We had a great summer here at SYC. From rock climbing, canoeing and abseiling to mucking out the pigs, there weren’t many activities we didn’t get stuck into! Here are just a few of our photo highlights:

We currently have three exciting vacancies in a growing, vibrant organisation where your ideas and contributions will be highly valued:

• Young People’s Assistant Project Worker (full-time)

• Education Development Worker (17.5 hrs p/wk)

• Digital Development Officer (17.5 hrs p/wk)

Sheffield Young Carers (SYC) is entering the next crucial phase of our development. We are seeking to commission a consultant to support and challenge SYC over the next five years. You will need experience in supporting a youth-led, small organisation through a period of change, with a focus on developing the impact of our work.  .

In Carers Week this June, following our trip to meet the Prime Minister last year, our brilliant Patron Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield helped us organise a meeting in Parliament for young carers’ organisations from around the country to come together to meet with MPs and agree action to improve support for young carers all over the UK.

10-16 June 2019 is Carers Week: a national week of awareness-raising campaigns and events to recognise and celebrate the contribution of unpaid carers of all ages, from all over the UK.

To mark this year’s theme, which is ‘Getting Carers Connected’, we’re asking all of the young carers and families we help at SYC to ‘get connected’ by creating the longest-ever paper chain made by young carers in the world!

Local charity Free Cakes for Kids Sheffield have been baking up a storm for the young people who attend our group sessions. Free Cakes For Kids uses volunteer bakers to make birthday cakes for young people who might not otherwise get a cake on their special day. 

We are delighted to announce that we have received an incredible £500,000 investment from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Last year, we were very proud to be invited to apply to Paul Hamlyn’s prestigious Growth Fund, which ‘provides multi-year support for up to 5 years, mixing financial investment (up to £500,000) and non-financial support to help organisations identify and implement practical steps to growth.

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been re-awarded the contract to provide services to young carers on behalf of Sheffield City Council.

As well as young carers aged eight to 25, the new contract (which runs from 1st April 2019 to 31st December 2021) now includes children and young people affected by substance misuse within their family - the current Hidden Harm Service.

Despite strong wind and rain, Sheffield Young Carers’ first Research and Action Event on 28th November 2018 was a great success. Held at Sheffield Hallam University and supported by South Yorkshire Futures, we welcomed guests from across Sheffield and as far afield as York and Milton Keynes.

Healthy 4 Life: Giving cared-for parents the chance to develop new skills, build resilience and gain confidence.

Using a whole family approach, the Family Project works with young carers and their cared-for parents to look at ways of supporting families to reduce the impact of caring upon the young carer.

We’re sad to say that summer is nearly over… but what a summer we’ve had here at Sheffield Young Carers!

We got into the swing of things with a trip to Altitude High Ropes Adventure Course where young carers braved 34 different obstacles including…

For most children and young people, the summer holidays are a cause for celebration. Weeks of messing about with friends, playing on the PS4 - or sometimes just doing as little as possible! For young carers however, the opposite can often be true.

Carers Week is a national campaign which aims to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. This year we organised a whole host of events…

On Wednesday 23rd May, eight extremely excited young carers headed down to London for a very special meeting... with Prime Minister Theresa May no less!

On Thursday 26 April, we welcomed two friendly buffaloes into the SYC offices... Not your regular four-legged, grass-grazing buffaloes, but Ian Gregory and Paul Templeton (pictured here with Katie, our fundraiser) from the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes. 

On a cold and wet Thursday in April, a group of hardy explorers from Sheffield Young Carers’ Family Project set out on an adventure. Their mission: to spot squirrels, splash in puddles, build dens and cook on a campfire.

Over the Easter break, young carers visited Jump Inc trampoline park in Sheffield to bounce, leap, climb and bounce some more – a lot more! All three of our groups (8-12 year-olds from the North, 8-12 year-olds from the South, and our 12+ young carers) had a brilliant time

Last week was an incredible week. Not just for young carers in Sheffield but for young carers from all over the UK.

On Wednesday 28 February, Paul Blomfield - the MP for Sheffield Central and our brilliant Patron - asked Prime Minister Theresa May the first question during Prime Minister's Questions: