Harehills English Language Project (360G-TwoRidingsCF-A657680)
Funding Organisation
£4,800
Recipient Organisation
Funding for room hire, including a creche, so that group can rebuild English language classes of various levels back to pre-pandemic levels.
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Grant Details
| Source | https://www.tworidingscf.org.uk/what-weve-funded/ |
| Award Date | 2022-09-14T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Amount Awarded | 4800 |
| Grant Programme: Code | 2022-2 |
| Grant Programme: Title | Bettys and Taylors Group Coronavirus Community Fund |
| Amount Applied For | 4880 |
| Beneficiary Location: Name | Leeds 048D |
| Beneficiary Location: Geographic Code | E01011429 |
| Beneficiary Location: Geographic Code Type | LSOA |
| Recipient Org: Web Address | https://help-esol.org.uk/ |
| Recipient Org: Description | Harehills English Language Project (HELP), provides free education, social opportunities and cultural activities to improve the well-being and confidence of learners who are mainly asylum seekers and refugees. Our learners often feel marginalised because of their experiences and journey getting to the UK, a feeling exacerbated by their lack of English. We support their individual development and help to promote inter-cultural harmony through our teaching of English. Classes originally started in 2006 at St Aidan’s Church with six students and as demand grew, we had to expand to nearby Trinity United Church in 2011. We became a registered charity in 2010 and recently changed our status to a CIO. Pre-Covid 19 we were able to host seven classes from beginner through to advanced, working with around 80 people from over 45 countries world-wide at any one time. We continued to provide classes through the pandemic using one-to-one and group online lessons and delivering home study packs to those unable to access our online provision. We are now returning to face-to face classes and are already seeing rising numbers of people coming to us for English tuition. We expect to be fully operational again in the new academic term starting September 2022. We are highly regarded by other local refugee projects that refer their clients to us, and of course by the learners themselves, many of whom find new friends and opportunities for employment. HELP provides a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment: a place where learners feel valued and where they know they will not be treated differently because of their background, gender, religion, or culture. We aim to help learners become less isolated by building on their self-esteem and confidence as they learn English, creating a greater level of community cohesion and stronger, safer communities. We are based in Harehills, Leeds which, although a vibrant multicultural community, also contains some of the poorest streets in the country, with a high unemployment rate, a history of civil unrest and drug, knife, and gun crime. Using experienced and dedicated volunteer tutors - most of whom are retired teachers and providing a free creche for up to 14 children, we can reach some of the most marginalised people and give them a chance to use their skills and knowledge and reach their potential in the UK. HELP, now an independent charity, was originally set up in April 2006 by the then assistant priest at St Aidan’s, Rev. Diana Zanker. It was called Supporting the Local Community at St Aidan’s and was in response to the pressing social and language needs of asylum seekers coming to St Aidan’s to worship and seek support. HELP has become an invaluable and highly regarded resource and many local refugee projects - Positive Action for Refugees, Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network, Touchstone Migrant Support Group - as well as housing associations and social workers, refer their clients to the classes and support we offer. HELP encourages feedback from its learners and tutors. Pre-Covid, HELP established a management team with a group of learners and tutors who met regularly to discuss day to day operations and ensure that learners and tutors have a voice and help inform the service. We will be returning to this as we continue to re-build our face-to-face service. A number of tutors sit on the board of trustees. The annual general meeting is open to all learners and tutors and we get a handful turning up for this event and giving feedback on their activities over the past year. We have a shortfall in the money we need for the hire of 5 rooms for classes at St Aidan's and 2 at Trinity United Churches where 2 classes and the 14-place free creche are held. We are grateful to both churches for subsidising our rents, but they too are experiencing money problems being sited in Harehills which has a high rate of unemployed people including many migrants who exist on low benefits and are living on the margins of society. |
| Recipient Org: Charity Number | 1193447 |