News

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.  
‘’Multiply is maths, but in a real way” – Shopping on a Budget With Coterminous CIC

‘’Multiply is maths, but in a real way” – Shopping on a Budget With Coterminous CIC

Blog Impact Mental Health multiply news item



  A couple of weeks ago Christine and Laura visited York Travellers Trust, to sit in on the penultimate session of Coterminous’s ‘Shopping on a Budget’ course. Part of the support on offer through the Multiply programme, Coterminous’s CJ Allison and Harrie Smith (of Transcending Fusion), have been hosting a series of budgeting sessions at the

Upcycling, Furniture Restoration & Community Engagement – Meet Futureworks

Upcycling, Furniture Restoration & Community Engagement – Meet Futureworks

Blog Impact Mental Health multiply news item Rise2Thrive



Our Impact team recently spent the day in Scarborough visiting Futureworks, before heading down to Mindful Photography UK’s exhibition at The Street.  Having worked with us over many years and multiple programmes, it’s clear the positive impact that Futureworks have on the Scarborough community, and it’s a pleasure to have the team as part of

Meet Our Programme Finance and Data Manager – Jacky

Meet Our Programme Finance and Data Manager – Jacky

Blog Careers Internal Meet the Team multiply news item



  As part of our ‘Meet The Team’ series, over the next few weeks we’ll be focusing on our Finance Department. We’ll celebrate their roles, responsibilities, and relationships with numbers – from crunching the all important data, to processing claims and financial forecasting (we couldn’t resist the Multiply twist!) Today, we’re hearing from our Programme

Meet Our Finance Director – Julie B

Meet Our Finance Director – Julie B

Blog Careers Internal Meet the Team multiply news item



    As part of our ‘Meet The Team’ series, over the next few weeks we’ll be focusing on our Finance Department. We’ll celebrate their roles, responsibilities, and relationships with numbers – from crunching the all important data, to processing claims and financial forecasting (we couldn’t resist the Multiply twist!) Today, we’re hearing from our

Reflections & New Connections – Orb’s Ways to Wellbeing Group

Reflections & New Connections – Orb’s Ways to Wellbeing Group

Blog Impact Mental Health news item Rise2Thrive Wellbeing Resources



  A couple of weeks ago, our impact team had the opportunity to sit in on a session with Orb Community Arts (one of our brilliant R2T and Multiply partners) and to speak with some of their service users about a course they’d taken part in with the arts-based charity. Meeting Gemma and Barbara amidst

Meeting Leyburn Community Arts

Meeting Leyburn Community Arts

Blog Community Anchor Support Impact news item



  Leyburn is known for its picturesque market town charm, stunning countryside views, and its location as the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is also the home to a fabulous organisation ‘Leyburn Community Arts & Community Centre’ who we had the pleasure of visiting last week and meeting with two of their

Mindful Photography UK – New Rise2Thrive Partner

Mindful Photography UK – New Rise2Thrive Partner

Blog news item Rise2Thrive



  We’ve recently launched a new programme for the people of York and North Yorkshire – have you heard? Following the success of our RISE programme, Rise2Thrive (R2T) is the new iteration, with new partners and a mission to support individuals at all stages of their employment journey to boot. 33 partners strong, we’ve collaborated

Harrogate Skills For Living – Meet one of our R2T Partners!

Harrogate Skills For Living – Meet one of our R2T Partners!

Blog Disability Impact news item Rise2Thrive Thriving at Work



  We’ve recently launched a new programme for the people of York and North Yorkshire – have you heard? Following the success of our RISE programme, Rise2Thrive (R2T) is the new iteration, with new partners and a mission to support individuals at all stages of their employment journey to boot. 33 partners strong, we’ve collaborated

The Quality Professionals Awards 2024 – We Won!

The Quality Professionals Awards 2024 – We Won!

Blog Careers Impact Internal Meet the Team multiply news item



    The Quality Professionals Awards, in its first year, gathered 200 people from across further education and employability to honour the contribution of quality and compliance professionals. 11 winners awards were presented across 9 categories and two overall outstanding winners were selected from all the finalists. 53 finalists represented organisations across the UK including

Meet Our RT2 Partners – Training For Employment

Meet Our RT2 Partners – Training For Employment

Blog Impact news item Rise2Thrive



  We’ve recently launched a new programme for the people of York and North Yorkshire – have you heard? Following the success of our RISE programme, Rise2Thrive (R2T) is the new iteration, with new partners and a mission to support individuals at all stages of their employment journey to boot. 33 partners strong, we’ve collaborated

A Final Look- Celebrating The Impact of RISE

A Final Look- Celebrating The Impact of RISE

Blog Impact news item Research & Reports RISE Rise2Thrive



  At the end of April, delivery officially finished for our yearlong RISE programme, a programme headed by a partnership of 21 community-based organisations across York and North Yorkshire, and led by Better Connect. Lately, we’ve spoken a lot about qualitative impact- of the lives the programme has supported and, in some cases, transformed. We’ve

The Omari Family Story

The Omari Family Story

Blog Impact multiply news item



  Last month, our Impact Team had the pleasure of creating a film with Inspired Youth, featuring the inspirational Omari family and their keyworkers Yesmien and Amanda from Craven College.  Through the Multiply programme, Keyworkers Yesmien and Amanda met the Omari Family, Ahmad and Mozghan and their 11 children, who fled Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021