169 - Helping a student with cost of living - Aug 2024

For donation 169 we have been able to send £500 to a young man who has started a PGCE to become a secondary school Maths teacher. Due to his Developmental Language Disorder he has found some aspects of the course really challenging. He has been advised to take a 6 month break from the course and to secure a position as a TA to hone his skills.


He is applying to schools in the area and has done some exam invigilating, which does not cover his living expenses for himself and his partner who is disabled. Universal credit have only provided £350 as a one off benefit - he is applying for more support and was on the brink of having to move out of his flat due to being unable to pay the rent.


Despite not really being in a position to do so, his mother stepped in, paying his rent and bills and providing food during this lean period between work and university - his bursary has been halted until he starts the course again in January. This is putting pressure on her own finances and isn't sustainable, and is causing a lot of anxiety for the family.


Our member asked if we might be able to help to avoid seeing his mother get into her own financial difficulties and we were happy to help and wish the young man all the best with his future studies.


We know our donation has made a massive difference and the family are incredibly grateful to you all for enabling us to help out.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

39 - Support for victims & survivors of Domestic Abuse - Rehouse to Rehome - February 2021

Image
For our latest donation we are sending £500 to Francine at  Rehouse to Rehome , a Sheffield based charity supporting and empowering victims and survivors of Domestic Abuse. Our £500 will go towards buying a cooker/fridge/ washing machine for a family that Francine is helping to rehome.  Francine tells us that she has seen a significant rise in requests for help since the beginning of the pandemic. Our donation has been very gratefully received and Francine has kindly sent us this powerful message explaining why: Not having essential household goods often becomes a real and practical barrier that prevents a survivor from leaving an abusive relationship. Even when individuals gather up the immense courage it takes to flee an abusive relationship and, if they are lucky enough to be re-housed by the authorities, there is a strong possibility that they will not get the financial support required to furnish that property with even the most basic of household goods which are a necessity in or
Read more

5. Goldigger Trust - helping young people develop positive self esteem - Jan 2020

Image
This week we are pleased to be able to give £250 to Golddigger Trust.   The nomination came from one of our members whose daughter & family have benefitted from Golddigger’s support. Golddigger is a small Sheffield based charity that offers support for young people in developing positive self esteem and well-being, to allow them to feel more secure and aspire to achieve more.  Their name comes from their aim of ‘digging out the gold’  - the worth and true value of the young people they work with, who may be struggling themselves to see their value due to poor self esteem & negative circumstances.   They offer drop in sessions as well as 1:1 counselling, peer mentorship and courses to support young people aged 11-18 years.  At a time when it is very hard to access the Children & Adolescent Mental Health Service due to such high demand, the availability of a service like Golddigger is invaluable and we are genuinely so pleased to be able to send them a donation.   Golddigger
Read more

118 - Helping SWWOP set up a 'flexi-pot' to allow them to support women in emergency situations.

We often say how lucky we are to have among our members people who work & volunteer in some of Sheffield’s extraordinary local organisations and charities.     We always welcome nominations from them - they see so much need on a daily basis, so when they ask for our help we know our contribution will make a difference. On this occasion SWWOP (Sheffield Working Women's Opportunities Project) , an organisation which provides intensive support to vulnerable women involved in street prostitution, asked if we could help them. SWWOP’s primary service is making contact with women involved in street prostitution and being a friendly face to offer non-judgmental and confidential support and information.  They provide street based outreach and drop in sessions, with an aim to improve the women’s health and safety.  https://www.swwop.org SWWOP told us that since the start of the cost-of-living crisis, they have seen the number of women they support involved in sex work almost triple.  Wom
Read more