This week we held our ‘Growing Together’ event at Bath City Church to both celebrate our incredible volunteers and supporters, and to introduce our strategy for combating homelessness and disadvantage in Bath over the coming years. We had a wonderful turn-out of over a hundred people and were delighted to showcase our ten interlinking projects to all those who came.

Our Chair of Trustees, Peter Heywood, spoke about the increasing need in the BANES area; including issues of wealth disparity, life expectancy and unemployment. Our Head of New Project Development, Michelle Williams, introduced our exciting plans for creating social enterprises which will help people in better and more sustainable ways. You may have noticed that these ideas have now been encapsulated in our new strapline and brand colours. Please watch this space for further information on our future plans.

We heard a heart-warming testimonial from an amazing client who has come leaps and bounds since first engaging with Genesis many years ago. He spoke of his journey of transformation and how our staff and volunteers have helped him through it all. Family Matters reminded us of the importance of listening as they described the vital work they do with families in BANES, and most recently with Syrian refugee families, who often need plenty of support adjusting to a new and alien culture in the UK.

Finally, we heard from Caleb Mallard, Manager of our daily drop-in centre Lifeline. Caleb spoke about the importance of the work of Lifeline in creating a community space and safe place for people who would otherwise feel rejected and isolated from society.

But most importantly, ‘Growing Together’ was an opportunity for us to celebrate the incredible efforts of our 700 plus volunteers and our many fundraisers and donors with an awards ceremony. Without them none of this work would be possible, so it was fantastic to be able to recognise all their hard work.