28th June 2024 National Cream Tea Day

Its the ninth year we are celebrating national Cream Tea Day.Cream tea day is a British holiday that celebrates the etiquette and history of drinking tea with scones filled with clotted cream and jam. Its so delicious!! The eternal question is do you put the cream on first or last? You can enjoy a cream tea with family, make it an event where you bring everyone together whether is friends or family. It doesn’t require any cooking, just lash the cream and jam on!!!

You could hold a cream tea event and make it a fundraising event for Grace House and its doesn’t have to be on the national day as you can eat cream teas all year round!!!

If you would like to fundraise please email [email protected]

Autistic Pride Day is celebrated annually on June 18th. It is a day dedicated to recognising and honouring the diversity, talents, and strengths of autistic individuals across the world. It serves as a platform to raise awareness about autism spectrum disorders, challenge stereotypes, and promote acceptance and inclusion.
Everyone at Grace House recognises and celebrates the unique perspectives and contributions of autistic individuals to society.

By recognising and celebrating Autistic Pride Day, Grace House aim to inspire positive change by challenging ableism and promoting a culture of inclusion, acceptance, and celebration of diversity. Our aim is that this celebration creates ripple effects, influencing attitudes and behaviours in the wider community and beyond.

Join us here at Grace House in recognising and celebrating Autism Pride Day 2024. Many autistic pride events can be small, personal celebrations! You can show support by wearing a symbolic infinity rainbow pin or ribbon. Or share a post raising awareness within your community, such as a post from someone autistic talking about their experiences. You could participate in a fundraising activity and donate to local organisations that support those with autism. Spend some time educating yourself and others about autism and what you can do to support people around you who are autistic.

Become a volunteer here at Grace House by emailing [email protected], we’d love to welcome you on board, it’s a great opportunity to learn from those with autism, celebrate their achievements and help their voices be heard.

Learning Disability week Monday 17th to 23rd June 2024

The theme for Learning Disability Week 2024 is “Do you see me?” It is all about being seen, heard and valued – a positive message that has been created by people with a learning disability to build a movement of change.

At Grace House this message is a driving force in all we set out to achieve for our young people. We believe they can make an active and valued contribution in the world and our services are created to increase the young person’s emotional resilience, and confidence. We also provide a variety of opportunities so they can make their own decisions about their future life choices.

The opportunities we deliver include work experience in bars, shops, admin and social media. We also provide fun activities such as youth groups, mindfulness sessions and counselling which can assist with confidence issues.

How can you get involved in the work Grace House does?
• Talk about and challenge the barriers that people with a learning disability face.
• Spread awareness of Learning Disability Week on social media.
• Donate to Grace House to help us continue to support all disabilities.

Carers Week 10th -16th June 2024

At Grace House we know that, often carers do not stop to think about themselves and their own health and wellbeing due to the demands of their caring role. Carers week is a perfect time to take a moment to think about yourself and to celebrate you!

Did you know…
• Carers save our country £132 billion per year
• Three in five of us will become carers at some point
• Every day, 6000 people take on a caring role
• On average it takes 2-3 years for a person to realise that they actually are a carer
• One in three carers are the primary carer, the main person providing care to an individual

We have lots of support for parents and family carers here at Grace House including;
• Specialised support groups
• Guest speakers
• Holistic Wellbeing sessions
• Therapeutic Creative Sessions
• Advice and Signposting and much more

Please contact Lyn [email protected] or Vicki [email protected] to find out more or go to our booking page to find out what activities we have on.
https://gracehouse.bookwhen.com/schedules/dl6wo6qtpm31#

Visit carersweek.org to find out more including events that may be happening near you.

Volunteers Week at Grace House

Here at Grace House, we celebrate Volunteers’ Week every year. We congratulate the volunteers on all the hard work and support they have given throughout the year and say “Thank You” to them. The theme this year is “Uniquely Us” and Volunteers Week is being celebrated between 3 and 9th June 2024.

Volunteers Week’ was first established in 1984, is an annual event and celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Almost one in five (16%) people report volunteering at least once a month (about 8.3m people in the UK).

Volunteering throughout the years of Grace House has changed slightly, we can proudly say we have seen a lot of the young people who have accessed our services now become volunteers. Volunteering allows individuals to flourish, gain new skills, boost their self-esteem and give back to society.

At Grace house, we are holding a themed Volunteers’ Day on the 4th June which will be ‘Grace of Thrones’, this year. We will have a games tournament with make your own pizza, and the day will be filled with lots of fun to thank our volunteers for their outstanding help.

If you are interested in volunteering contact [email protected] to find out more! Here’s Hannah one of our young volunteers, who gets involved in lots of events at Grace House!

In partnership with Together for Children, we hosted another highly successful Employment Enrichment Event on Friday, 26th January 2024, at Grace House. The event catered to children and young people with SEND from Sunderland and the surrounding areas.

The turnout was remarkable, with over a hundred young attendees. Tailored for disabled children, their families, and young people, the event aimed to inspire our work experience participants and young people to enhance their understanding of the work environment. It also sought to help them learn how to acquire employability skills, elevate their aspirations, and build confidence in transitioning from school or sixth form to employment.

The exhibitors at the event shared insights about their businesses, skill development for careers, volunteering, and work experience opportunities. They provided valuable advice on what constitutes a suitable candidate, offered CV guidance and templates, and detailed the types of positions available, along with giveaways and information for the attendees.

Young individuals with special educational needs or disabilities are particularly vulnerable and at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment, or training). Therefore, effective career guidance is crucial for students with SEND. Grace House extends heartfelt gratitude to all who participated and contributed to making this event a reality for our young people.

Feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing their appreciation for the opportunities presented at the event. One parent commented, “I would like to congratulate you on a brilliant event. My daughter felt valued and saw a wealth of opportunities ahead of her. Thank you all for your exceptional service and support.”

Links to exhibitors
Job Centre
Support, training and advice on finding your next opportunity – JobHelp
Springboard North East | Courses, Training and Apprenticeships
Together For Children – Together for Children
Project Choice – Supported Internships | Health Education England
Homegrown
Bill Quay Farm
Home – Sunderland College
Tailored Leisure | Ability not Disability
Sunderland PCF | Our strength is our shared experience