The Island launches The Business Hub
The Island • October 24, 2019
Every child deserves a positive adult role model in their life. Many of the young people we meet live chaotic lives, witnessing domestic violence, abuse and substance misuse, and growing up neglected or in poverty.
We are one of few early intervention services in York and we’re proud that our mentoring programmes have high success rates in transforming the lives of York children.
In the last year alone, there has been a huge increase in young children needing to access our services who are experiencing difficulties with their mental, emotional and/or social wellbeing. Currently, we are unable to meet the demand, however, by you becoming an Island Business Hub partner, you will be able to help us to make a big difference to the lives of the next generation of employees.
Membership costs £175 per year, however, a discount can be offered if you decide to sign up to our Business Hub for three years.
Your membership needs to be paid upfront, and we can potentially agree on a payment plan with you if you require it. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss these or have any other questions.
By becoming a member of The Island Business Hub, you will benefit from:
- Working in partnership with The Island in line with your Corporate Social Responsibility, which will result in your business contributing to the wider local community .
- Your business will be invited to The Island to see for yourselves the work that we do and the difference your support is making.
- You will benefit from regular networking events [min 2 events per year] which will give you the opportunity to meet other businesses.
- Your logo will be displayed on our business hub web page , together with a link to your website
- You will be provided with a bespoke Island supporter graphic which can be placed on your website.
- You will be able to use our logo on your website and promotional materials to show your customers that you are supporting a local cause.
- From time to time, you will be featured on our social media channels, e-newsletters and blog posts and we can provide you with assistance with press releases which include our charity.
- We can provide you with fundraising consultancy where a member of the team can come and meet with you to help you with fundraising ideas to raise your profile and funds for our charity.
To join our Business Hub please email fundraising@theislandyork.org and we'll send you a short application form to fill in.
What interested you about becoming an Island Volunteer Mentor? I was interested in volunteering and personal development to enhance my career prospects. I was at a stage where I was confused as to where I wanted to go next but I knew I was good with people, and I knew that my personality would suit working one to one with a young person. I knew that I could pass on good advice and life experience. How long did you mentor for The Island? I mentored for around 15 months. Every week for around 2 hours on a Thursday night. Sometimes we would miss a session due to various factors, but these sessions were caught up on. What did you enjoy most about the Mentoring? I enjoyed being able to experience many different activities with my young person and being able to see their confidence grow. I enjoyed catching up and hearing stories from the week and focusing my attention on that session. Different social settings allowed me to guide my young person and relay stories from my experience which I knew would be helpful. This was enjoyable as I knew I was passing on vital helpful advice for adulthood. Why do you think Mentoring is important for young people? I think in today's world with social media and the stresses on life can be overwhelming for everyone. For a young person to be guided by a mentor, they can step away from that world for a short while and express themselves or let off steam in an environment where they can be nurtured and not judged. With the guidance of a mentor, the young person can take the advice into everyday life which will hopefully help them in difficult and stressful situations. The young person can build up a relationship with the mentor and know that they have trust in them to be able to openly talk about their feelings away from a family, friend it school setting. Please let us know how you have found the support from the island and which aspects you have found the most valuable? I found the support very good and easy to access. I knew that if I needed any support or advice, I could email or call my supervisor. I found the group sessions with other mentors helpful as we could come together and talk about our experience and use any advice in future sessions. Hearing stories from other mentoring experiences was highly valued. Has the Island supported you with any future plans personally or professionally? If so, could you share this with us? The island has kept in touch with me regarding several career opportunities throughout the mentoring process that I have considered. I know that I could sit with the island and discuss any plans if I needed to. Most of all, they have helped my confidence and gave me a platform to express myself and follow my goals which has put me in good stead for next move in my career as a health trainer. The skills and experience I have gained from my mentoring will be transferred over to this next role. At the Island, we are constantly looking for people who have the ability to listen, and who feel that they can develop a positive rapport with children and young people in an honest, challenging and non-judgemental way. All prospective volunteer mentors receive training, support and supervision. This covers such areas as communication, child protection, equal opportunities and often, in the process mentors learn more about themselves, too. To find out more about our volunteer opportunities please click here www.theislandyork.org
In this article, we explore the nature of youth work, its social value, and how you can volunteer to support young people in York. Click “continue reading” to find out more.
Recent research indicates that the cost of living crisis has further entrenched inequalities between north and south. How is this crisis affecting levels of poverty in York, and what can you do to support many of the city’s most vulnerable children? Click "continue reading" to discover more.
We’re delighted to announce that we have joined Easy Fundraising and would love for you to support us through the platform to continue enhance the lives of vulnerable children and young people who use our services. Click "continue reading" to find out more.
The online world allows everyone to access a vast amount of information and services. As we already know, there are many websites and platforms that help to educate and entertain our children, but there is also inappropriate content out there. As a parent or carer, you may already have rules on how much screen time and which sites your children are allowed to access; but how can you make sure your child is safe surfing the internet whilst giving them a sense of independence and freedom? Click "continue reading" to find out more.
We urgently need more one to one volunteer mentors to support the next generation. Can you help us? Click "continue reading" to find out more.
Millions of families across the country are facing greater financial pressures than ever before. In recent years, the cost of essentials like food, fuel and energy has increased dramatically. In 2019, the average annual energy bill was £1289. Today, that figure stands at £2500, with the government price cap set to rise to £3000 in April 2023. Click "continue reading" to find out more.
Trustees' Week is a five-day-long event to celebrate the achievements of nearly one million trustees across the UK. To mark the occasion, we sat down with one of The Island's trustees, Linda Barrie to get her thoughts on the charity sector and what it is like to be a trustee for a small children's charity. Click "continue reading" to find out more.
Work with York, Work with Schools and Work with Yorkshire have joined The Island’s Business Hub. They are local recruiters who help all kinds of people find the right opportunities to match their skill set and experience. Being wholly owned by City of York Council, they also reinvest a share of their profits back into the local community - so being ‘community focused’ is an integral part of their company values.
There is no denying that we are living in challenging times. Times where what has previously felt stable and secure, now feels unsteady and fragile. Since the announcement of lockdown in March 2020, there has been a fundamental shift in how we approach and live our lives. The collective shock of that time, whether it directly impacted us, in terms of work, or we knew anyone who became ill, there can be no doubt that we felt and experienced it in some way.
