GiveLoveLeeds Podcast

In 2018 we partnered with Leeds City Council, Public Health to establish and run the Men's Suicide Prevention Programme, supporting projects which aims to provide funding for voluntary and community organisations to support social activities for men and to provide outreach work with targeted communities to reduce social isolation. ​Since 2018 this ground-breaking programme has enabled preventative work with men who are at the highest risk of suicide in Leeds, five times higher than women, and higher than the national average.​  The fund has distributed over £240k in grants, supporting 17 projects and 1,378 men across Leeds. These projects ranged from men's walking groups, a men's mental fitness group programme to improve resilience, coping strategies and wellbeing to live theatre performances aiming to raise awareness of men's mental health issues.In this episode, we'll be talking about the Men's Suicide Prevention Programme we've managed over the past 3 years.  The main aim of which, is to provide funding for voluntary and community organisations to support social activities for men and to provide outreach work with target communities to reduce social isolation.In this episode we're joined by Duncan Millard from Humans Being and Cheryl Harrington from Brackenwood Community Association,  two Community Organistions who have been supported through the programme and are working to increase social connections particularly for men who are at greater risk of becoming social isolated. A full transcript of this podcast can be found here.If you are going through a tough time or you know someone that may need help, you don't have to face it alone. You can contact Mindwell on 0800 1830558 or on their website here. Alternatively you can get in contact with the Samaritans on 116 123 or drop them any email at jo@samaritans.org.Leeds Community Foundation distributes vital grants and gives trusted advice to voluntary groups and charities across Leeds to influence positive change.  Driven by creating meaningful social impact for thousands of local people every year.  During 2020/2021 we have distributed £5.8m across Leeds and Bradford.Learn more about Leeds Community Foundation and subscribe to our newsletter here.Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LeedsCommFound.

In this episode, we'll be looking at Leeds' thriving tech and digital sector and how we can work more collaboratively with them to share a passion and commitment to bring about a sustainable change across Leeds. Leeds digital sector is currently the fastest growing in the UK, and employs around 30,000 people, contributing to £6.6bn to the local economy. It has continued to thrive during the pandemic and is playing a vital role in the city's economic recovery. But not everyone is thriving in the world of digital.  10% of the adult population are not online at all, according to the Office of National Statistics which is a staggering 5 million people.  The pandemic highlighted issues of digital inequality in Leeds. Access to or lack of internet and technological equipment such as laptops and computers led to children already at a disadvantage falling further behind with their education. In this episode we're joined by Ben McKenna of Solidaritech and David Smith of Crossgates & District Good Neighbour's Scheme, two Community Organisations tackling the digital divide in our local communities.  We're also joined by Stuart Clarke co-founder of Leeds Digital Festival who talks about how the tech and digital sector can get involved to help tackle the divide.A full transcript of the podcast can be found here. Leeds Community Foundation creates opportunities for all by working with partners to make a positive impact within communities across Leeds and Bradford. We do this by generating and investing philanthropic giving as well as maximising statutory funding to deliver grants and provide trusted expertise into Community Organisations, benefitting thousands of local people.Learn more about Leeds Community Foundation and subscribe to our newsletter here.Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LeedsCommFound.

Podcast DescriptionFollowing on from Pride Month, in this episode we'll be looking at the landscape in Leeds for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) people and will discuss the important work delivered by Community Organisations in supporting these communities across Leeds. In a recent report by the Leeds LGBT+ Mapping Project, which captures the landscape of the LGBTQIA+ Community within Leeds, 82% of respondents said Leeds was an LGBTQIA+ friendly city. The work that goes on within Leeds for their community also allows people to feel part of something larger with a diverse range of activities, support and platforms to raise their voice available, with there being a wide range of steering groups, sports groups, support and social groups also available across the city.We're joined by Cllr Hannah Bithell (@hanbithell on Twitter), Leeds City Council's LGBT+ Champion, Maggie Dawkins from  Leeds LGBT+ Forum  and Susan Phillips from Leeds LGBT+ Consortium two Community Organisations we've had the privilege of supporting. As part of our ongoing work to support LGBTQIA+ communities, we recently launched the Connecting Older LGBT+ People - Micro Fund, in partnership with Leeds Older Peoples Forum, to support older LGBT+ people in Leeds and confront loneliness and social isolation. Learn more about the fund here.A full transcript of the podcast can be found hereLeeds Community Foundation is an organisation that supports thousands of charities across Leeds and surrounding areas, addressing inequalities.  We invest in these groups by distributing grants and sharing advice - acting as a catalyst for positive change.Learn more about Leeds Community Foundation and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LeedsCommFound.Reach out below for LGBTQIA+ Support:https://www.mesmac.co.uk/our-services/leeds/support-social-groups https://www.meetup.com/cities/gb/45/leeds/lgbtq/  

The Healthy Holidays Programme helps to support some of the one in five children who live in poverty in Leeds. 28,600 children are eligible for free school meals and we know from our communities that feeding children in school holidays is a growing challenge for parents. We know that returning to school in poor physical and mental condition can have a highly detrimental impact on a child's wellbeing as well as educational attainment. Sadly, this can mean disadvantaged pupils finish secondary school over 19 months behind their peers.During term time, family's dependent on free school meals have a structure to support fragile finances, often caused through insecure work, housing or other issues. During the holidays, especially the long holidays, there are a range of additional costs on that family budget for additional childcare to allow parents or carers to work the cost of additional meals and providing purposeful creative activity for youngsters.The Healthy Holidays Programme has given access to healthy activities and meals for school children, reducing the impact of pressures on families and increasing opportunities and experiences for young people during the school holidays.  In this episode, our CEO, Kate Hainsworth is joined by Francesca Wood who has been coordinating the Healthy Holiday Programme over the past few years to share her experience of managing the programme and some of her key highlights.  She's also joined by Becky Houlding from New Wortley Community Association and Elissa Newman from Holbeck Together, two Community Organisations who have received Healthy Holidays funding  who share the impact of these vital funds. Please search #healthyholidaysleeds on Twitter to see some of the fantastic work that's been carried out so far.A full transcript of the podcast can be found here.Leeds Community Foundation is an organisation that supports thousands of charities and voluntary groups across Leeds, addressing inequalities.  We invest in these groups by distributing grants and sharing advice - acting as a catalyst for positive change.Learn more about Leeds Community Foundation and subscribe to our newsletter here: https://www.leedscf.org.uk/stay-in-touch/Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LeedsCommFound.

In this episode we discuss how local communities have been affected by the pandemic, our response through our Resilience Fund and the impact that has had on the grassroots communities we work alongside.We're joined by Nathanya Laurent of Leeds South and East Foodbank and Stef Gascoigne of RJC Dance, two Community Organisations who received funding, who share their experiences since the start of their pandemic and how they have adapted to continue to support their communities.Leeds South and East Foodbank provide emergency support to local residents experience food poverty.RJC Dance is the leading inclusive Black dance organisation in the North empowering young people and adults through movement. You can follow and connect with Leeds South and East Foodbank and RJC Dance at:https://leedssouthandeast.foodbank.org.uk/https://www.rjcdance.org.uk/A full transcript of this podcast can be found here.Leeds Community Foundation, is an organisation that supports thousands of charities and voluntary groups across Leeds, addressing inequalities.  We invest in these groups by distributing grants and sharing advice – acting as a catalyst for positive change. Learn more about Leeds Community Foundation and subscribe to our newsletter here: https://leedscf.org.uk/stay-in-touch/Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LeedsCommFound.