Starbucks Plymouth Drakes Circus

The Pioneer Project CIC is a community interest company based in Barne Barton, Plymouth, working alongside local children, young people and families to build emotional safety, connection and opportunity. We’re rooted in the neighbourhood our staff and volunteers are local or have lived experience of the area and we take a trauma‑informed, practical approach that meets people where they are, with dignity and warmth. We run welcoming, low‑cost and free community activities that reduce isolation and strengthen relationships. This includes our Community Café and Compassion Café, a Food Larder, Forest School sessions for children (including specialist support), community cinema, cooking sessions for parents and children, and community fundays that bring hundreds of local families together. We also support adults through community-based groups and activities that help people reconnect, build confidence and feel part of something positive. We help people who are feeling the pressure of rising costs, loneliness, bereavement, poor mental health, and the ongoing impact of trauma. Many of the families we support are juggling multiple challenges, and what often makes the biggest difference is consistent, friendly support and a place they can rely on week after week. The support we need most is surplus food and essential household items to help keep our café and food larder running, plus volunteers who can give a few hours regularly (or occasionally) to help with food sorting, café support, setting up sessions, and practical tasks. We’re also keen to hear from volunteers with skills in fundraising, marketing, admin, who can help us grow sustainably and care for our community spaces.

Our vision is a community where no person has to die alone, in pain or distress. We need to raise more than £4 million a year to continue to run our services. This would not be possible if it wasn’t for you, our supporters. We are dedicated to ensuring that everyone in our community is educated and informed when it comes to end of life care. Our education team engage with the local community in an effort to train and empower individuals and organisations to work in partnership to provide excellent care in all environments and across all services. There are lots of ways that you can support us, from taking part in an event to raising money at work or making a monthly donation. Whatever you choose to do, you’ll be helping us to ensure everyone in our community receives the best care and support at the end of their life.

At Blurt we have 3 key strategic aims. 1. We increase understanding: While depression is a common condition, there are a lot of misconceptions about it. At Blurt we work hard to increase understanding of depression, from the perspective of those who’ve actually experienced it. We blog about living with, managing, and supporting others with depression in a friendly, accessible way. Our resources explain key issues clearly – we don’t believe in complicating things unnecessarily. Plus everything we do comes with a heavy dollop of empathy. 2. We champion the individual: We know how difficult it is living with depression, so we’re always looking for ways to give our community a little lift. On social media, we share useful and relatable content, and do our darndest to make sure no comment goes unanswered. We also send out messages of hope and encouragement once a week to our email subscribers – these ’nuggets of kindness’ are praised by our audience for making dark days feel just that little bit brighter. We don’t want anyone to ever feel like they have to struggle alone. 3. We collaborate: Mental health is just as important as physical health, and we’re working hard to get that message out there. We raise awareness, provide tools and knowledge to help proactive recovery and challenge the stigma that prevents people reaching out for help. We work closely with medical practitioners, employers, schools and companies to help them understand depression, what it means and how they can support those affected by it. At Blurt we currently have an actively engaged audience of 105,000 people. However we know that 65% of us will struggle with our mental health at some point in our lives. Through the CheerForGood2017 project, we hope to reach more people to help them increase their self-care and proactively embark on a brighter path. The funds raised will be invested into our Depression Awareness Week plan for 2018 in order to achieve maximum reach so that ultimately more people can benefit from our tools and knowledge to help a proactive recovery.