Help Zac's make a difference to a young persons life

Farnworth and the surrounding areas are some of the poorest, most deprived (top 5%) in England. 37% of children live in poverty, often resulting in them suffering from high levels of exclusion, bullying, emotional/social/family issues, loneliness, low self confidence, and ultimately having no hope for the future- leading to high levels of depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.

We want to light up the way for young people to reach their full potential, leading to a life which contains happiness, confidence, hope, relationships and employment. Our activities provide an alternative way of learning and succeeding, supporting them to a brighter future.

A young person?s story?.

Helen is a 15 year old girl who came to the listening service after the death (caused by a serious crime) of a close friend. She was struggling to grieve and had shut herself off from those around her, and had really struggled to communicate and deal with her feelings. She also had high levels of anxiety, often worrying about her friends and families safety ? whilst showing lack of concern for her own welfare.

One to one support was given, as well as access to group support sessions, and less formal drop in activities all with the aim of helping her deal with her feelings of grief, and equip her to live a healthier life moving forward.

She says ?Zac?s helped me talk about things that I would have been keeping in my head? resulting in her choosing to decrease her reliance on alcohol to ?forget? her problems and seeing a positive change in her confidence levels, her mental health, and generally how she looks after herself.
(*young person?s name has been changed)

You can support young people like Helen, giving financial support, and making a huge difference to their lives

The activities we provide: -
Reach out ? going out to young people to engage with them in their schools, on the streets, and sometimes in their homes to ?meet them where they are at? removing some of the barriers that can prevent them getting support.
Safety & Security - promoting and enabling the development of positive and meaningful relationships, in a safe space, supporting their journey to reaching their full potential living healthy balanced lives.

Meet their needs - whether its food, someone to talk to, or other forms of support, we work with partners to provide for what the young people need, whilst equipping them with the tools, motivation and ability to meet those needs for themselves in the future.

The demand for our services increases every year and we never want to have to turn a young person away, or for them to have to wait for a long period of time for a one to one, when they need us most ? but to do this we need your help. Please will you consider giving a young person Like Helen a Christmas present this year by making a donation that will truly make a difference to their lives for many years to come.

In 2018 we supported 1026 individual young people, across all our activities, and we have seen: -

97% Reduced participation in activities such as crime/ASB/alcohol, 83% Increased their confidence/self-esteem/respect for themselves & for others, 70% Increased their social & communication skills & improved their physical/mental health, 51% Improved their teamwork & leadership skills, 49% reported reduced isolation & feelings of loneliness, 34% gained stronger independent living skills, and 27% developed a new skill, hobby or interest.

This Christmas we want to bring hope to those who feel hopeless by increasing our supportive activities encouraging young people to learn and succeed and be inspired for their futures.

We need your support to help us achieve this and are asking you to consider giving: -
? Regular/One off financial donation ? towards the costs of supporting these young people
? Donations of services/equipment/time to improve the services we can offer to the young people
? Donations of your time as a volunteer (email getinvolved@zacsyouthbar.co.uk for more info)

Be the change, make a difference, and change some of the most deprived children & young people?s lives.

Almost 60% of our budget for the year has been promised/secured through grants from various sources including The National Lottery (Reaching Communities Fund), Bolton Council, Provident Financial, Henry Smith Foundation, and BBC Children in Need but in order to increase the support available and make an even bigger difference we need your donations towards raising at least £15,250 which will enable us to increase the vital mental health listening service one to one support hours available to the Young People.

Your support can make the difference in a young person?s life:
? £5 could provide stationary to support a young person in their school work and activities.
? £30 could provide an hour?s one to one ?listening service? support to a young person.
? £60 could provide a free healthy home cooked meal to 70 hungry children/young people.
? £180 could provide a full diagnosis of a young person?s individual learning needs.
? £350 could provide a young person a personalised programme aimed at preparing them for work, re-engaging in education, and developing the skills/abilities/qualities needed for success.
? £750 could provide a laptop and projector for use in development activities such as writing CV?s, searching for jobs/training, providing homework support, which increase the young people?s prospects.
? £1750 could provide a 2-hour weekly support session for young people with Special Educational Needs for a year.
? £15,250 could provide a part time ?mental health focussed listener? to support to provide 16 hours of one to one listening time each week.

So, please do something special this Christmas; give a gift that will enable young people to receive the support they need and to get the best start to their future. Please give as generously as you can.