Local Charities
Below are some local charities across the three counties Aspire Higher works in and ways in which you can get involved through volunteering and supporting their work. Food banks through the Trussell Trust are a national initiative and through their website helps people find local food banks and ways to get involved.
Local volunteering through Mutual Aid / Good Neighbours Scheme have become particularly popular through the pandemic and continue to support people even now.
Bedfordshire
FACES - (Family and Children's Early-help Services) is a well established local independent charity offering practical and emotional support to families under stress.
Bedfordshire Food Bank - part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK. They provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis.
Bedford Islamic Centre - The centre provides prayers and worshipping facilities and promotes good community relations with other ethnic communities in the area.
GNGB - GNGB is a Sikh educational charity that serves Sikhs in Bedford, the people of Bedfordshire and surrounding communities according to Sikh universal values.
Hertfordshire
Herts Young Homeless - support young people dealing with homelessness throughout the year. Over the Christmas period there are a number of ways to support them including a Santa fun run and their Big Herts Christmas Bake.
Hertfordshire and District Foodbank - part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK. They provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis. This Christmas they are issuing Christmas hampers and are happy to receive any donations through supermarket collection bins.
Youth Connexions Hertfordshire - YCH enables young people to learn new skills, increase their knowledge and develop confidence, self-esteem and resilience through local youth projects. Wherever you live in Hertfordshire you will find a youth project you can join on their website.
Communities 1st - a portal for discovering local volunteering opportunities around Hertsmere and St Albans District.
Northampton
Northampton Hope - a charity tackling homelessness and poverty, helping people experiencing the most acute problems of disadvantage, exclusion and marginalisation.
Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire - helps people to find suitable volunteering opportunities across Northamptonshire.
Nene Valley Community Action - NVCA exists to support all individuals and groups within the local community by providing help, opportunities to enable people to realise their ambitions and advice and information to local groups to enable them to continue to meet the needs of local people.
Volunteer Centre Daventry - Daventry Volunteer Centre promotes all aspects of volunteering in the local area and helps people find volunteering opportunities.
Kettering Voluntary Network - Kettering Voluntary Network recruit potential volunteers for all sectors of the community and signposts them to local organisations or groups who need volunteers to help them with their work.
South Northants Volunteer Bureau - works across the whole district of South Northamptonshire, which lies to the south west of Northampton to support local people to provide services and help to residents so that they can lead healthy and enjoyable lives and to strengthen the voluntary and community sector.