Author: Alastair Wain

Children First Derby would like to thank The UPS Foundation for their generous $20,000 grant to fund three ‘Reach for Wellbeing Programmes’.

The unique, fun eight-week courses are designed to support parents and carers to help improve their mental and physical health as well as help remove isolation and loneliness, build wider support networks, improve self-confidence, and develop parenting skills.

The first two programmes have now successfully run, with the third starting shortly.

The programme aims to provide guidance on general health and wellbeing, develop practical skills and understanding, help establish social support networks to build resilience and help parents to establish a sound and stable environment in order for
them to help their children develop, progress and achieve the best possible outcomes in their lives.

Irshad Baqui, Chief Executive, Children First Derby explained, “The demand we are seeing for support amongst vulnerable families is increasing and the more parents partake in these workshops the less chances of them facing more complex mental health issues.”

The programmes are being delivered in partnership with @beingmeorganisation, a local not-for-profit mental health support organisation, who deliver friendly and informative sessions tailored to needs of participants. The weekly sessions cover topics including mental health, social connections, exercise, sleep, confidence, and cooking. 

Irshad added, “The programme will have a positive impact on parental mental health which will have a long-term benefit on family life and the child’s well-being. The environment in which children and young people grow affects their development and emotional well-being, and children of parents with any mental illness are at risk a range of mental health problems, including mood disorders, alcoholism, and personality disorders.”

To compliment the courses links will be provided to useful wellbeing apps and signposting to additional services, as well as a selection of free self-help books and recipe bags for participants to takeaway.

Children First Derby would like to thank The Provincial Grand Charity of Derbyshire (The Derbyshire Freemasons’ Charity) for supporting its new five-a-side Football Club.

The generous £1400 grant from the PGC Derbyshire Freemasons’ Charity means that Children First Derby can now cover the cost of venue hire, to run the football club on a weekly basis for the next two years.  

The new football club is part of the Group Mentoring activities that the charity delivers, which also include drama and climbing, to support vulnerable 10-18 year olds in Derby. The addition of five-a-side football has helped engaging those young people that are interested in football in the mentoring process.

Children First Derby are delighted to have been awarded a grant from the Barclays Community Football Fund, being delivered in partnership with Sported, to help establish a five-a-side Football Club as part of the Group Mentoring activities that the charity delivers.

The Mentoring Service at Children First Derby offers 1-to-1 mentoring providing confidential, community-based support for young people aged 10 to 18 facing challenges. They offer regular, group and intensive mentoring.

Chief Executive, Irshad Baqui, said, “Group Mentoring and the diversionary activities offered as part of this are a critical part of our mentoring model. Diversionary activities help to divert your attention from things that are less desirable or stressful to manage. The significant improvements in life prospects for young people at risk, from participating in diversionary activities and the benefits to the wider community are well documented. We currently run a Drama Group and a Climbing Club and are excited to now be able to offer more choice of activities with the new football club.

Five-a-side football will help engaging those young people that are interested in football in the mentoring process. We are grateful to Barclays Community Fund for this grant which will be used for purchase of the equipment for the initial set-up, such as balls, cones, kits, and other equipment as well as for venue hire.”

The Barclays Community Football Fund launched in 2022. The fund will primarily support young people in deprived or underrepresented areas through local organisations (like Children First Derby), many of whom are not yet benefitting from the wider football pyramid. Sported is the largest network of community sports groups in the UK, supporting more than 2,600 groups to help disadvantaged young people build confidence, gain skills and get their lives on track.

Nicola Walker, Chief Executive of Sported said: “Groups like Children First Derby make a real difference in the lives of young people and it’s so important that they get the support and resources they need to sustain their good work. Through Sported’s partnership with Barclays, we want to widen the net of opportunities and this new football project will give more youths in Derby the chance to get a kick out of sport.”

We have recently appointed a new PR and Marketing Coordinator, Jordan Hazell, to the team at Children First Derby.

Jordan has over 10 years’ experience in corporate marketing and communications and has most recently worked at the charity Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

Jordan said, ‘I’m very excited to get stuck into my role at Children First Derby, using my skills, experience and contacts to help promote and raise the profile of the fantastic work that the charity is doing.

Whether that’s through writing blogs, securing press coverage or updating social media and the website, I can’t wait to share more about the amazing things Children First Derby does and the important impact that has for local children and families.’

Watch this space!

We are proud to report that our first Christmas Family Market was a huge success! Held at The River Mill, Darley Abbey with the help and support from Chrissie Rose, Founder/ Director of The West Mill, The River Mill, The Mill House and The Mill Cottage. What a superb venue for a Christmas Market, the River Mill oozes character whist creating a warm and welcoming environment for families to enjoy the perfect day together.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Cosy Foundation for sponsoring the event, we are so grateful to all the team at Cosy for their continued support.

We are also so thankful to so many people for supporting Children First Derby, who attended to shop for gifts or who had their own stall to showcase their wonderful merchandise.

Personal thanks go out to Rachel Hill for bringing her very well-behaved donkeys to say ‘Hi’ to the children & adults, what beautiful cared for happy donkeys, they made so many people smile on the day, and we cannot wait to have them visit again next year.

This year we were particularly apprehensive about how the response to Children First Derby’s Christmas Presents appeal would be, particularly that we were seeing our supported vulnerable children, young people and families struggling more than ever due to the current challenging times.     

However, we have been amazed and absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of the Derby community. We were humbled to see how individuals and local businesses have come forward in large numbers to support our appeal and have made a special effort to donate toys, games, books, toiletries, gift vouchers and many gifts to make this Christmas extra special for those who are less fortunate in our society. Our teams have been busy delivering presents to children and young people to bring them much needed Christmas cheer, joy and happiness this festive period.