Regenerate

Dear friends of Regenerate

Like so many organisations and charities in the UK and around the world, we were appalled by the horrific death of George Floyd. As well as the damning effect of COVID-19 on Black, Asian and Ethic people in our society, we have been profoundly disturbed by the systemic and institutional racism it has exposed.

With the events of the past weeks and with the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement, we have been provoked to reflect at length and to consider what more we must do as a charity and as a community to help eradicate racism.

At Regenerate we oppose racism and discrimination of any kind. We are committed to promoting lasting change by addressing any deep-rooted racial inequalities and being actively antiracist, throughout our organisation and wider community.

We are asking ourselves to consider what we as individuals, as a charity and as a community, can do better. We know there is more we can do to make Regenerate a place for all Black, Asian and Ethnic people to thrive whether they are a young person, staff member or volunteer.

As part of our commitment, Regenerate has started today to do the following.

– Organise a working group which will work with all board members, staff, volunteers, beneficiaries and partner organisations to examine the changes we need to make now and on an ongoing basis.

– Evaluate the board and staff membership and diversity monitoring.

– Promote a culture of openness, self-criticism and learning.

– Create safe spaces and reporting systems where those affected by discrimination issues can share their experiences and views in confidence and without prejudice.

– Examine how we can better encourage and support those who feel uncomfortable addressing this issue.

– We will not be defensive nor deny any existence of racism or discrimination at Regenerate but will challenge it and act.

– Review our policies and procedures and ensure they are followed and regularly monitored.

– Provide compulsory annual training for all staff and volunteers on understanding racist behaviour and micro- aggressions and how to be antiracist.

If you have any matters that you wish to raise concerning this important issue or any other aspects of the charity at this time, please email Toby Beazley, our HR and operations lead, at toby@regenerateuk.co.uk. He will then contact you at the earliest opportunity to discuss the matter in the strictest confidence.

Racism and discrimination of any kind should have no place in society and Regenerate will do all it can to provide an environment and culture where there is racial equity and equal opportunities for all young people, staff and volunteers so that they feel valued, safe and able to progress and thrive in their lives.

Andy Smith, CEO and Founder Regenerate

Our Regenerate youth teams are doing an amazing job connecting with young people through our new online programme and service. With our focus on encouraging a positive wellbeing for young people, the programme includes mentoring, keep fit sessions, dance workshops, online gaming, competitions, cooking classes and counselling.  As well as this, the team are in regular contact with the young people and their parents through phone calls, which has been a bit of lifeline for many people.

Photos By Nahwand Jaff, taken pre lock down.

The Feel Good Bakery team members continue being supported each day by our team and whilst they can’t be working in the kitchen they are using this time to focus on their personal development. This week the kitchen also came back to life with Mirela, TFGB kitchen manager, working alone (social distancing) making 148 lunch bags for isolated elderly people who are members of Regenerate Rise.

I hope you are staying safe and well in this strange and unprecedented time.   In response to the challenges our communities are facing we would like to thank you for your continued support and update you about a new project we have started.

“The Roehampton Community Box” launched last week!!!   In partnership with Heathmere Primary School and Rackets Cubed we are pleased to announce that we are working together to provide ‘Community Boxes’ for families on the estates in Roehampton and Putney.   Thanks to the generosity of many Regenerate supporters, yesterday we delivered 57 community boxes full of essential food, activity packs as well as brand new children’s books to those families in Roehampton that are most in need during this time.

We want to see this grow. Our target for next week is to support 100 families by giving them ‘Community Boxes’!  Together I believe we can scale this up through partnership work with other schools and organisations in the area, to reach more families who are most in need at this time.

If you want to get involved here’s what you can do …

Donate food: 
If you are able to contribute food, please drop food items to the following drop off points and then we will organise putting the boxes together and delivering to the families.

Sheen – 3 Clare Lawn Avenue, SW14 8BH
Barnes – 34 Glebe Road, SW13 0EA
Putney  – 17 Castello Avenue, Putney, SW15 6EA  
Wimbledon – 4 Dora Road, Wimbledon Park, SW19 7 HH  (detached White House with cherry tree outside so not to be confused with another number 4 opposite!!)

Please only donate food items that are listed on here.

If you would like to do your own street collections of food, or cannot get to the drop off points please contact nikki@regenerateuk.co.uk
Please only donate food items that are listed on the attachment

Donate money: 
If you would like to contribute towards the costs of the Roehamapton community boxes please click here.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/TheRoehamptoncommunitybox

OR, transfer to our Regenerate CAF bank account. Sort code: 40-52-40 & Account number: 00023707

We are so grateful that we have this Regenerate community of friends and supporters that encourage, volunteer and resource our work.  We will continue to create opportunities for young people to thrive and at this time show solidarity with those going through the toughest times.
 
Stay safe and please keep in touch.
 
From
Andy and all at Regenerate

We hope you are all doing OK in these extraordinary and challenging times.

While our centres are temporarily shut and face to face group work and mentoring is on pause, we are still here and available for you! The Regenerate team have been working out the best ways to offer a remote service to young people based in Roehampton, Putney and our surrounding areas so that young people are supported at this time. This is what we have planned…

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Get Connected: Social Media Activities

From next week the youth team will be posting ways that young people and our wider community of stakeholders can continue to engage with us online through challenges, creative activities, and live stream videos from our Instagram account.

We welcome all young people to keep track of this. If you are new to Regenerate please message us on our insta account or email us and we will get in touch with you personally.

If you are a parent or carer this is also a place for you to find out what Regenerate is up to. If you would like to connect with a member of the team to find out more about our services or if you would like any other family support please contact info@regenerateuk.co.uk and we will try to help.

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Get Active: Online Group Chats and activities:

For our Get Active programme (which usually takes place at the youth centres) we will be increasing our online presence to make sure that young people have a youth worker to talk to and continue to feel very much part of the Regenerate community.

We’re going to be organising online workshops for those who regularly attend our centres or are interested in taking part in the Get Active programme.  These workshops will be fun, creative and active ways that young people can improve and maintain their health and wellbeing and meet with friends in a positive way.

To get involved, sign up to the relevant workshop by emailing Jordangayle@regenerateuk.co.uk, more details on the Get Active workshops schedule to come later in the week …

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Get Focused:  Online Mentoring for young people.

If you want someone to talk to or are perhaps really struggling at the moment, then you can also get in touch with us either via social media, by using the contact page on our website or emailing us. We will do all we can to help. This might involve giving you information about further support or arranging a phone / video call with one of our mentors or counsellor. The mentors will provide a safe space for you to talk and be heard and they can help to provide you with extra support. They can support parents and families by connecting you with the right people and places to go.

If you want to find out more about Get Focused mentoring programme contact mari@regenrateuk.co.uk

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Get Working: Online support.

The Feel Good Bakery kitchen is currently out of action but  TFGB team members are still employed and using this time to focus on their personal development plans with our staff.  We are working out how to use the bakery kitchen to support people that need it the most over the coming months. If you are interested in finding out more about The Feel Good Bakery check out our website or email Luke@thefeelgoodbakery.com

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Get Leading: online group chats and volunteering

The Get Leading group will gather through online group chats. The group will explore ways to support young people and their families in the community through charitable work and volunteering. This might be through mentoring young people online through the Get focused programme, preparing activities for the Get Active programme or supporting food banks or relief services where appropriate. They will also continue to support each other in their personal development plans.

So, make sure you’re following us on our social media channels or email us and we will be in touch.

Stay safe and well,

Love from everyone at Regenerate.

During this unprecedented time the need around us is going to continue to grow.
 
As well as the threat of Covid -19 to people’s physical health, young people’s mental health and that of their families is about to face its biggest challenge yet as we head towards a complete lock down and even more social isolation.  Many of the young people we work with are part of large families who live in very small flats with no or limited outdoor space, and for those young people who were facing huge challenges before Covid-19, the challenge is only about to become greater.
 
We are receiving emails and calls from parents in the community that are already low on food and asking for help with some really serious issues facing their children. The needs and challenges are going to be on a scale unseen before. It’s time for us to raise our game to the highest level and create hope and opportunity in new ways.
 
As both our youth centres are closed for the foreseeable future the great challenge for us is how we step up and fulfil our vision of ‘Creating opportunities for young people to thrive’.
 
Our fantastic staff team are currently all working hard on care plans to reach the most vulnerable at this time through remote support. We will be in touch with some of these young people on a daily basis, setting up interactive projects for them to work on from their own homes, as well as ways they can connect with each other and our youth workers in positive ways through social media.
 
As the days unfold we are also looking at how we could use The Feel Good Bakery at this time to provide food for the most vulnerable but also in a safe way for our staff.
 
We will keep you updated on our plans and how people can help. In the meantime, we are more grateful than ever to you for your ongoing partnership and support. If you are in a position to help financially please donate either through our Just Giving account or directly into Regenerate bank account (sort code 40-52-40 and account number 00023707).  All donations will go toward supporting the most vulnerable young people we work with in the Roehampton and Putney locality throughout this time.

Thanks for all your support and take good care of yourselves,

The Get Leading team of 24 people headed out to visit Dare 2 Dream in Romania to support them in finishing their community building project.

Dare 2 Dream was founded by Dana and Gusti who moved to the village of Soard, Romania, in 2008. At the time, the Roma community in Soard was incredibly poor and faced multiple issues including chronic unemployment, hunger and racism. The vast majority of children did not attend school and many families lived in homes made from mud with the whole family living in one room.

In 2011, with support from friends in the UK, they ran their first children’s camp in Soard running activities and workshops. This success sparked a desire to do more – and Dare2Dream was created. They started by providing a hot meal every Saturday for children in the community. In 2016, work began on the construction of a new community centre. This space has enabled them to run after school education workshops and homework clubs for the children, and workshops for the men and women in the community focusing on their separate issues and building their resilience.

During the weekend we were there, we successfully managed to insulate the Dare 2 Dream community building and build four benches for the feeding program as well as help build a roof for a family in the community.

There was an epic team dynamic as we pulled together and worked with the Roma village to finish their community centre. It was also a great opportunity to for people in the group to develop their skills and make new friendships.

 “The trip made me feel less materialistic and opened my eyes to how different life would be growing up in Romania. It really made me appreciate what I have” Steven.

The Regenerate and The Feel Good Bakery Team had a jam-packed day on Friday celebrating Global’s Make Some Noise day!

As one of Global’s chosen charities this year, Regenerate were invited to start the day by meeting Jamie Theakston at Hyde Park, one mile away from the finish line for his final pitstop. Jamie’s Bike Britain challenge started in Edinburgh and he made his way through 8 cities in 8 days finishing up in London. 

Andy joined Jamie live on Heart FM and gave a shout out about Regenerate and the lives affected by Global’s amazing fundraising effort! Jamie’s 650 mile ride around Britain managed to raise just over £430,000 and in total Global raised over £4,000,000! All of this will support small charities doing fantastic work right across the UK! 

Here is Andy’s 8am interview on Heart. 

On top of the opportunity to meet Jamie, we also met Yinka and Shayna the breakfast hosts from Capital Xtra.  A couple of weeks ago they came down to Regenerate and visited the bakery team at work to see first-hand what impact the Bakery has on them and the community. The morning was great fun, they listened to some of the Tevin and Jack’s (TFGB team members) music, interviewed the Regenerate team and made delicious waffles sponsored by Kaspas desserts who are supporters of Global’s Make Some Noise.

Since Global’s Make Some Noise launched in 2014, the national charity has raised more than £16 million and raised awareness for 256 incredible charities and projects around the UK that struggle to be heard. 

Thank you Global Make Some Noise for all your support – this enables Regenerate to continue our work with Young People.

Regenerate Uk Instagram – 

The 2019 Roehampton Festival was once again, a huge success. There was live music from local artists, DJ’s and Roehamptons very first talent show! There were fairground rides and inflatables, a popup farm, sports, creative workshops, delicious food and much more for all ages to enjoy.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped to make the day so special.

Check out the video below and a bunch of photos taken by Nahwand Jaff

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As part of our Get Active service, Regenerate runs a 4 week summer programme which includes trips and activities for young people in the community. The summer kicked off with a Garden party and barbeque where young people, staff, volunteers and members of the community came together to share a meal in the recently developed community garden space. It brought the community out and was a great way to set the tone for the summer with Regenerate. 

We hosted 3 trips, the first of which was to an aquatic theme park where kids found themselves awkwardly clambering across a floating obstacle courses. It was a fun packed day in which both the staff and young people really enjoyed. 

Rosie (aged 14) said…

‘It was fun, you had to challenge yourself to do different parts of the course and got to do it with all your friends’

Other trips included a day trip to London, Brighton beach and a concert. In total we took 30 different kids on trips across our Ashburton and Alton estate youth clubs. 

Quote from parent … 

‘Thank you for taking Camron with you and for guiding him, he spoke highly of you and I really appreciate all your hard work with him and his friends’

Alongside our trips, we also facilitated a number of workshops at our youth centres. A stand out event was our spa and wellness evening, exclusive to the girls we’re working with. 

Our summer programme provided a variety of opportunities for young people to experience something beyond life on the estate and to broaden their horizons. It encouraged them to Get Active in their community and beyond and we hope will inspire healthy living, creativity and focus. 

Quote from staff:

‘I think this year’s summer programme was really well received by the young people. All the kids we worked with, either on trips or at the youth centres, seemed to really enjoy having the opportunity to partake in new experiences’

To bring an incredible summer to a close, we hosted the end of summer party in our community garden! Young people, parents and our community friends were invited to make pizza’s, engage in various activities and celebrate our time spent together.

Please follow us on Instagram or Facebook to get more regular updates! @Regenerateuk

Saturday, 27th July Nadia a supporter of Regenerate took part in the London Sprint Triathlon!

Nadia’s Story.

“Seeing as Regenerate inspired me, it was only right that I fundraise for the fantastic work they do. I have had the pleasure of getting to know and volunteering for Regenerate over the past few years and know how fundamental they are to their own community as well as other communities they have intimately gotten to know in Kenya and Romania”

“I really wanted to set myself a challenge and push myself out of my comfort zone. In the past exercise and fitness wasn’t even part of my vocabulary! So setting a goal and embarking on a challenge like this really drove me to train consistently and push my limits – it’s been a fantastic experience! Regenerate also hugely inspired me, having seen the way the team have challenged themselves in the past through their Regenerate Journeys”

Nadia, you did an amazing job. A huge thank you for all of your support.
If you are inspired by Nadia and want to do something similar don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can support you in your challenge.