BYHP's Christmas Campaign

Saturday saw the launch of BYHP's Christmas campaign with the team's attendance at the Banbury Town Mayor's Christmas Charity Bazaar at the Town Hall.
 
Since joining BYHP a few weeks ago I have seen the amazing work the team have been doing over the last 25 years and continue to do with local young people who maybe haven't had the easiest start in life.
 
On a daily basis they are helping families resolve their problems to avoid young people becoming homeless, providing counselling to some young people with chaotic lives and providing advice and support to them in finding the most appropriate and cost effective accommodation to help keep them safe.
 
In addition, the team does not just deal with "homelessness"; via our employability skills training programme "Unlocking Potential" we  help groups of young people build confidence, acquire skills and develop aspirations to move on in their lives by accessing education and training or by obtaining work experience, undertaking volunteering, learning money management and ultimately finding jobs.
 
We also provide a food bank service for young people, offer opportunities for them to help each other via peer support and we challenge them to develop interests and skills in art, music, cooking and IT via various projects.
 
In short, BYHP provides a nurturing "family" support network which many of the young people have not been fortunate enough to experience before coming to see us.

All this happens against a backdrop of funding cuts, welfare reform, greater than ever competition for diminishing resources and some very negative publicity in the media based on some high profile stories, none of which makes it easy for the staff to focus on the great work they do, as the future for many charities is uncertain.
 
The work BYHP does has a massive impact on the young people and their families but also on our community and helps prevent other negative impacts to society further down the line.
 
The BYHP team has developed a Christmas Campaign to engage with the local community - individuals and businesses - to help us achieve our goals of helping more young people across Banbury and surrounding areas and today we start releasing elements of #BYHPChristmas - our "Dear Santa" letter, our assurance to you and information as to how your donations help us.
 
There is also a communications & networking event at BYHP on Monday 16/11 for you to see more about what we do and how you can help us build strong futures for young people.
 
We hope you will be able to do something - however big or small - to help us in our work for a further 25 years and thank you for all of the support so far.