The Focus this week is on our events and Fundraising. We had some awesome events planned for this year and were so disappointed when we had to cancel and rearrange them all.  Making sure our staff, volunteers and the wider community are as safe as possible is obviously the most important thing to do but it still left us with heavy hearts. Planning an event or fundraiser is really fun, you meet some wonderful people along the way and when they go as planned it's even better. We will keep the events page on our website updated- hopefully we can have a jam packed calendar of fun soon.

As well as planning our own events and fundraisers, we are always very touched and humbled when people organise something to raise money on our behalf. It's not easy to plan everything and get people involved so we really do appreciate it. With social distancing measures in place, it's hard for people to carry out many fundraising activities for charity.... why not try something with your friends/family/colleagues- a virtual quiz or office raffle? Can you think of any other fun ideas to raise money?
Over the past few weeks we have talked about all of our services and how each service supports young people in North Oxfordshire. We are truly grateful for every penny that is donated to us to contribute towards keeping BYHP operating. If you are able to donate any amount there are lots of ways you can do so. Visit the support page on our website for information.

This week we would like to say a big thank you to another lovely lady who has been volunteering her time with BYHP over recent weeks. Kate came on board to help out with delivering food bank parcels to those who aren't able to get to the BYHP building to collect one. Here's a pic of Kate getting ready to deliver some parcels and one of the latest donation from Banbury Morrisons. 
THANK YOU!

Last week our Peer Support group were supposed to be having a virtual tour of Mill Farm with Emma. This is one of their favourite places to visit. Unfortunately the weather put a stop to it last Wednesday but this week was much nicer so here are a few snaps of the animals they got to see enjoying the fresh air..... Thank you Emma!

Still looking for things to take part in at home? Don't forget Centrepoint charity is putting together fun challenges every other Monday which you can get involved in.

From tomorrow, we will be introducing you to each member of the BYHP team, but for now if you are able to, please like and share our Facebook page and posts to let more people know who we are and what we do.

This week we are going to let you know all about our Peer Support group. For many years this group has run, every Wednesday evening from 5-7pm. Young people are welcomed into our building to enjoy a delicious home cooked meal as well as fun activities. The activity can be anything from games, guest speakers, workshops, arts and crafts, movie nights and the occasional trip elsewhere. This group is run by Deb and Ros who are our health and wellbeing practitioners. They also receive a helping hand from some of our volunteers. This group is a great way for some of our young people to socialise, build their confidence and try new things. Obviously at the moment the group isn't able to go ahead in the building. As with our other services, this one is still operating but has had to have an extreme makeover in the way it's delivered. Each week the first 40 minutes of the session is done via a zoom video and then continues for the following 1 hour 20 minutes in a Whatsapp messaging group where the young people are able to share their art work and writing with each other. There have still been visitors joining the group, including Tom from The Mill Arts centre who introduced his new project; it’s called Soap and Porridge and is a celebration of our stories and memories. Emma who is BYHP's Transitional Wellbeing Practitioner also joined one of the sessions and gave the group ideas to help their mental health during lockdown. Hopefully the group will one day be able to go back to enjoying a meal together too. 

THANK YOU THURSDAY.
This week's thank you came directly from our CEO Patrick. Here's what he had to say;

"Huge thanks to the Morrisons Foundation for their £2,500 grant towards the costs of supplying tents, bedding, and a whole range of new clothes for rough sleepers throughout the next 12 months, as well as Morrisons store in Banbury continuing with their weekly support of our Foodbank. Just brilliant support and a clear demonstration that we are all in this together. Thank you"

Here are some pictures of the 3 most recent weeks' donations from Morrisons to our food bank;

This week is volunteers week. We have been mentioning the support we receive from our wonderful volunteers quite a lot recently but just wanted to reiterate how grateful we are for each and every one of you.

​Are you cycling more to enjoy some fresh air during these strange times? Want to get your bike checked over to make sure it's safe to be out and about on? Why not check out the Dr Bike initiative…

We were contacted recently by Autism Parenting Magazine who had seen one of our previous blogs back in 2017. They have been putting together updated and relevant information which you can check out here.


Thank you everyone. Stay safe :)