Future

Activities

Olive Branch Trust is a locally based registered charity working within inner-city Bradford, seeking to deal with the causes and help alleviate social disaffection, alienation, poverty and ill-health within the district.

We have a well respected work helping across the generations of this community, which is rated within the top 10% of the most deprived wards in the country, through our series of community initiatives.

The Trust has undertaken to operate Community Interest Companies to further its work in different areas of need.

BD4 Community Interest Company (Company No. 6753751)

The Company was incorporated in 2008 and runs three significant areas of community work. BD4 Family continues to provide activities, early learning opportunities and support for young families, single parents, guardians and carers from within the disadvantaged area of south Bradford. Gems runs a day centre each week for the more elderly who would otherwise be socially excluded. There are activities such as a luncheon club, craft class, keep fit, well-being club and indoor bowls. Gems also provides an escorted shopping service and a walking activity for the more active of our senior citizens. Also as part of this company is Raise that works with children between the ages of 5 and 12, both in schools and in the community.

BD4 Community Interest Company has grown in influence with commissioned services to the elderly and a variety of initiatives to support and strengthen the families of the area. In addition there have been the different programmes for raising children's self esteem in the 4 to 11 age range in primary schools, and the new initiative of providing teaching of English as a second language across a number of Bradford communities.

e:merge (Bradford) Community Interest Company (Company No. 5296407)

"Inspiring young people to improve their lives"

In 2009 e:merge was incorporated as a Community Interest company. Activities undertaken are inclusion work for the local Bradford Academy and Education Bradford, work within other local schools, street outreach, drop-in facilities, as well as an extensive summer programme during the holidays. Further time is invested in groups, where leadership skills are encouraged and personal mentoring takes place.

e:merge has continued to flourish and is a major provider of sustained effective youth work across a wide area of Bradford stretching out from the south side of city. It has been so good to be in partnership with many different organisations, such as Bradford Academy, schools, the Local Education Authority, the Diocese of Bradford, and Bradford Council, whether by commissioning or by contract. e:merge, with its different specialist teams of workers, gives quality provision through sports, outreach, education, pastoral and the new bus project that visits different Bradford areas each week.

Training

We seek to develop all our valued workers, both paid and volunteers, by providing appropriate training and personal development opportunities. As evidence of this we have been successful in retaining the Investors in People Standard.

The Future

It has been very encouraging over this last year to see the Trust and its Community Interest Companies continuing to deliver quality services across all the different aspects of its work. This has been particularly important as the needs of the communities in the south of Bradford have been severely hit by the economic situation. We have been determined to try and meet those needs wherever possible across the different age ranges that our services touch.

The central core services of the Trust have gone from strength to strength and this year has seen us further develop relationships and partnerships with other local community groups and the Council. We are now also supporting other organisations with their development as well as in HR and the implementation of effective policies.

The charity plans to continue the activities outlined above in the forthcoming years subject to satisfactory funding arrangements. Plans are being considered to further extend the programme and facilities of BD4 CIC and grow the initiative amongst the schools and communities with e:merge CIC.

Supporters

We thank all those who have supported the Trust and its companies over the year, whether they be grant making bodies, partners, commissioners, individual donors or sponsors. We so appreciate how contributions large and small have enabled the work to progress and make such a difference to so many.