Evaluation Opportunity

Why Voice is Important

One of the 3 strategic goals of Better Connect is to Inspire Change. This involves promoting social inclusion as an essential part of creating vibrant, productive and prosperous communities.  

We aim to inspire change in 3 ways: 

  • Sharing participants stories – Through our projects, our partners have supported thousands of participants. We know that behind these big numbers, each person has their own individual story of how they have been supported to transform their lives. We are delighted that some of these people have chosen to share their stories with us. And now, we get to share those stories with you.  
  • Thinkpieces and blogs – Our staff and partners have a huge amount of knowledge on lots of issues regarding inclusion, diversity, wellbeing and employment. Some of this comes from their work and education and much of it comes from lived experience. We create and share blogs and thinkpieces written by our staff and partners to raise awareness and contribute positively to the conversation about these key issues.  
  • Representation – We are honoured to represent social inclusion issues and the voluntary and community sector in multiagency groups and policy formation. We do this by listening to our partners and participants and using our platforms to amplify their voices and perspectives. We connect policy makers with people on the ground to ensure that policies and funding have the greatest positive impact in communities.  

Action Towards Inclusion – Project Evaluation Opportunity

Action Towards Inclusion Blog news item



  Better Connect are tendering for a final project evaluation for our Action Towards Inclusion (ATI) programme. ATI is part of Building Better Opportunities, a national programme funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund. What is the ATI Programme? ATI is a £13million programme taking place across York, North Yorkshire

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Goodbye and Thanks to Leon and Liz!

Blog Careers Internal news item



  Today we say goodbye to two of our longest serving board members Leon Fijalkowski and Liz Burdett. Thank you for all the support you have given us over the many years, we are incredibly grateful to you for your guidance and expertise and you will be missed by the whole team! Thank you for

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York and North Yorkshire Multiply – Partnership Bid Opportunity

Blog Internal news item



  We are in the process of creating a partnership bid for Multiply funding in York and North Yorkshire. We believe that projects have a greater impact and greater reach when delivered by strong partnerships. There are a lot of opportunities within Multiply that we may be able to contribute to as a partnership. There

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Action Towards Inclusion – A Life Changing Legacy

Action Towards Inclusion Blog Internal news item



180 people from across the Yorkshire region gathered at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, on October 11th, to celebrate the significant impact the Action Towards Inclusion Programme has made over the past six years. “A Life Changing Legacy” celebrated and honoured the incredible work of ATI delivery partners and keyworkers, who were essential in the

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Better Connect Raised £1,721.08 for Cancer Research!

Blog Internal Meet the Team news item



  A Huge Thank You! On Friday 21st September, Team Better Connect took to the streets of Leeds to complete the 10K Shine Night Walk for Cancer Research. Armed with glow sticks, rain jackets and hats we walked the course in just over 2 hours having lots of fun along the way! We were struck

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ATI Celebration Event – The Tree

Action Towards Inclusion



If you attended our Action Towards Inclusion celebration event you will have seen the beautiful tree created by Christine and the Better Connect team. Christine has written a short piece explaining why this tree was important to the event and how it will continue to grow and live on..   “Let me tell you about

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Julie re-elected to CIMA Members in Practice Committee for second term!

Action Towards Inclusion Internal Meet the Team news item



We are very excited to share that our amazing Head of Finance Julie Bickerdyke has been re-elected to CIMA Members in Practice Committee for a second term. We are so proud of her and asked her to share a little bit about her story and what this means to her..  “I am a CIMA qualified

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Meet Natasha Babar-Evans Better Connects New CEO

Blog Careers Internal Meet the Team news item



  Today we welcome the fabulous Natasha Babar-Evans to Better Connect as our new CEO. We asked Natasha a couple of questions to help you (and us!) get to know her as she starts her new journey in leading the organisation.    So Natasha, tell us a little bit about yourself and what is important

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Mental Health Awareness Week – “It is the relationship that you have with yourself that is the most important relationship you will ever have”

Blog Careers Internal Meet the Team Mental Health news item Thriving at Work Wellbeing Resources



      Mental Health Awareness Week is from the 9th – 15th May and this years key topic is loneliness. Today we hear from our Engagement Manager Hannah about what she has learnt from her experiences of loneliness.  “Loneliness can show up in life in many different ways, it can come from feeling the

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Mental Health Awareness Week – “I always knew I was different and although I had a big group of amazing friends, I would still sometimes feel that sense of being alone in the world.”

Action Towards Inclusion Blog Internal Meet the Team news item Wellbeing Resources



        As part of Mental Health Awareness Week we spoke to Joe, Programmes Manager on Action Towards Inclusion, about his experiences of loneliness and what it looks like across our programmes..   “Feeling alone sometimes is part of the human condition. Everyone will experience some feelings of isolation in their lifetimes. Even

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Local Linking Reflections – What will be the impact of the Action Towards Inclusion programme ending?

Action Towards Inclusion Blog news item



In March we ran a series of Local Linking Events. These events were an opportunity for people who are involved or interested in the Action Towards Inclusion or Thriving at Work programmes to come together, network and discuss important problems or issues that they may be faced with. One of the key issues that was

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A Farewell from Sam and Introducing our New CEO…

Action Towards Inclusion Blog Careers Internal Meet the Team news item Thriving at Work



  Today we say goodbye to our amazing CEO Sam Alexander. Sam has worked for Better Connect for thirteen years, taking over as CEO six years ago. Sam has created an inclusive, positive and exciting place to work for all of the staff here. We will miss her greatly, but know that it is time

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