The Guardian Charity Awards, now in their 21st year, seek to recognise excellence in small and medium-sized charities. Our five winners have demonstrated innovative, pioneering work and they all make an outstanding contribution to social welfare in the community. We hope these awards will bring them recognition, boost their credibility and open doors to future success.
Resurgo Trust
Resurgo is perhaps best known for its widely acclaimed pre-employment programme, Spear, and it's business facing sister project, SpearHead. These projects provide coaching services to create sustainable employment for disadvantaged young people. Resurgo changes the lives of the individuals who go on the Spear course and in so doing, impacts the wider community as well. In the business community, SpearHead helps companies reap the benefits of hiring a more diverse work force by providing specialised recruitment and coaching services. Over 10 years the charity has supported more than 2,000 young people into employment, worked with over 800 volunteers and 200 businesses and has developed a local-presence in 7 different geographical areas. Resurgo exists to help communities overcome social challenges through unique social ventures. The charity's initiatives bring together skills and resources from across the wider neighbourhood, and tackle complex issues in a transformative way.
Teens and Toddlers
Teens and Toddlers inspire disadvantaged young people in poor areas to succeed at school, in work and in the community. It does this by giving them the life skills and self-belief they need to understand who they are, who they can become and what they can achieve. The charity has a major impact on society because it tackles the root causes which lead to young people dropping out, such as low self-esteem, poor educational attainment and lack of positive role models. Teens and Toddlers reduce the likelihood of 'at risk' young people, countrywide, becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) and becoming involved in risky/anti-social behaviour (teen pregnancy/drugs/crime).
Wheels for Wellbeing
Wheels for Wellbeing exists to ensure that everyone can cycle because it passionately believes that older and disabled people have equal rights to access the outdoors and physical exercise. The charity owns the largest fleet of non-standard cycles in London (over 200 cycles) and it runs regular inclusive cycling sessions for people of all ages, impairments or health conditions ( e.g. physical disabilities, learning difficulties, visual impairments, mental health issues and chronic fatigue etc.). Sessions take place weekly at the iconic Herne Hill Velodrome and two other venues in South London. Wheels for Wellbeing also take bikes to special schools and day centres. Sessions are fully inclusive so families and friends experience the joy of feeling the wind in their hair together. Wheels for Wellbeing campaigns to raise awareness of the fact that disabled and older people do cycle and to ensure that cycling facilities and infrastructure are fully inclusive so everyone can integrate cycling into their lives.
WILD Young Parents Project
WILD has supported young parents under 23 and their children, working across Cornwall since 1992. It aims to work holistically to enable young parent families to address long-term barriers to moving out of poverty, improving health and wellbeing and raising aspirations. WILD provides young parents and their children with opportunities to develop skills, improve self-esteem, make positive and healthy choices, protect themselves, participate in their communities and achieve their potential. 95% WILD young parents are living on benefits. 76% need help with housing and 82% with money, and use of Foodbank has quadrupled. 79% WILD parents need help with mental ill health, 62% with family conflict, and a quarter of WILD children experience child protection, care or similar proceedings. The charity targets areas with high levels of deprivation and child poverty and its work is outcomes-focused, with performance targeted towards positive outcomes in the areas of Child Poverty, Family Relationships and Healthy Living.
Yorkshire and Humberside Circles of Support and Accountability
Yorkshire and Humberside Circles of Support and Accountability (YHCOSA) work towards a substantial reduction in sexual offending and aim to develop a greater public understanding of community approaches to public protection. Its charitable objectives are linked to the rehabilitation of sexual offenders, ensuring that the people it works with do not reoffend. YHCOSA supports them and, importantly, holds them to account for their actions. Its strap line is 'no more victims'. The charity recruits and trains members of the community to work in groups of four, alongside police and probation, to assist in the reintegration of socially isolated and emotionally lonely sexual offenders who are committed to leading an offence free life style. Last year volunteers gave over 4,000 hours of their time freely to work with people who, in the eyes of many in society, are the 'dregs'. They do this because they want to make a difference.