Projects

York Travellers Trust

Completed: 2024
Location: York
Region: Yorkshire & The Humber
Other local partners: Aviva Foundation, Dulux

About the project

York Travellers Trust welcomes people from the traveling community, including a local drop-in centre. The venue provides a vital place where people can get a coffee and speak to employees to support their needs, a regular food bank, and educational support for young people.

This is our first project funded by the Aviva Foundation’s Future Chances Fund. The fund aligns with our mission and aims to support organisations to strengthen the employability chances of young people facing barriers due to inequality and discrimination.

The project:

The project has helped to develop the educational offering and accessibility at the venue, creating a quiet room and a small creche room for young children.

Through carpentry, we helped to build storage, radiator covers and bench seating, plastered some interior walls, and redecorated to create spaces their community can benefit from.

Impact

  • 21 local young people volunteering referred directly from the Travellers community, as well as local young people referred from the JobCentre and local schools/colleges in their holidays
  • 18 Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditations earned in Carpentry and Painting & Decorating
  • Many young people keen to volunteer with VIY again on our future work in York, particularly with through our work with City of York Council
  • Hear what Alex Christopoulos, the Lead & Senior Strategic Adviser and Consultant from Aviva Foundation, told us when he visited the project here
  • Chris, a tutor at York Traveller’s Trust told us: “For our young people, it has been a surprise to see not only how their work was an essential part of changing the space, but their realisation that their work will impact future users of the space. Those young people are due to start using the space for classes from September and gives them a sense of ownership of the space they otherwise wouldn’t have.”
  • Feedback from users of the space: “It looks so much nicer, it makes it feel really calm and bright”
  • Young learner: “I came back after it was finished, it looks completely different. I actually feel proud about what I’ve done”
  • See the impact this experience had on Liam, one of the young learners here
Praise for Jack, a great young person on this project, who really applied himself and now wants to join our next project in York! Rebecca Marchant, VIY Trade Mentor
The work VIY has completed has made a big difference to both the young people that have taken part and everyone that uses the space. Both those who use our space often, and those who have used our space for the first time, speak about how calming the space feels. For our young people, it has been a surprise to see not only how their work was an essential part of changing the space, but their realisation that their work will impact future users of the space. Those young people are due to start using the space for classes from September and gives them a sense of ownership of the space they otherwise wouldn't have. Chris, Tutor, York Travellers Trust
I came back after it was finished, it looks completely different. I actually feel proud about what I've done VIY Learner, York Travellers Trust