Stephen is presently one of our most dedicated and long-standing adult volunteers. We sat down earlier this year to talk about his journey with FOCUS – from young beneficiary to volunteer today supporting other young people. “Before coming to FOCUS I hadn’t left the house. I struggled in college and school with bullying. I couldn’t…
“In 2023, my support worker at Leicester College, Wendy, handed me a leaflet about FOCUS and the Leicestival Project. She thought it may benefit me. I came to FOCUS for the first time in May. Since coming here I have learnt heritage skills such as researching festivals, film-making, and how to present correctly. I’ve also…
Darren McWilliams, Project Manager for Inspire, met with ‘Kaz’ to discuss her experiences with Inspire, FOCUS, our work and reflecting on what worked and the impact upon her life. Darren: “What did you think of the Inspire Project during your first few sessions?” Kaz: “At first, I thought it was boring…like, really boring. We’d do…
We’re delighted to bring you our Impact Report for 2023-24! Read how the generosity and support of all our donors, funders and fundraisers have helped us to support nearly 300 young people throughout the last financial year. Impact Report 2023-24 (Final) Back to News and Events
For the past 4 years, we have been hugely fortunate to have been members of a local networking group called BNI Foxes (https://www.leicesternetworking.co.uk). Meeting every Tuesday morning, they support one another’s businesses, and that includes FOCUS. They are a fantastic group and are great supporters of our charity. Each year they’ve raised significant funds (up…
Facing the Future (FtF), FOCUS’ latest project, hosted their first community event last month – and what a success it was! ‘Why Don’t You?’ was held at the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Saturday 22nd of June. FtF’s volunteer mental-health first-aiders coordinated the event, alongside both established and new partners. The youth event aimed to highlight…
Summer is approaching, which only means one thing: FOCUS Does Summer is BACK! Once again FOCUS will be delivering a free two-week Summer Scheme between Monday 15th July 2024 – Thursday 25th July 2024. View PDF The scheme is an amazing opportunity for young people to have fun, create new friendships, and be engaged in something positive…
At FOCUS, we consider diversity, inclusion and a sense of belonging for all stakeholders as integral to achieving a fairer space, where all can thrive. Exploring the way we recognise, approach and deal with issues of oppression has been an exciting journey. In 2020, we formed an Anti-Oppressive Practice group to help us review, challenge and change, if necessary, the way we work.…
2023-2024 was a non-stop year for the young people of our Leicestival project. Getting involved with Leicester’s diverse range of festivals and events, they’ve been developing their events- and heritage-skills. Alongside them, the FOCUS TV sub-group have compiled their knowledge and research into a series of mini-documentaries. To round up all the hard work they’d…
Training volunteers ages 18-25 as mental-health first-aiders and mentors, to offer support to young people in mental health crises.
