NIG Leeds

Give...A Few Words aims to reduce social isolation and improve social connections through sending positive uplifting gifts of letters for others in care homes, charities and those that need a little positive post in our community. It also delivers surprise "pop up events" aiming to spread cheer wider in our communities.

The charity raises funds for a short break and respite care centre for children with life-limiting conditions and disabilities. In addition we provide support services for all family members where there is one or more child with a disability aged between 0 to 25 years of age. We aim to become a "hub" where families with a child with disabilities can come for advice, information and support that will improve their quality of life. We provide counselling for all family members including the siblings and the child with disabilities, holistic therapies for parent carers to improve their health and wellbeing and help them to cope with their 24/7 demanding roles as well as peer support groups. We have volunteering and work placement opportunities for young people with disabilities as well as volunteering opportunities for all members of the community, for example reception desk. admin, organising fundraising events, gardening, cleaning and maintenance. We welcome support from all!

Choice Wellbeing Service is a Community Interest Company that was founded in Feb 2023 by Dan and Tracey Huggins with the help and support of the North East Business Innovation Centre. Dan has a history working in management, Tracey has a history in social media work, guest speaking, training facilitator and a trainee counsellor. Both founders are parents of a child with complex medical needs. The business is a Wellbeing organisation setup exclusively to serve parents of children with an identified additional need, whether this be a profound disability or not. The Service will offer a number of wellbeing courses and projects aimed at improving the mental health of parent carers. Some of the projects we hope to offer include cooking, digital art, fitness and nutrition, back to work training and possible future volunteering opportunities within our CIC. We will start offering Counselling from next May (hopefully sooner) with the help of our volunteers who are currently entering their final year of university. This counselling service will be specifically aimed at parent carers but will hopefully extend beyond in the future to all carers. Once established, we have opened discussions with Sunderland University to support their Year 2 counselling degree students with placements allowing us to extend our counselling offer to a bigger client base from September 2024. The current model of support for parent carers and their mental health doesn't exist and often parents of children with additional needs have to abide by the same rules as everyone else when it comes to requesting help for their mental health (the current waiting list for counselling services on the NHS is around and beyond 36 weeks). Our organisation will be an opt out service, meaning we will be accessible from diagnosis or identifying the need of a child, working alongside paediatric services, local Gps and children's services in Sunderland.