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Our History |
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IntroductionFirst established in 1988 by two undergraduates in Cambridge, FOCUS quickly developed into an innovative charity, expanding to Oxford (1992), Nottingham (1992) and Leicester (1997), as well as undertaking projects around the UK. The charity was originally established with the dual purpose of providing an exciting residential experience for teams of disadvantaged teenagers and disabled adults, whilst offering a demanding and worthwhile challenge for the student organisers. Since then the charity has evolved into a professional organisation, run by a dedicated team of staff and incredible volunteers. In 1998, FOCUS received the national ‘Investors in People’ Award, recognising that we place a high priority on training, supporting and valuing our staff and volunteers in order to carry out our work. The Bridge ProgrammeFrom 1988 to 1999 FOCUS delivered its flagship Bridge Programme, which brought together young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and adults with either a learning or physical disability, alongside an equal number of volunteers. Originally our vision was met with varying degrees of scepticism. Many doubted that we would be able to successfully integrate ‘at risk’ young people with disabled adults, believing that the differences would be too great. However, we were soon able to prove that we could make a valuable difference in ways that others had been unable to. We soon received referrals from a wide variety of sources, integrating our projects with the work of local services and other voluntary organisations. "The Programme has [recently] provided camps for two teenagers on my caseload. In both cases their intervention has been significant, if not crucial. The teenagers sense of self-esteem and ability to relate to their peers have been helped enormously"
Building on the original week-long residential Bridge Camps, the programme quickly developed to encompass a range of various year-round projects across the branches. Over 80 Bridge Camps took place during the eleven years that the programme ran, each providing an intensive programme of fun, team-based challenges for 70-100 people. In total the Bridge Programme provided over 30,000 participant days worth of activities and benefited, on average, 250 young people and disabled adults each year, many from impoverished backgrounds and all at risk of marginalisation in society. The InterAction ProgrammeIt was with the Bridge Programme that FOCUS first developed its unique approach to experiential learning and personal development. Following a three month strategic review and consultation process in 1998 with all of our key stakeholders, a newly designed programme called InterAction succeeded the Bridge Programme in 1999. InterAction built upon our previous experience of integrating remarkably diverse groups of people in teams, bringing together disaffected and ‘at risk’ young people (aged 14-17), with high achieving business managers, young adults with a learning or physical disability (aged 14-25) and volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds. Lasting up to 10months, InterAction was a six-stage personal development programme, combining group work on projects ranging from week-long residentials to regular weekly workshops, with individual mentoring support from carefully selected and trained volunteers. "The Over 14s Team has referred a number of young people to you, all of whom have benefited from the experience. Some of our young people have not been away from their locality prior to experiencing the residentials. Indeed some of the young people have had some very damaging experiences with adults who have rejected or hurt them in some way. Learning to trust the helping agencies is an important step forward for these young people. The FOCUS programme has certainly endeavoured to work with this as an issue. Self esteem and confidence building has also been a fundamental requirement for the young people. The opportunity to work with and help others has been crucial in these young people feeling part of something, rather than rejected and on the outside."
During the summer of 2004, FOCUS ran it’s final InterAction summer projects, before embarking on our Strategic Review to consider our future direction and services. Management TrainingDuring the 1990’s, FOCUS benefited from a unique partnership with a management training company called ‘Bridge (BMT)’. The company recruited business managers to work closely with FOCUS volunteers in leading and supporting teams of programme participants. Delegates benefited from an extremely powerful learning experience and opportunity to develop their personal skills & resourcefulness. "This programme really matters to the individual who attends – it demands personal engagement at a level that excites, stirs, bewilders and draws in"
Meanwhile FOCUS teams benefited from the business skills and experience of the delegates, further adding to the diversity on our projects. Additionally as an organisation, we benefited from the resulting business links with companies such as BT, Glaxo and McKinsey, as well as the associated fee income. In total during this decade, FOCUS worked with approximately 1,200 delegates. The Challenge ProgrammeIn the summer of 1993, FOCUS initiated a new programme in order to enable more people, specifically young people in both mainstream and special schools, to benefit from the aims and pioneering methods developed through the Bridge Programme. Our original Challenge Programme was first launched in Cambridge, before successfully spreading to Nottingham, Leicester and finally Oxfordshire. The Challenge Programme was run in partnership with schools and provided opportunities for pupils to work together on team-based residentials or to create and undertake self-managed projects in their local community. Through their involvement young people developed a wide range of personal, social and enterprise skills, important for their future employability and a greater understanding of citizenship. "The most significant benefit has been the realisation for a wide range of pupils that they can make a difference within the community and have an impact on the lives of others"
The original Challenge ran it’s final project during March 2003, leading up to our Strategic Review during 2004. |
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Copyright © 2004-5 FOCUS, all rights reserved.
FOCUS Registered Charity Number: 1068467.
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