40 Years Of Smiles
We’ve been running arts and creative media learning projects in and around York since 1982, a whole 40 years. Since then, culture and society have changed but one thing’s stayed the same: our stance on inclusion and accessibility. We want to see an inclusive society, where everyone gets the chance to shine.
Our projects are designed to make sure everyone gets a say in what happens, which we think is important. Knowing you've got a voice that other people want to listen to can can have a really positive impact on wellbeing.
Feeling valued by and connected to your community can also improve wellbeing. And our person-centred approach means our guys can have a say in what matters to them.
The people who take part in our sessions often face difficulty with everyday activities and can end up feeling isolated and cut off. Our projects provide a fun, safe environment where people can safely explore the world around them and make new friends.
No matter what the project’s focussed on, be it filmmaking, music making or even baking, helping people develop skills and confidence has always been one of our key aims. These skills can be transferred to other parts of our particapnts' lives including education, training and employment.
Through our projects, people feel happy, connected, confident and valued, all of which can have a really positive impact on their mental wellbeing. And that means even more smiles!
Every year, we deliver hundreds of creative learning sessions. Since our humble beginnings in 1982 we’ve engaged over 10,000 people in our projects.
Every year we ask our participants for feedback on their sessions. Here’s what they had to say earlier this year:
• 100% told us that taking part makes them feel happy
• 96% said that taking part has helped them be more confident
• 89% said taking part helps them feel connected to their friends
• 94% said taking part has helped them get better at communicating
• 87% feel they have a say in what happens in sessions
It's smiles like these that have kept us going these last 40 years!
You can help lay the foundations for the next 40 years.
Head to our Donate page and donate today.