Posted on Wednesday 04 Mar

The Margaret Carey Foundation is a charity working in Bradford to advance the education of young ex-offenders by providing vocational training. Founded in 2010, the project has been teaching people how to refurbish bicycles and wheelchairs. These are either sold in store to raise funds for the charity or donated to various people in need.

The Hays Travel Foundation voted in favour of a £5,000 grant which allowed the charity to continue delivering their project. Since receiving our funding, the Margaret Carey Foundation has been working hard to continue helping people rehabilitate their lives and grow the organisation.

The charity has seen a positive development, being able to employ two part time staff members and is currently working on establishing a workshop approved by City and Guilds, which would allow the MCF to deliver nationally recognised L2 bike mechanic qualifications.

We are happy we could help and look forward to the next update from the charity!

Posted on Wednesday 04 Mar

CoMusica at Sage Gateshead supports children and young people experiencing challenging circumstances to fulfil their potential through music. They engage in technology and production, song writing and singing, DJing and MCing, percussion, orchestral ensembles and instrumental groups.

The Hays Travel Foundation voted in favour of a £15,000 grant across two years to support the music inclusion project. Engaging in music and creative arts has helped to increase personal and social development, confidence, resilience and aspirations.

Feedback from the project is positive and it seems that the activities have had a major role in the participants development. Graeme who takes part in Music Spark a programme provided as part of CoMusica, had this to say: “Coming here has changed my life. I feel happier, I have matured and become more confident.”

We are really pleased to see the amazing work the project has been doing and look forward to hearing more about its success!

Posted on Monday, Sep 30

Wetwheels Foundation aims to build the confidence of disabled people by offering them the opportunity to access the sea in a fun, safe, stimulating and rewarding way using specially modified, fully accessible powerboats.

This year, the Hays Travel foundation granted the charity £5,000 to help with the running costs of 10 days of Wetwheels events in the North East and Yorkshire area. We recently visited the project and experience first-hand the impact it has on young people. Some of the children have life limiting conditions and for them, feeling the speed of the boat, the smell of the ocean breeze and the touch of the sea is an unforgettable experience.

Peter Richardson, Chairman and founding director of Wetwheels Yorkshire CIC, said this after our visit: “It was really great to receive the support that we got. The grant we received set us on the right path this year, allowing us to get lots of young disable people on the water”.

We were really impressed with the impact that this activity has on the children and look forward to hearing more about the success stories the charity will have.