Another Successful Christmas Magic Appeal Delivered in 2024

24th December 2024

Dalton Together would like to reach out to our community and partners to thank everyone who has supported our Christmas Magic Appeal again for 2024. “Together we make good things happen”.

With the help of Sue Carter and Moldgreen URC who co-ordinated this huge operation and the financial support from the Dalton Ward Cllrs, Freemasons Trafalgar Lodge 971, Syngenta (Syngenta staff also donated lots of fabulous toys to our appeal), Hills Office Furniture, Kirkheaton Football Club, FMG Thinking Ahead and the generosity of local residents who kindly donated additional items for families within our community, we have managed to deliver another successful Christmas appeal which has made a huge difference to households across the Dalton Ward.

How many residents did we help?

Our Christmas Magic Appeal 2024 helped:

• 387 Residents.
• 163 Adults.
• 224 Children.

What did our goodies bags contain for families?

Food vouchers, box of chocolates, gifts for every person in the home and gift cards for the teenagers.

Volunteers involved in the Magic Appeal?

We had great support from our community, this included 20+ volunteers who helped to bring everything together. Overall our volunteer’s:

• Collected donations from organisations/partners and residents.
• Shopped for key items for the appeal.
• Wrapped presents.
• Helped setting up on the day.
• Packed and gave out the goodie bags to families arriving on the day for collection.

Donations for next year’s appeal!

Plans for 2025 are already being discussed, we will be collecting donations all year round, new (unwrapped) goods for all ages. Contact info@daltontogether.co.uk if you would like to drop anything off. We’re sure some of you will have some un-wanted Christmas gifts you might like to donate.

Alternatively if you would like to support us through a monetary donation this can be done through a BACS transfer directly to Dalton Together. Please mark the reference as “Christmas Magic 2025” all donations are gratefully received.

Sort code: 60-83-01

Account number: 20417615

Account name: Dalton Together

Donation reference: “Christmas Magic Appeal 2025”

Christmas Magic Appeal – 2024

8th October 2024

Can you help us to bring a little “Christmas Magic” to households in need across the Dalton Ward by by donating:

• New unwrapped toys, games, books and gifts suitable for babies, children, teenagers and adults (males and females)
• Selection boxes
• Family boxes of chocolates and biscuits
• Crisps and nibbles E.g. Pringles (no nuts)

Please make sure that edible goods can last throughout December into January and any gifts come unwrapped and are new.

Donations for goods and toys to be delivered by 10^th Dec to Moldgreen United Reformed Church, 319 Old Wakefield Rd, Moldgreen, Kirkburton, Huddersfield HD5 8AA (for the attention of Sue Carter).

Please email Sue s.carter922@btinternet.com for any queries or call 07834 590446.

Monetary Donations

Any monetary donations can be made through a BACS transfer directly to Dalton Together. Please mark the donations reference as “Christmas Magic Appeal 2024”.

Sort code: 60-83-01

Account number: 20417615

Account name: Dalton Together

Donation Reference: “Christmas Magic Appeal 2024”

Referred Goodie Bag Collection Arrangements

There will be no planned delivery service again this year so it is important that you make arrangements for the referrer to collect their Goody Bags on the Friday 13^th December between 10.00am and 12.00pm from Moldgreen United Reformed Church, 319 Old Wakefield Rd, Moldgreen, Huddersfield HD5 8AA, Thank You.

Thank You!

A big thank you goes out to Syngenta, Members of the United Reformed Church, Dalton Ward Councillors, Freemason Trafalgar Lodge 971, Hills Office Furniture and private donators for supporting our Christmas Magic Appeal this year. We would also like to thank everyone who contributes towards our appeal through volunteering their time to help.

You can download our donation flyer HERE – ChristmasMagicAppealFlyer2024.pdf

Thank you for helping us deliver our Christmas Magic Appeal this year!

ICAFS: The Cost of Living Crisis: Impact on Children, Families, and Communities

3rd October 2024

The cost-of-living crisis is having a profound effect on children, families, carers, and the elderly, with many households struggling to afford basic needs.

At ICAFS, their advisers are seeing a sharp rise in food insecurity, debt, and mental health issues, making day-to-day life incredibly challenging for many.

Key Challenges

Food insecurity: Families can’t afford nutritious meals, even for children during school hours.

Living costs: Rent, clothing, and heating are often beyond reach, forcing children to miss out on education.

Transportation: Lack of affordable transport limits access to work, education, and social activities.

Mental health: Financial stress is leading to anxiety and depression, while mental health services are overstretched.

Debt: Many families face serious debt, which exacerbates family conflict, underachievement in children, and mental health problems

ICAFS Support

Their specialised debt and welfare services are helping families navigate these difficult times. From welfare benefits to debt relief, they’re working tirelessly to stabilise households, reduce financial strain, and improve wellbeing.

By The Numbers (May 2024 – Sept 2024)

• 117 individuals supported, with 489 individual problems tackled through appointments, phone and home visits.

• 21 individuals prevented from being bankrupt. 23 Magistrates & County Court Actions prevented.

• 33 adults and 19 children received dedicated support for Disability Benefits.

• 79 individuals/families were “fully stabilized” and no longer dependent on food parcels, with £109,819.60 in debt written off. Between (Oct 2023 – Apr 2024) 43 households were stabilized and no longer dependent on food parcels, with 36 individuals becoming debt-free, with £178,558 in debt written off.

• £511,262.00 generated in income through missing benefits and support schemes for families in need. Between (Oct 2023 – Apr 2024) £623,086.80 was generated in income.

Moving Forward

ICAFS is a bespoke Dalton Ward service (by appointment only – no drop ins) and we currently have funding in place until March 2025 to try and help more families.

ICAFS priority remains dedicated to helping families overcome financial challenges. As the crisis deepens, the need for specialised support is greater than ever. Together, they can help families regain stability and create brighter futures for their children.

Resolving complex cases takes a significant amount of time. Many families require multiple appointments and in-depth support.

• Some cases take up to 37 hours to resolve, with others requiring 15-28 hours on average.
• Appointments last between 1 to 1.5 hours, and multiple sessions are often needed, such as 6 sessions for debt counseling.

This process is time-consuming but essential for providing effective help. Your support allows ICAFS to continue offering this vital, detailed assistance to families in need.

If you’d like to support and are able to donate, please help us keep this service running in the Dalton Ward by emailing us at info@daltontogether.co.uk.

Be a part of the Dalton Together Executive Committee

6th April 2024

Dalton Together executive committee members are all volunteers and we come from all walks of life. The common factor is that we have lots of motivation for wanting to assist the Dalton Together partnership in building a stronger, more resilient community. Do you have the same motivation, if so we would love to hear from you.

We want more people to get involved in our committee who have experience in any of the following:

● Bid writing and fundraising.

● Event planning.

● Project development (budgeting and monitoring).

● Policies and procedure development (E.g. Health and Safety, GDPR, Safeguarding, DBS).

● Volunteer recruitment and support.

● Communications & social media.

If you’re interested in applying please complete the nomination form located below.

Download the Dalton Together Executive Committee Form Here – DTCommitteeForm.docx

If you have any questions you can contact us through any of the following. Thank you.

Facebook – facebook.com/DaltonTogether

Twitter – twitter.com/daltontogether

Instagram – instagram.com/daltontogether

Email – info@daltontogether.co.uk

Engaging local businesses in Dalton 2nd Networking Event

20th March 2024

Dalton Ward Councillors alongside Dalton Together (a community partnership organisation based in the Dalton Ward) invited local businesses (small, medium to large) to join us between 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday 12th March 2024 to find out how the Council and its partners can best support and profile our business community.

What was the purpose of the event?

The event provided an opportunity for us to explore how we may work more closely together and meet the needs of our local businesses as well as aiming to better connect our local businesses to the wider community.

Was the event successful?

Thank you to all of the businesses that turned up to our event making the day a huge success!

Overall we had 20 businesses whom attended the event ranging from large companies to sole traders and those in between from various sectors.

Another Successful Christmas Magic Appeal Delivered in 2023

21st December 2023

Dalton Together would like to reach out to our community and partners to thank everyone who has supported our Christmas Magic Appeal again for 2023. “Together we make good things happen”.

With the help of Sue Carter and Moldgreen URC who co-ordinated this huge operation and the financial support from the Dalton Ward Cllrs and Syngenta (Syngenta staff also donated lots of fabulous toys to our appeal), plus the generosity of local residents who kindly donated additional items for families within our community, we have managed to deliver another successful Christmas appeal which has made a huge difference to households across the Dalton Ward.

How many households did we help?

Our Christmas Magic Appeal 2023 helped:

• Over 362 residents (112 referrals)
• 138 Adults (85 female, 53 male).
• 224 Children (125 girls, 99 boys).

What did our goodies bags contain for families?

New toys, books, family games, toiletries, chocolates – presents for all members of the family.

Volunteers involved in the Magic Appeal?

We had great support from our community, this included 20+ volunteers who helped to bring everything together. Overall our volunteer’s:

• Collected donations from organisations/partners and residents.
• Shopped for key items for the appeal.
• Wrapped presents.
• Helped setting up on the day.
• Packed and gave out the goodie bags to families arriving on the day for collection.

Donations for next year’s appeal!

Plans for 2024 are already being discussed, we will be collecting donations all year round, new (unwrapped) goods for all ages. Contact info@daltontogether.co.uk if you would like to drop anything off. We’re sure some of you will have some un-wanted Christmas gifts you might like to donate.

Alternatively if you would like to support us through a monetary donation this can be done through a BACS transfer directly to Dalton Together. Please mark the reference as “Christmas Magic 2024” all donations are gratefully received.

Sort code: 60-83-01

Account number: 20417615

Account name: Dalton Together

Donation reference: “Christmas Magic Appeal 2024”

Engaging local businesses in Dalton

21st December 2023

Dalton Ward Councillors alongside Dalton Together (a community partnership organisation based in the Dalton Ward) invited local businesses (sole traders, small, medium to large) to join us between 11am and 2pm on Tuesday 21st November 2023 to find out how the Council and its partners can best support and profile our business community.

What was the purpose of the event?

The event provided an opportunity for us to explore how we may work more closely together and meet the needs of our local businesses as well as aiming to better connect our local businesses to the wider community.

Was the event successful?

Thank you to all of the businesses that turned up to our event making the day a huge success!

Overall we had 29 businesses whom attended the event ranging from large companies E.g. Cummins, Syngenta, Mama’s and Papa’s to sole traders and those in between from various sectors. CIC organisations also attended who had a trading arm to their non profit making organisations.

Feedback and what we learned from the event

We learned that…

• Future events need to be shorter
• Time to network is important (E.g. possibly a speed networking format so everyone knows who’s in attendance)
• Have focussed topics E.g. marketing, sales and LinkedIn/social media training, tips on how businesses can pitch to each other
• Include rising cost of living issues E.g. energy efficiency measures that can benefit companies, grants and loans businesses can access, support agencies they can share with staff
• Share models of good practice on how local businesses better engage with their communities (corporate social responsibilities)
• Explore how businesses can form their own local business association/forum so they become self managed and better connect to their local communities

If you would like to find out more about the event you can access the letter we sent out to all the businesses in Dalton below.

We are hoping to run another business engagement event in February 2024 – if you are interested please contact Cheryl.reid@kirklees.gov.uk

LetterToLocalBusinesses.pdf

Volunteering opportunities in the Dalton Ward 2023 – 2024

8th November 2023

Please find below the volunteering brochure for opportunities available in the Dalton Ward, if you are interested in any of them please contact the provider directly using the contact information located within the advertisement.

Download

VolunteeringBrochure.pdf

Dalton Community Garden Events – Growing Works

13th September 2023

What happened?

On the 3/4/23, 29/5/23 and 31/7/23 Growing Works ran 3 community focused events at the Dalton Community Garden, Harpe Inge, Dalton, Huddersfield, HD5 9RD, designed for children and adults alike.

At the first event in Spring we made a foraged soup made from a range of commonly found herbs and wild plants. The other two events included gluten and dairy free pancakes with seasonal fruit. Gardening was the main focus of the first two events despite children friendly activities being available; however on the final event lots of families attended with children who were all keen on doing activities which included flower printing, making herb posies, decorating wooden cookies, seed sowing and making seed balls.

Who took part?

Attendees included families who have regular attended the Dalton Gardens including one family who used the space during the winter. Volunteers from The Bread and Butter Project enjoyed the food provided. We had families who are new to the project who are keen to become regular attendees and interested in some of our other services. Growing Works staff and trustees and their families also attended in their own time.

How many people benefitted?

Total of 56 attendances over the 3 sessions, 20 adults, 23 children.

What was the impact of the activity?

The events created awareness for the community garden with many interested in getting more involved, providing a space that can be used to aid wellbeing and increasing physical activity.

Building skills and interest in gardening and plants and how to use fresh produce. Improving knowledge and inspiration around cooking and eating healthy and cheap food.

Improving social opportunities, increasing community spirit in the area and the chance to get outdoors and connect with nature.

Feedback and quotes from participants/partners

“The soup is amazing, thanks for the ingredients, I’m going to make it at home, I will tell everyone to come along”

– Volunteer from Bread and Butter Project

“Is it really made from weeds? We can go for a walk and bring home some free and healthy food! Good to know”

“Is that really gluten free, I didn’t know it could taste so good”

“I gained by having more knowledge on plants, especially enjoying each session along with my children; we love trying new things”

“I attend for my boys as they can be shy around new people as they are homeschooled”

“I feel I have a place to decompress from living in a multi generational household, and all the pressures and compromises that entails”

“Outdoors helps my peace of mind and allows me to destress, it also calms the children down”

“The children really enjoyed all the activities and it is so good for them to be outdoors”

“I loved the pancakes and fruit”

Dalton Ward Emergency Food Bank Referral Form

30th August 2023

If you are looking to refer a client to receive an emergency Food Bank parcel from us, please complete the form below and email it back to either Claire at hartleycl@nlconline.org.uk | 01484 382140 ext 397 or Keeley at keeley.loney@kirklees.gov.uk | 07816937331. If you have any questions please reach out to either Claire or Keeley.

Emergency Food Bank Referral Form – Download HERE

Downloads

DonationsFlyer.pdf