Advance warning from our friends at York CVS - start planning now!
Thanks again to the SASH SEA DOGS from Aviva who made such a valiant effort on our behalf at the Dragon Boat race on Sunday! We had a great time watching the crew and admiring all the hard work from a safe distance on Dame Judy Dench Walk. The weather was good (well, it didn't rain, and the wind wasn't quite strong enough to blow our stall away!) and the race seemed as popular as ever with locals and visitors alike.
Thanks also to our host Tony who did a great job of drawing in a crowd and selling lollies and lucky dips for us - this occasionally included some slightly puzzled tourists but they were all happy to support a good cause! All in all it was a very successful day for us, and we're already looking forward to next year's event!
You'll have to see it to believe it, so why not come on down and take a look for yourselves? Our supporters at Aviva, Peter Marshall & the Lomos ("Where the lines between fiction and reality blur and an unstoppable musical force meets an immovable comedy object to create nuclear entertainment!") are planning 24 gigs in 24 hours in support of SASH. From Friday 30th to Saturday 31st July you can follow them around York and sample the refreshments at some of York's best ale houses! Check out the details below - we look forward to seeing you there!
Aviva staff picked up a "Golden Moment" award at the York Cares Awards on Monday 28th June 2010 for their efforts to fund-raise for, amongst other fundraising, the SASH launch event. Aviva was praised at the end of the evening for being a "local" company that was "community minded" and has given and continues to give its support and resources to activities such as the annual York Cares Awards.
SASH would like to thank all at Aviva for their tremendous efforts on our behalf. Congratulations on the award!
16th June 2010 - Batten Down The Hatches ...
... the SASH Sea Dogs are coming!!!
It's the York Dragon Boat Race on 11th July, and Aviva's SASH Sea Dogs are rowing for SASH! We've got a stall and we've booked the weather, so it's garanteed to be a cracking day! Do come and support our rowers and visit our stall on Dame Judy Dench Walk. There will be lots of excitement and plenty of family fun to be had - we look forward to seeing you there.
The SASH Sea Dogs are raising sponsorship for SASH here- can you give a donation? Every little bit helps!
Well done to all our young people who attended the latest training session. It was an extremely productive day, and we've got some lovely art work out of it for the office as well!
A very big thank you from all of us at SASH to the Tartan Lion enterprise group at Queen Margaret's School. Tartan Lion have donated £346.78 to SASH from the proceeeds of their business this year, as they were keen to support a local charity. Well done to all those involved on their successful enterprise this year, and thank you very much!
We've known it's been coming for a while, and secretly we've sort of been ignoring it because we don't want it to happen. But sadly our wonderful colleague Silvia will be leaving us this Friday to prepare for her new arrival, and eventually head back to Switzerland. Thank you Silvia for your fantastic work, we wish you a fond farewell and 'au revoir' - we'll all make sure you keep in touch!
Safe and Sound Homes are celebrating being awarded a brand new laptop with a year's free wireless broadband access from the BT Community Connections award scheme. We were delighted to find out about our successful application to the scheme - the laptop will be used by our young people to look for work, volunteering opportunities and a place of their own when they are ready to move on. Thank you BT Community Connections!
We are delighted to announce that Aviva York have chosen us as their regional charity of the year! This is fantastic news for us as it means a great opportunity to raise awareness of our work, recruit more volunteers and of course raise much-needed funding. News of special events will be posted on our website, so please keep visiting for updates.
Sleepout 2010 - Scouts in the porch!
What a fantastic effort by all involved in the Sleepout! Our supporters and 'sleep-outers' (including the Scouts!) have so far managed to raise £2,353.31, with more still to come!
29 'rough sleepers', including 15 youngsters settled down for the night, with temperatures dipping to -5! The youngest pair made a cardboard igloo inside the chilly church.
"It was a bit scary because I thought that a ghost was going to pop out," said Heather (aged 6).
"My wish is that the world would be healthy and every one had a bed." Her sister Melissa (aged 5) said,
"It was really cold... I think it is really sad that people have to live in boxes all the time."
Their mum Louise was in two minds about allowing them to do it, but they were so keen.
"I was awake trying to keep them warm. The thought of doing this for a night was hard enough. The idea of doing it with nowhere else to go is unthinkable".
Following the event on Saturday night, Tracey Ward, our Rural SASH Co-ordinator, gave a talk at the Sunday church service about the hardships experienced by young people who become homeless. Organizer Sarah Ware said:
"The sleepout made us appreciate the warmth and safety of our own homes all the more. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the amazing amount raised... churchgoers, townsfolk, Kirkbymoorside traders, friends and relations. The response has been really positive and overwhelming".
So thanks again to all our supporters in Kirkbymoorside for this tremendous effort! The money raised will go directly to help homeless young people in Ryedale.
Our brave supporters in Kirkbymoorside are once again holding their Sponsored Sleepout to raise money for SASH. They will be at All Saints Churchyard and around the town on Saturday 30th January from 10pm. Do go and say hello and if you can - words of encouragement on a cold winter's night will be much appreciated!
If you are able to give sponsorship, please get in touch with the organiser, Sarah Ware. Her contact details are on the sleepout poster which you can download here: Kirkbymoorside Sponsored Sleepout.
As you will have gathered from the new web site, York Nightstop Charity is now Safe and Sound Homes! The decision to change our name was confirmed at the AGM last year, after consultation with our members, hosts and young people using our services.
Our services have grown considerably over the past two years.
We now run two Supported Lodgings and six Short-Term accommodation
schemes across York and North Yorkshire and have been able to provide
help and support to a greater number of vulnerable young people than
ever before. It was felt that the name Safe and Sound Homes, originally
the name of one of our projects, better reflected the nature of our
work following recent developments. There is no change to the charity's
aims or beneficiaries.