Local charity, Foundations Furniture, is celebrating after being awarded £105,721 of grant funding from the Henry Smith Charity to support unemployed residents.
Foundations, based on Askew Road West in Gateshead, will use the funding over the next three years to continue their free employment readiness and work experience programme to any unemployed Gateshead resident of working age.
Foundations has been running since 1996 and, over the years, the team have supported hundreds of volunteers. The employment readiness programme, Foundation4Work, was started after staff recognized that many volunteers needed help with different parts of the job seeking process.
The charity now provides support every weekday where local people can gain valuable work experience in their furniture warehouses or as part of their furniture collection and delivery team. They can also access one-to-one support to create a CV, learn how to apply for vacancies online, prepare for interviews and identify any further training needs, all under one roof. Participants can also access information about self-employment too, and receive free work boots and PPE, as well as a personalized employment toolkit with everything they need to continue their job seeking independently in the future.
The programme, previously part funded by Gateshead Goes Local, has already helped many people into work or further training, whilst boosting their confidence, aspirations and wellbeing.
The new funding from The Henry Smith Charity, which aims to help people and communities at a time of need and to bring about positive change, will ensure the Foundation4Work programme is available to residents free of charge until 2024.
At the same time, Foundations will continue to provide low-cost and free pre-loved furniture to hundreds of people affected by furniture poverty in Gateshead each year.
Christine Kennedy, project lead for the Foundation4work programme says: “We’re delighted to be awarded funding from The Henry Smith Charity to continue to support unemployed residents in a personalized way that helps them to reach their employment goals. Having seen first-hand how transformative our programme can be, we’re looking forward to helping many more residents over the next three years. Providing free employment readiness support at an accessible, welcoming charity like Foundations, can make a big difference to anyone that is struggling with any part of the job seeking process.”
Adam, a Foundation4Work participant, successfully gained full time employment after attending the programme for just one day per week over several weeks says: “I have much more workplace experience than before. The staff and volunteers I worked alongside on the programme were friendly and helpful throughout. Once I felt I had a better chance of getting a job, everything improved, including my mental health.”
Read more about Adam's journey with the Foundation4Work programme.
Read more about Al's journey with the Foundation4Work programme.
For more information about Foundations4work, call or text 07851 478548 or email foundation4work@gmail.com
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