posted 12 Mar 2010 03:53 by Marianne Clough
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updated 14 Mar 2010 14:17
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posted 12 Mar 2010 03:26 by Marianne Clough
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updated 14 Mar 2010 14:58
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VICARS Cafe Bistro is celebrating becoming the first
coffee shop of its kind in the Bradford District to win an award for
the way it nurtures work experience students.
The
cafe, in Victoria Road, Saltaire, has been given a rare quality
standard award by Education Bradford following a steady stream of young
people through its doors from local schools and colleges.
As well as being the first cafe in the district to win the accolade, It
is the first independent shop in Saltaire to be recognised in this way.
Part
community centre, part cafe, part evening bistro, the cafe is
completely unique. It was started by two vicars and is now a social
enterprise run for the benefit of Saltaire by a team of Christians and
volunteers. The cafe and bistro are just a part of the operation, with
many other activities going on there including mums and babies groups,
the book club, film nights and a variety of workshops.
Gracespace
also meets there, which is the "church for people who don't go to
church" and uses cooked breakfasts, medititve events and craft
activities to help people connect with God.
Project Manager
Marianne Clough was delighted to receive the award on behalf of the
whole staff: "Teenagers often get a bad press but in every young person
who has come to us we see enormous potential. While they are with us
they learn some vital life skills in the cafe, grow in confidence as
they talk to customers and we see their creative side blossom in the
kitchen too. In return we get a chance to mix with young people and see
life through their eyes, which is really special."
Pauline
Thorpe, Education Bradford's Business and Community Engagement Adviser,
said: "We presented Vicars Cafe Bistro with the award because of their
good track record in providing quality work experience placements for students from local schools. The award is presented to businesses who can demonstrate that they provide a well-structured programme which involves planning, preparation, health and safety and evaluation which Vicars Café Bistro clearly do."
________________
This was in the Telegraph and Argus
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posted 2 Mar 2010 02:43 by Marianne Clough
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updated 12 Mar 2010 03:31
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posted 28 Feb 2010 15:13 by Marianne Clough
A BRADFORD charity has been singled out for the
third year running as being one of the country's best small companies
to work for - and with a winning leadership team.
Christians Against
Poverty (CAP) has fought off competition from over 500 other companies
to win the Best Leader award at the Sunday Times ‘Best Small Companies’
award ceremony. Building on previous recognition for excellence, the
charity’s Chief Executive, Matt Barlow, and Founder and International
Director, John Kirkby, have co-won the prestigious award.
Now in
their tenth year, the ‘Best Companies’ awards have come to be
recognised as the benchmark for all that is outstanding in terms of
working environment. With employees anonymously answering wide-ranging
surveys about their company, the results provide a vital insight into
the inner-workings of many organisations across the country in an
unbiased way.
CAP, which operates through a national network of 125
church-based debt counselling centres across the UK, was singled out
for its exceptional leadership. An unbeaten 99% of employees voted Matt
Barlow and John Kirkby as inspiring leaders and 94% felt that senior
managers listen to them. In addition, 99% of employees believed that
CAP operated on sound moral principles and also believe CAP makes a
positive difference to the world.
Matt Barlow said: “We are
delighted to receive this award. We hope that it demonstrates both how
dynamic and in touch Christian organisations can be and the example
they can set for other organisations. Whilst this award is a
prestigious accolade, we’re not going to get complacent. With 60 more
debt counselling centres opening this year alone across the country,
there’s plenty left to do to tackle the most pressing social problem
affecting the UK today.”
To find out more about the work of CAP call 01274 760720 or visit www.capuk.org.
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posted 28 Feb 2010 15:11 by Marianne Clough
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updated 3 Mar 2010 01:19
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AS more families are blighted by financial struggles
during the recession, debt-busting charity Christians Against Poverty is expanding its
premises and bringing jobs to Bradford.
The international charity,
which began in the city 14 years ago, already has 200 people working at
a refurbished mill in the city. Now it has bought a nearby derelict
school building to house a further 150 employees.
Founder John Kirkby, of Shipley, said: "We're
all about restoration at CAP. Every day we are meeting people across
the UK who are despairing about their debt and it is our delight to
give them real hope and a solution.
"For a number of years, we've
been looking out of the window at a sad looking St Mary's Catholic
School and now we're really pleased to be breathing new life into that
too, just as we did with Jubilee Mill. We are committed to Bradford and
I am so happy to be seeing good things happening in my beloved city."
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/5037308.Debt_busting_charity_adds_150_jobs_at_new_HQ/
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posted 28 Feb 2010 14:58 by Marianne Clough
More than 90 years ago, in the final year of the First World War,
steam trains daily brought injured soldiers into Bradford for hospital
treatment.
Among these hospitals was the 437-bed Abram Peel Hospital in Leeds
Road, a military establishment for neurological disorders, staffed by
the Royal Army Medical Corps, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military
Nursing Service and volunteers.
A club was formed to help them, the Bradford Khaki Club, based in Forster Square.
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/news_behind/5022455.Bradford_veterans__stitch_in_time/ |
posted 10 Feb 2010 12:21 by Marianne Clough
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updated 22 Feb 2010 02:23
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Homeless people in Bradford are being invited to sleep in the city's churches thanks to a new project.
"Inn
Churches" has been launched by seven churches working together who
will, in turn, open their doors to provide an evening meal and bed and
breakfast to people with nowhere else to go.
It is not a
drop-in. They are working hand-in-hand with the exisiting agencies and
taking referals. They hope to relieve the problem of full hostels and
give some Christian love and care along the way.
The project is being moved forward by the churches which have a variety of traditions but have come together to help these vulnerable people. They will each take it in turn over the period of a month to play host to the homeless.
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4868036.Churches_unite_to_help_the_homeless/
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/localnews/Churches-offer-homeless-a-bed.6018815.jp
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posted 10 Feb 2010 12:18 by Marianne Clough
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updated 22 Feb 2010 02:26
]
ONE
of Bradford's old cinemas built at the beginning of the first world war
is being transformed into a centre to help young people through their
difficult teenage years.
The Plaza cinema in Cross Lane, Great
Horton, has been in a sad state, much like the celebrated Odeon in the
city centre. Almost 100 years before it had opened with a silent black
and white film (talkies didn't arrive until 1930s) and the Plaza became
a vital life-line for people wanting news of the war front. It showed
its last film in 1963 and was turned into a bingo hall.
Now it
has been given new life by the Joshua Project which has been working
with young people for several years and has outgrown its space in St
John's Church, Great Horton.
Re-named the Impact Centre, it will
include "soft" classrooms in a street-style, a mixing desk and a cafe
area. The project is going to retain much of the original features of
the cinema including the stage area.
Bradford's NEET (not in
education, employment or training) figures are among the poorest nationally and the Joshua
Project is determined to help bring these youngsters hope of a brighter
future. This is done by local schools hiring the space at the centre
for disruptive and disturbed young people before they get into a
situation where they are expelled. It will allow time and space for
experts to work with the teenagers and get them to see the
possibilities a good education can bring them.
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/5003792.Former_cinema_gets_street_wise/
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/localnews/Bright-picture-as-cinema-becomes.6067816.jp
This was also covered by the Sunrise FM and BCB Radio
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posted 10 Feb 2010 12:16 by Marianne Clough
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updated 22 Feb 2010 02:29
]
HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall met staff and
clients of Bradford-based debt-counselling charity, Christians Against
Poverty (CAP).
CAP clients told Charles and Camilla of their
experiences of debt and how CAP has helped them to find hope for the
future through the unique, face-to-face debt counselling that CAP
provides.
Charles and Camilla also met CAP’s Founder and
International Director, John Kirkby, of Shipley who has seen the
charity go global since he started it from his home in Great Horton in
1997. The headquarters of the charity are in Jubilee Mill, behind
Bradford Cathedral.
John Kirkby said, “It was a real privilege
to meet Prince Charles and Camilla – we really appreciated the
opportunity to share with them the work we are undertaking with some of
the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the UK.”
The
Prince and Camilla were doing a tour of good causes in Manchester on
Tuesday, February 9 and John, members of the team in Bradford and
clients joined the Salford centre manager to talk the couple through
the work of CAP.
They were presented with a copy of Nevertheless, the story of CAP, including a spare copy for Charles to give to the Queen.
This was covered in brief by the Telegraph and Argus and the Yorkshire Post.
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posted 4 Jan 2010 07:10 by Marianne Clough
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