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.
ATI Participant Stories – Meet Ian
Action Towards Inclusion
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Laura works as the Participant Experience Coordinator on our Action Towards Inclusion Programme. She often reads and hears stories from the participants who access the support and has decided to share some of those in a blog series called ‘ATI Participant Stories’. Today she shares Ian’s story.. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of
Better Connect visit Co-Lab to talk about Thriving at Work
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Thriving at Work
Today we had the amazing opportunity to speak at Harrogate’s shared work space Co-Lab. Based in Harrogates Convention Centre, Co-Lab is dedicated to helping businesses grow and create more high-value jobs in the Harrogate district. It is delivered by Harrogate Borough Council, and supported by Leeds City Region and York & North Yorkshire LEPS.
Launching our new Multiply Programme
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Multiply is the government’s new £560 million programme to help transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of adults across the UK and will be delivered through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The funding is distributed across local councils and then allocated to providers to deliver various different activities to support individuals with their
The Art of Honest Conversations with Pro-Development
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We were lucky enough to experience a day of training around ‘Honest Conversations’ from the amazing Joanne from Pro-Development Ltd an organisation dedicated to bringing out the best in you, your staff and your business. The day started with pastries, coffee and tables full of goodies such as sweets, highlighters and workbooks with inspiring quotes,
ESF Community Grants – The End of an Era
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ESF Community Grants
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For the longest of time (2008 to be precise!) Better Connect have managed ESF Community Grants across North Yorkshire. Community Grants enabled partners to access up to £20,000 grants to deliver a wide range of different provision to unemployed or economically inactive individuals with the aim to move them closer to the labour
Meet Max May – Our Newest Board Member!
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We are so pleased to announce that we have a new Board Member.. meet Max May! A bit about Max.. Max is a North Yorkshire born and bred creative industries and VCSE sector leader with expertise in strategy, organisational development, business planning, innovation, fundraising and partnership development. He’s passionate about access, equity and inclusion,
Action Towards Inclusion – Project Evaluation Opportunity
Action Towards Inclusion
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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
Goodbye and Thanks to Leon and Liz!
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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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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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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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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
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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