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.
Goodbye and Thanks to Leon and Liz!
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Careers
Internal
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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
York and North Yorkshire Multiply – Partnership Bid Opportunity
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Internal
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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
Action Towards Inclusion – A Life Changing Legacy
Action Towards Inclusion
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Internal
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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
Better Connect Raised £1,721.08 for Cancer Research!
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Meet the Team
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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
Julie re-elected to CIMA Members in Practice Committee for second term!
Action Towards Inclusion
Internal
Meet the Team
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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
Meet Natasha Babar-Evans Better Connects New CEO
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Meet the Team
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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
Mental Health Awareness Week – “It is the relationship that you have with yourself that is the most important relationship you will ever have”
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Meet the Team
Mental Health
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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
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
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Internal
Meet the Team
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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
Local Linking Reflections – What will be the impact of the Action Towards Inclusion programme ending?
Action Towards Inclusion
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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
A Farewell from Sam and Introducing our New CEO…
Action Towards Inclusion
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Careers
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Meet the Team
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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
Catching up with Autism Plus and The Blue Dolphin Holiday Park
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Thriving at Work
You may remember back in September we shared an amazing story about The Blue Dolphin Holiday Park, an employer that has worked with Autism Plus through the Thriving at Work programme to support some of their staff members that have autism. Autism Plus worked with the employer to make adjustments in the way they work
Reflections on the Local Linking Events so far
Action Towards Inclusion
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Thriving at Work
We have been out on the road again in North Yorkshire! It has felt so good to see people face to face again, to talk in person about real issues our communities are facing and visit amazing local venue’s sampling lots of varied delicious lunch menu’s. Our Local Linking Events are for anyone wanting to