Staff News. A Word From Siân. The last months have been very busy, busier than usual because we moved to our new Head Office in Caernarfon.

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1 A Word From Siân The last months have been very busy, busier than usual because we moved to our new Head Office in Caernarfon. I would like to thank all the staff for their cooperation during this hectic time but now everyone is settled and very happy. The location is ideal and, as you can see, we are hoping to open our new Social Enterprise Te a Cofi very soon! Opening a Cafe is a very new thing to us but we are looking forward to opening our doors to the public. We will be learning as we go and responding to the feedback we get from the young people, staff and public to improve our service. We have been very fortunate in appointing a number of experienced staff recently. I wish them all the best and also thanks to the members of staff who have moved on. Staff News Welcome to the Mentro Mlaen team Nia Griffiths as Project Manager, Anna Fon, Sion Roberts and Gavin Jones as project workers. Congratulations to Alice Horwood on her new job as Senior Therapeutic Worker. Welcome to Dewi Roberts who has started as an Administrative Assistant. Welcome to Twm who has started working as a Project Coordinator for Cinematic and Te a Cofi. Welcome to Ifan Tudur who has started as a Project Development Support Worker. Welcome to Michelle, Tom and Aaron who have started as support workers. Congratulations to Steven on his new post as Key Worker. The next months are going to be very challenging. Our main income source will be substantially reduced and we ll have to present and adopt a savings plan and inevitable cuts for April We have been working on a project plan and are hoping to make an application for European funding If we are successful there will be new opportunities. We are an enthusiastic group with lots of energy and so we will be trying our best to ensure that we continue to provide services of a high standard to young people despite of the dark economic situation. Welcome -Enlli Casey to her post as Peer Mentor for Rhieni Ifanc Ni. Welcome to Meleri Jones, our new Counsellor. We would like to thank and say farewell to 7 members of staff Daniel, Fflur, Matthew, Llinos, Tracey, Harri and Zoe. Congratulations to Jennifer on the birth of her son Ioan, and to Gethin on the birth of his daughter Nyfain. GISDA Newsletter Autumn 2014 Page 1

2 A n n ua l g e n e r a l m e e t i n g a n d m o v i n g o f f i c e On the 18 th of September GISDA s Annual General Meeting was held. It was a successful meeting and it was great to see so many young people attending the meeting. It s been a very busy year for GISDA with many projects starting and others coming to an end. During the year: GISDA has reached just over 4000 young people during the year, through referrals and outreach work in schools. 313 young people have taken part in GISDA s activities. 304 accreditations have been awarded 404 young people received support over the year Yes, it has been a very busy year for GISDA! During the meeting there were updates from GISDA s projects Rhieni Ifanc Ni presented by Gethin Evans, Cinematic and Te a Cofi by Twm Griffiths and Mentro Mlaen by Nia Griffiths. More information about these projects can be seen in this newsletter. If you wish to receive a copy of the annual report, please contact me on annes@gisda.co.uk Moving our Main Office have more access to GISDA. Since our Spring Newsletter we have moved to a new Main office. Our Head Office was situated in Ty Rhydalun (above the O G Owen and Son butchers) in Caernarfon, but now the Main Office is situated on the Maes in Caernarfon. It is an ideal location and makes it easier for our young people to find us. Te a Cofi our new catering training centre will be located in the same building; due to this young people will We would like to thank O G Owens and Sons for the support that we received during our time using their building. The new address is on back of this Newsletter. GISDA Newsletter Autumn 2014 Page 2

3 t e a c o f i a n d c i n e m at i c Te a Cofi Pantri Profiad Te a Cofi is a Catering Training Centre that will offer young people training opportunities. The Centre will be open to the public to insure that the young people will get the experience of serving food. This is a project funded by the People s Millions Grant, as a result of a competition thaheld during November 2013 to fund community projects. The public decided who received the grant and we were successful in ensuring this funding. The building work that needed to be done has been completed and we hope that we will be able to start training young people during the next month. We hope that the centre will be open to the public before the end of the year. As part of the project the team has been consulting with young people about the activities that will be offered and the menu. One of the service users designed the logo for the new enterprise see the above logo by Freya Boff A big thank you to Freya Cinematic It has been a busy time for the staff at Cinematic, who have been working hard to develop the project further. They have been entertaining in various festivals over the summer and a few birthday parties. During this time the project has expanded and by now the team can offer a lot more than only the screen to the public. The team has introduced a popcorn machine, hot dog machine and a large inflatable tent due to some problems arising when the screen was in direct sunlight. With all the additional equipment the team is able to offer refreshments as part of hiring the screen, and offer a few party packages that offer hours of entertainment and delicious food. The team is still searching for more volunteers to help with Cinematic s work for more information about Cinematic or volunteering options contact Twm on Twm@gisda.co.uk GISDA Newsletter Autumn 2014 Page 3

4 R h i e n i i fa n c n i The Rhieni Ifanc Ni project began in November It is a three year project that offers a holistic, bilingual service to Gwynedd s young parents. This project is available to any parent(between the ages of 14 and 25 years) that feels the need for support. The Big Lottery Fund funds this project, which is a collaboration project between Snap Cymru and Domestic Abuse South Gwynedd. The aim of the project is to give the opportunity to more young parents to receive holistic services that have been tailored to their needs and to reach those in rural areas and, through this reduce loneliness. The range of services and support is offered to the young parents of Gwynedd includes raising confidence activities, parent group sessions and training opportunities to name but a few. The sessions are run by the project staff; 1 manager, 3 project workers and 3 peer mentors. The Peer Mentors are young parents themselves who have been given an opportunity to develop their skills whilst offering support to other young parents in the area. A recent report for the project showed encouraging results. According to the young people who received support: 75% are more aware of the services that are available to them in their communities. 88% feel more confident to use the services as a result of the support they ve received. 84% noted that they have developed new skills 67% feel that their mental and physical health has improved. 63% feel that, since having the support, they have a better relationship with their child/children. These figures show, even though the project has only been in place for a short period of time, that it has made a difference to the lives of the parents and children that have received the support. GISDA Newsletter Autumn 2014 Page 4

5 M e n t r o m l a e n Since our Spring Newsletter, new staff have started work on GISDA s newest project - Mentro Mlaen. It is a three year project funded by the Big Lottery Fund. The team of Project Manager, 3 Project Workers, and a Senior Therapeutic Worker are working together to provide a project that will assist young people to increase their confidence and skills to gain entry into work. The aim of the project is to arm young people with skills to develop their confidence. Thus enabling them to move from support to employment. The project will develop skills and confidence through a series of activities to develop relevant skills for the workplace e.g. Time Management, Problem Solving and workshops on how to find and apply for work. Young people who attend the activities and training workshops can also work towards Agored Cymru and WEA Cymru accreditations in specific areas to be transferred into the workplace. Hand in hand with the training elements, the staff will be assisting young people to develop ideas for Social Enterprises. In the three centres in Pwllheli, Caernarfon, and Blaenau Ffestiniog, young people can take part in Work Experience, Volunteering and Work Placements to help gain experience in a workplace. The therapeutic element of the project works to try and reduce the barriers that affect young people, by working closely with the young people to increase their confidence and provide services such as Mediation, Anger Management and Restorative Justice. Freya Boff is busy creating Mentro Mlaen s logo as well this is only a initial draft but we would like to thank her very much. For more information on this project contact the Project Manager Nia Griffith Nia@gisda.co.uk GISDA Newsletter Autumn 2014 Page 5

6 activities Agor Drysau The Agor Drysau project came to an end in July, after 3 busy years. It was a project that offered opportunities for young people to access different activities. The aim of the project was for young people to gain more skills, qualifications and experiences through a range of different activities. Here are some of photos from the last sessions that the project arranged. Over the three years, Agor Drysau arranged 385 one day sessions, 220 accreditations have been given to young people and 150 young people had entry to better skills, qualifications and experience. We would like to thank the staff for their work over the three years and good luck to 2 members of staff Tracey and Harry on their travels around Australia. GISDA Newsletter Autumn 2014 Page 6

7 A c t i v i t i e s Parent Group The parent group has been very busy and is now running sessions in 3 areas in Gwynedd. Over the last month various sessions have been offered and the young parents have had the opportunity to take part in a gorge walking day activity. Here are some pictures from the sessions. There is also a video that you can watch online Street Football Wales GISDA s football team GISDA Giants has been playing in Street Football Wales tournaments this year, and have been successful in the competitions. By taking part in the competitions, Tom Sewell, a member of the GISDA team was successful in securing a place in the Wales team for the Homeless World Cup in Chile that was held in October Tom really enjoyed his time in Chile. GISDA Newsletter Autumn 2014 Page 7

8 Over the last weeks we have received 423 as donations. We would like to thank everyone that has contributed or has given us a donation over this period. Thank you to everyone that has contributed. Te a Cofi was opened during Remembrance Sunday for the public who visited the exhibition to commemorate the people that died in the War. The money raised will be donated to the Poppy Appeal. Give as You Live DONATIONS Dyfodol Deiniolen Women s Institute Arfon Direct Catering Equipment 100 Mechred y Wawr, Bethel Porthmadog Inner Wheel Charity With Christmas getting closer we would like to remind you that GISDA has registered with Give as you Live. Give as you Live works with over 3,000 leading stores that have signed up to donate a commission on every online purchase to the charity of your choice. This commission is already included in the price of what you re buying, so you can support your favourite cause, at no extra cost. How to do this? A link on the front page of our website will take you directly to GISDA s page. You ll need to register with the website and then search for the shop you wish to purchase from via the Give as you Live website. This will enable you to donate to GISDA without spending any more money. The website is totally safe and over 20,000 charities have registered on the website. Since it is the Christmas Season, and so many of us are now shopping online, how about supporting GISDA whilst you shop? Contact us: 22/23 Y Maes, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 2NA gisda@gisda.co.uk GISDA Newsletter Autumn 2014 Page 8