<![CDATA[Pressat Main Newswire]]> https://pressat.co.uk/rss/ <![CDATA[Pressat Main Newswire]]> https://pressat.co.uk/media/site/logo.png https://pressat.co.uk/rss/ en-gb Copyright: (C) Pressat Pressat <![CDATA[ Charity teaching abused and troubled kids looking for funding from businesses ]]> https://pressat.co.uk/releases/charity-teaching-abused-and-troubled-kids-looking-for-funding-from-businesses-715876603f23db32b3bcfbf14bb5a549/ https://pressat.co.uk/releases/charity-teaching-abused-and-troubled-kids-looking-for-funding-from-businesses-715876603f23db32b3bcfbf14bb5a549/ Thursday 17 October, 2013
We are a Charity working with some of the most troubled and abused kids around the York Area, as York is a big tourist city these problems aren't publicised.

A typical day for us starts at 6.30 when we open our doors to the public and also the Salvation Army who bring in some of the local homeless, we let them use the premises for a couple of hours as a place to stay off the streets, exercise and give them some self worth, trying to get them out of the habits of drink, drugs and petty crime by keeping them engaged in something worthwhile.

Then at 9.30 we open our door as an ALPS provider (Alternative Learning Provision), providing practical and life skills to kids referred from the City of York Council, York College and alot of the local Secondary Schools, they recognise our natural working relationship with children and young people who have become disengaged with education, many have not attended formal education from the age of 12. Our core age groups are 11 years to 16 years and 17 years to 24 years.
Alot of the kids cant manage in a formal education setting so our relaxed atmosphere helps this and we find the kids engaging and mixing with others which is new to them and is so good to see.

At 2pm the School day finishes and then at 2.15pm open our doors to the general public for a couple of hours, we also work in the afternoons closely with the police and get people sent to us who have been committing petty crime in the York area, we engage them in fitness and circuit training and over the last few months have built up a regular crowd.
At a meeting with the local Police officer who runs the project with us last week, we have achieved good results, as those who were offending have now become engaged in fitness and boxing and have changed their behaviour and the crime rate has dropped.

At 6pm we then open as a fitness centre offering a wide range of classes and activities to the general public, we welcome anybody from our youngest at 4 (my own son) to a 60 year old who regularly attends the fitness class.
We offer all our afternoon and evening classes/activities for a little as £1, this is for those who cant afford the yearly membership which is £100.
We now also have the OSA (Oriental Sports Association) working with us, so we can now offer a number of recognised qualifications in fitness and martial arts, including certificates such as City and Guilds. (At an extra cost)

All our afternoon and evening staff are volunteers and do it for the love.
Nobody in the area offers such a wide range of activities as we do, we are unique in what we do and what we offer.
But in order for us to carry on we need your support, we are struggling at the moment and the last thing we want to do is close our doors, please, please support us.

to help you can text JACK00 £?? to 70070, with where the ?? the amount you can afford, even if its £1 it will be greatly appreciated.
Or if you are a business and would like to offer your support to us please contact us through the email address on our Newsroom page.


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https://twitter.com/infoTjrcf Pressat russ.jackrainefoundation@gmail.com
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http://www.jackrainefoundation.org.uk 17 Oct 2013 22:28:49 GMT Business & Finance Education & Human Resources Charities & non-profits
<![CDATA[ Alot of people doubted me, but look at me now. ]]> https://pressat.co.uk/releases/alot-of-people-doubted-me-but-look-at-me-now-997e8423b52e444ebd9135d25fa813db/ https://pressat.co.uk/releases/alot-of-people-doubted-me-but-look-at-me-now-997e8423b52e444ebd9135d25fa813db/ Thursday 14 March, 2013
A one-time boxing club is turning around young lives in York. As a new film by Inspired Youth documents its work, director Kev Curran talks to the people who are making a difference.

The Jack Raine Community Foundation began life as a boxing club. Today it has developed into a remarkable organisation which helps young people turn their lives around. That was what inspired our film.

We wanted to tell the story of Jack Raine, who he was and why his legacy and the foundation is so important and valuable to those it helps. Jack founded the charity in 1967 as a sports club for children. A humble man, he never wanted accolades or praise for the difference he made, and his passion to support and help society’s lost and broken lives on in the foundation.
By making the film we aimed both to share their work with the wider community – and ask for their support. The foundation is financially vulnerable but York people can help by using the gym, and it is also looking for potential funders.

So what does the Jack Raine Community Foundation do? It provides alternative education for vulnerable young people who are disengaged with mainstream schooling. Jack Raine is also a community gym and a resource open to the public.

Russ Harrison Potts, foundation trustee, said: “We work in partnership with Danesgate [York’s pupil support centre] and Youth Offending teams to engage young people.

“We also work with local frontline services such as the Salvation Army and North Yorkshire Police, providing opportunities for adults to break their cycle of crime and addiction by offering classes that take them off the streets and engage them in positive meaningful activities.


“Jack Raine is trying to provide as much under one roof as possible. It’s open to anyone, of all ages and all backgrounds.”
People who come through the doors of the JRCF are facing a range of issues, all kinds of problems, right across the board,” says foundation manager Sam Shaw.

These can range from behavioral issues, drugs or alcohol dependency, homelessness to mental health issues and many others. “JRCF are working with some of the most severe cases of abuse in the city and along side often very damaged young people.”

How do you turn lives around? “Jack Raine is more than a boxing club,” says Russ. “Boxing is just ten per cent of what we do. We use sports as a vehicle to engage some of society’s most damaged young people. It can be life changing: by rebuilding self worth and developing confidence, people grow and start to believe in themselves again.”

The foundation provides alternative education, from GCSEs to Duke of Edinburgh awards right through to ASDAN qualifications. “It’s proven that any sport helps develop and improve mental and physical wellbeing and we have seen this in practice in our everyday work,” Russ said. “At the start of the journey young people are often apathetic, uncooperative and difficult to engage.

“It takes time to build relationships but once you gain their trust you begin to see them flourish. We believe everybody has potential. Due to their past experiences the young people we work with have low self esteem and unlocking their potential requires dedication and making them feel believed in when they feel like everybody else has given up.”
Foundation user Kyle is a fantastic example of a life transformed. Written off by everyone and his life spiralling in the wrong direction, Kyle was not engaging with mainstream education. Jack Raine was his last chance.

Foundation head coach Billy talks of his first impressions: “When I met him, he was going nowhere, jail, that’s where he was heading.”

Withdrawn and unhappy, Kyle admits that he went along to Jack Raine “so people would get off my case”. But after a few weeks his attitude mellowed. “I realised that they were the real people, trying to bring out the best in you, focusing on your good points, not your bad points.”

Things started to change. “I was stopping on my mum’s sofa, smoking weed all the time, not really making anything of my life. Now because of Jack Raine I have got a job and I have got my own flat. A lot of people doubted me, but look at me now.”


Kyle is humble about his own success, about how far he has come as an individual and what he has achieved. Since starting out as a kitchen porter at an established York hotel, he has been promoted twice and is now chef de partie.

Talking about the transformation, Billy says: “Now he’s got ambition and he’s going somewhere. Seeing the change is like winning the lottery. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

The foundation has its roots in boxing. Does the sport still play an important part? “Boxing is an Olympic sport but can often have negative connotations,” says Russ. “Boxing is still at the heart of what we do. Without the boxing club the charity wouldn’t exist and visa versa.

“Boxing is the first thing people may talk about and associate us with but there is a lot more going on in the background. Our engagement with people expands beyond the initial sports into so many other aspects of their life, from family to their education, sexual heath, relationships, almost every social angle.

“We are open, accessible and when young people are inside the foundation it’s keeping them engaged in something and off the streets.”

Liam, head youth worker at the foundation, said the young people they see often thrive in a different environment. “Nine times out of ten they’re not bad kids, just misunderstood and a classroom environment doesn’t really suit them.”
Does Russ think the number of troubled youngsters is increasing? “Yes. I think if you look at society today, social problems are definitely growing, and at a time where those working to address them are under massive pressure to stay alive.

“We are seeing children as young as ten and eleven. The issues we see today are more complex, often mental health issues. Youth unemployment and homelessness are growing, both locally and nationally. These kinds of issues facing young people, homelessness, drugs, drink, petty crime, they all go hand in hand. We see these problems face to face, we meet the real people behind the statistics, day in day out.”

Young people need more positive role models. “Jack Raine believes inspiring mentors and coaches are a key part of engaging with young people and building positive relationships with them. Our team is diverse and the staff have a range of life experiences which help them to relate to the young people who come through our doors.”

The foundation is all about giving people second chances and reengaging them. “We are too quick in society to write young people off. The media demonise young people as ‘troublemakers’ but the majority of the young people who come through our doors are just misunderstood.

“We believe that you shouldn’t judge young people on the surface and that their behaviour is more of a symptom of a much deeper issue; whether that be the experience of growing up in care or experiencing abuse growing up, anger and poor attitudes are often a mask for more serious emotional problems underneath.”

The film has had “a massive impact” on those who’ve seen it, Russ said. “It’s been awe-inspiring – it really moves people.” It has also helped Inspired Youth to be named Official Partner at the No/Gloss Film Festival 2013.

One viewer was Brendan Foley, write and film director. He wrote:
I get asked to watch a great many films and read a lot of scripts, many of which are pretty dire, so it is wonderful when something with real heart comes into view. The 20 minute mini-docu on the Jack Raine Community Foundation, turning around young lives in York has some great ingredients: real characters, honesty and some great true stories. It might make a springboard for a full documentary in the right hands. Regardless, it deserves to be seen as widely as possible, and shouted from the rooftops.
The future of the foundation

Russ says that in the current financial and social climate the pressure is on all third sector organisations at a time when we are needed more than ever.

“Keeping the Jack Raine Foundation alive is hard work. Like most charities we are fighting everyday to keep going, so we can continue to make a difference in the community.

“Raising funds and resources are a constant battle. But we hope to use the film and the inspiring stories like Kyle’s to draw in the right support, to really show people what is possible when you really engage with people. Everyone can be someone.”


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http://www.jackrainefoundation.org.uk 14 Mar 2013 18:45:57 GMT Charities & non-profits Children & Teenagers
<![CDATA[ Charity in York teaching disengaged kids ]]> https://pressat.co.uk/releases/charity-in-york-teaching-disengaged-kids-d53b0365127123ebc25c19b88759602d/ https://pressat.co.uk/releases/charity-in-york-teaching-disengaged-kids-d53b0365127123ebc25c19b88759602d/ Monday 30 November, -0001
During the day we are a community based Alternative Learning Provision for young people requiring support away from more formal education routes, our core age groups are 11-16 and 17-22 years of age, alot of the children we teach have been abused in some kind of way Physically/Sexually or mentally, we have to build up there trust first then we can start to help them by breaking down their barriers and set about changing the direction of their lives into a more positive one.

The charity also offers avenues into employment and volunteering for young adults aged 16 to 24yrs, providing welfare support on drug and drink related addictions, homelessness, sexual health and abuse, through drop-in advice sessions to more intense one on one mentoring.

All support is based round education, welfare, health and sport while recognising progression routes to a happy and independent lifestyle away from the negatives that are stopping the individual from making a change to their lives. Recently moving into new premises in Walmgate York, more young people and their families are accessing the charities support services.

In an afternoon and evening we open as a fitness centre offering a wide range of activities and classes including: boxing, thai boxing, kung fu, fitness classes, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, watch your weight diet monitoring, kids boxing and fitness classes, we also have a small cardio and weights room, traversing wall (climbing wall), peg board climbing wall and campus board and floor to ceiling climbing rope.

All our classes are £1 but we encourage those who can afford it to take our yearly membership of £100, this then helps to pay towards those who cannot afford the membership.

We also have 2 static caravans at Reighton sands offering holidays and respite breaks to our community who would normally not be able to afford a traditional family holiday, the holidays are heavily subsidised, a ‘can afford donation’ or free to families who are referred or self-referred.

Respite breaks are offered to young carers, families with a family member who is in ill or who just needs a bit of time out, refresh, to build family memories and enjoy the benefits of a family holiday.

We have just been given the use of 4 1/2acres of woodlands just outside York, we plan on doing a wide range of activities including mountain biking, orienteering, bush craft, shelter building, bridge building and other outdoor activities.


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http://www.jackrainefoundation.org.uk 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 GMT Education & Human Resources Health Charities & non-profits