Organised by York CaresLouise Soulsby, former Chair of York Cares and ongoing Board Director, is running the Yorkshire 10 Mile in October 2024 to raise money for York Cares. York Cares helps raise aspirations, reduce loneliness and benefits the environment.
Times are hard at the moment for lots of people, whether they are struggling with the cost of living, or not getting the same career opportunities to aspire to, or maybe they are just struggling because they feel lonely. York is no different to any other City in this respect. York Cares touches the lives of so many people across York.
Did you know they collect workwear that people no longer need, to help students feel prepared for that first all important interview? They also arrange regular collections for food banks and for those in need at Christmas. They organise volunteers to go into schools to help young children to improve their reading. Volunteers from member organisations also work closely with schools to show young people the world of work and inspire them to look at careers they probably never considered. They organise events to bring together neighbours, young and old, to help tackle loneliness, something that has only got worse since Covid. They utilise the wonderful volunteers from our members to organise and run team sessions to make our green spaces more pleasant for all to enjoy, improving biodiversity and nature corridors at the same time.
I am passionate about supporting this wonderful charity that gives so much back to my local community. But times are hard for charities too and it is becoming more and more difficult to secure funding to enable us to continue this valuable work. So we are looking for new ways to secure the charity’s future through fundraising. So I’m putting on my running shoes to run 10 miles on 20th October. If you are able, please sponsor me to help raise vital funds to keep this work going and give something back to the community. Thank you.
A change in the funding landscape coupled with the cost of living crisis means that it’s an incredibly tough time for small charities like York Cares. We need to diversify our income and raise more funds to remain sustainable. Without increasing our income, we may face closure in the coming years.
We run 3 core programmes designed to benefit different causes in the city. The first is Aspirations which provides employability support to raise aspirations and enable people from all backgrounds and abilities to reach their full potential. The second is Environment & Sustainability which offers practical activities for the benefit of the environment and the long-term sustainability of our city. The third is Social Connections which brings younger and older people together through meaningful connections to bridge the intergenerational divide and reduce loneliness and social isolation.
£10 – cover the cost of collecting a donation from one of our employer members and delivering it to the community partner during one of our Campaigns
£40 – cover the cost of a Social Club contributing to reducing loneliness and isolation in older and younger neighbours in the city
£250 – cover the cost of 25 DBS checks for employee-volunteers taking part in Right to Read, a cost usually covered by York Cares
£500 – cover the cost of our annual Summer Sparkle or Shimmer and Shine social clubs where we come together for a celebration with over 70 members of the community with the aim of positively contributing to their wellbeing
£750 – sponsor our next Environment & Sustainability Week
£1,000 – enable us to host a Project Dare activity to challenge pupils to apply their academic learning to solve a real-world problem to help raise secondary school pupils’ aspirations
£5,000 – sponsor our next Big Community Challenge
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