HEY Smile Foundation continues to walk alongside partners across the voluntary, public and private sector during the recovery period from Covid-19.  During the pandemic we were proud to provide a wide range of services that enabled organisations and their beneficiaries to stay safe and well, whilst also investing with funders and philanthropists over half a million into East Yorkshire communities at pace where and when it was needed most.

Here is just a few highlights of our work in the last 18 months:

• Established 9 community Hubs across the East Riding
• Networking over 3,500 volunteers, thousands of calls, food parcels, befriending, medication deliveries and safe and well checks
• Developed a new collective be-friending service connecting volunteers with those in need of low level mental health support
• Supported the drawdown of over £400k in national funding for our local NHS
• With the above funding one priority was to invest in enhanced and targeted support to our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities establishing the DOST project building trust and confidence in communities, supporting more people to benefit from the vaccination and enhanced health care
• Aided local philanthropists and funders to invest in Covid response helping thousands of local people
• Supported over 20 young business survive and look to invest further with over £250k in grants secured
• Established a new volunteering platform in just a week, connecting over 700 people to help the Covid-19 vaccination reach tens of thousands of local people
• Supported our peers in the sector with strong communication 1:1 well-being support and shared services

We continue to work tirelessly to help those in our community bring good intentions to life. Now more than ever we need to work together to ensure we have a concerted effort to bring together local intelligence, skills, assets and investment to reach those in need.  It is apparent that a date in a diary on a road map, does not unlock doors that have become fearful during lockdown both young and old anxieties have grown giving us a tsunami of mental health challenges that cannot be solely addressed by our NHS but requires friends, family and neighbours and communities to help one another to way lay our fears at a pace that is suitable to individuals not systems.

The Voluntary sector has a huge part to play in the next 3-5 years to address these challenges, Smile will continue to be on hand to support those organisations looking to be that difference whether it is a trusted call, walk, run, hot meal delivery whatever the intervention, service, connection we are on hand to provide a range of support ensuring the individuals, group, enterprise or group have help to make their good intentions come to life.

Stay connected with us through social media to hear latest news, updates, funding opportunities and ways to further engage.

For charities and groups also ensure you are registered on www.beecan.org