2018 marks our 18th Birthday. After 18 years of sharing God’s love and supporting children growing up in poverty, we have spent a chunk of time reflecting on the incredible journey so far and restructuring so we can reach more families, build deeper relationships with children and transform more lives. Can you help us?
The children of our city are the community changers and nation shakers; our job is to help them to shine. Life expectancy is 10 years below average in some of the areas that we serve and child poverty has huge effects on mental health, brain development and life chances. We don’t think that this is ok. This is our city. These are our children. Can you stand with Kidz Klub to #bethedifference?
In the next 6 weeks, we will be publishing “18 ways to give to Leeds children”. We have ideas for individuals, churches, corporates and groups of friends to give in all sorts of ways: money, time, prayers, conversations, expertise, baking and much more.
It’s our birthday AND it’s Christmas… Can you join us and #bethedifference for the children of Leeds? Get ready for more next week.
Here is a little more about the changes at Kidz Klub:
We’ve been working across the city for 18 years. We are firmly established as part of community life in the areas that we serve and have the privilege of being a part of. Our approach has been to support children at home, at school and in their community. We work alongside partners locally and across the city, and with churches to share God’s life changing love, in word and deed with over 1,000 children growing up in poverty in Leeds.
The need for our work is growing and as we have reflected on 18 years of practice we have developed a new shape and structure for what we do, not to consolidate but to get ready for more to come and to build on the opportunities we have.
The newly structured Kidz Klub will include: substantially growing our family support work and young leaders programme, a large scale central weekly event for up to 1000 children in time, new local Hub Klub’s in communities for all of the children (300 initially) and continued schools work and home visiting for all of the children who attend. Our approach in all of this remains working locally, as well as encouraging more people to relocate and live in the children’s communities.
What will these changes enable us to do:
- Children will have more support locally, including discipleship.,We invite kids to,new smaller discipleship Hub Klub spaces where the emphasis is upon them being the community changers. Support will be grown through stronger links with other local services and church families.
- We will be able to reach more children and families and support struggling families better.
- We will maintain and grow relationships and discipleship with children as they get older through the Hub Klub age appropriate sessions.
- Through scaling up our Young Leaders Program, many more young people who leave Kidz Klub in Y7 will be able to return and stay with us through to adulthood and be equipped with skills for work.
- We will have the time and space to encourage children to be local change makers with social action mission events every 6 weeks.
- We will be able to diversify volunteering opportunities and recruit more volunteers. Through making it more flexible and easier for people to volunteer by joining us every/any week night, anytime from 3-8pm.
- We will have increased staffing capacity to support all of this to happen.
There are already hundreds of people, churches and organisations in the city that support, pray for, volunuteer with and give to Kidz Klub. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for choosing to #bethedifference and help us transform lives.