Cause Communications

09/08/2024

Youth worker Leon Crosby tells how the shy young girl hovering outside an OnSide Youth Zone went on to change Olympic history. And argues we need more well-funded, safe spaces in which young people can find their passions in life.

Boxer Cindy Ngamba, from Cameroon via Bolton, won the Refugee Team’s first medal thanks in part to the value of youth workers

02/08/2024

Super busy week at Cause HQ.
First we alerted Woman’s Hour to the SEND threats coming from local government, for our clients the Disabled Children’s Partnership and placed an interview with super teen Katie and her family.
Next we placed a story in the i about remarkable Olympics Refugee Team boxer Cindy Ngambe, whose skills were honed and nurtured in an OnSide Youth Zone.
Then, after Cindy won her bout, arranged an interview with her OnSide mentor, Leon, on BBC Radio 5’s breakfast show.
Two terrific clients, three great hits.

31/05/2024

We couldn't be more proud of this Sky Kids documentary Disability And Me due to air on Sky News tomorrow (Saturday) at 2.30pm.
We worked in conjunction with Fresh Start Media to give young disabled and neurodivergent people the chance to talk about the serious issues that affect them.
The doc is based on the This Is My Life Report out today from our client, The Disabled Children's Partnership.
Keep an eye out for YouTube links in case you miss it on Sky and for coverage in First News.
Thanks to the brilliant Fresh Start Media team for their excellent work, particularly Thomas who lives this life every day, and to the young people who told their stories.

22/03/2024

We are super proud of Angela Terry, founder of our client One Home, who has been named Net Zero Energy Pioneer of the year.
We've always thought Angela was a kick-a*** advocate for helping people adapt to a warming world but don't believe us, have a read what the judges said:

29/02/2024

Shout out to Gordon Smart for focusing on SEND children in his Family Group Chat slot last night. Great conversation with Katie Ghose from the Disabled Children's Partnership and SEND parents/comedians Ashley Blaker and Hatty Ashdown-Official. Listen again at 35 mins

Gordon Smart with late night conversation and in-depth interviews.

26/02/2024

We loved working with Chris Warburton from BBC 5 Live when he came down to the OnSide charity's HideOut Youth Zone in Manchester to see what youth work is all about and how crucial it is in turning young people's lives around.
Fantastic interviews with the youth workers and three young people at 48 mins, 1.45mins and 2.46mins here:

The big weekend news and sports stories with Chris Warburton and Eleanor Oldroyd.

24/02/2024

Cause founder Sam Carlisle describes what it’s like to be a SEND parent.

18/01/2024

"There's gonna be some poo, I know it!" Thank you BBC Newsround for visiting Jamie's Farm in Skipton to see the incredible work this national charity achieves introducing city children to the countryside.
This lovely bunch are primary school age. A lot of the charity's work is preventing exclusion and absenteeism in the secondary years, through building confidence and trust in adults via work on the farms.
We LOVE working with Jamie's Farm.

Meet the children swapping the classroom for a farm.

17/01/2024

29/12/2023

“Without the support of this youth centre I don’t know where I’d be,” said young carer Gemma.

She will soon start there as an apprentice. The centre has saved lives, she said, adding: “It’s definitely saved mine.”

We placed this article in the Financial Times to highlight the importance of philanthropy in youth work. Our client OnSide's financial model means local businesses and successful entrepreneurs work with cash-strapped local councils to reinvest in their communities. OnSide builds state-of-the-art Youth Zones where young people can try new things, make friends and thrive in a safe space.

There are currently 14 Youth Zones in the most disadvantaged parts of the country with eight more due to roll out soon, offering opportunity to 100,000 young people.

High-earning donors increasingly keen to channel their wealth directly into grass roots projects

27/12/2023

So many children and young people at risk of falling out of school have their lives turned around by Jamie's Farm. We love working with this incredible charity.

I constantly disrupted lessons, would be sent out and received detentions.

30/11/2023

10,000 autistic adults are missing out on social care, the law is being broken every single day. Our work with Autism Alliance as featured in The Times Health Commission.

Adults are supposed to have specialist help within weeks but many end up in hospital instead. It can be deeply damaging, experts say

13/11/2023

Have a read of the things children are giving up because of the cost of living. Their lives are shrinking. We were so struck by the answers young people gave in OnSide's annual survey of 11 to 18 year olds we shared them with Natasha Hindi at Huff Post. As she explains, this is where the youth sector plays a role.

1.3 million young people have stopped activities outside of school because it’s no longer affordable.

09/11/2023

If you wanna be the best, if you wanna beat the rest* ...
Hidden Disabilities Sunflower had the daft idea to create the world's longest lanyard to break a Guinness World Record.
They brought us in to publicise the attempt.
We had the even dafter idea to photograph the lanyard in the Kop end of Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium and get model Christine McGuinness, who has a hidden disability, along to be part of the record.
We had great fun, got a tour of the stadium and secured loads of press and TV coverage.
Then today we discovered the story had won Campaign of The Year in the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 Awards.
We're thrilled, after all ... dedication, is what you need*

*completely meaningless to anyone under 45.

09/09/2023

The opportunity gap for children widens every day. The work the OnSide youth charity does supporting disadvantaged young people has to be seen to be believed.
We were determined to show what youth workers achieved with the ‘ghost children’, the absentee kids, the ones who didn’t have support at home or access to WiFi, when it came to exams.
Thanks to The Big Issue for publishing this piece by CEO Jamie Masraff:

Jamie Masraff, chief executive of OnSide, explains how youth centres across the country are driving a revolution in aspiration.

14/08/2023

Timed to perfection. We kicked off work with our fabulous new client Jamie's Farm by featuring their lip-smacking, child-friendly, summer-holiday-filling, natural, cookbook in The Sun.
Jamie's Farm brings children and young people with challenging behaviour to the countryside for a week's residential. On the farms the children spend time working with animals, taking responsibility, putting down their phones (all mobiles are handed in for the week), gardening and cooking meals for each other in a unique blend of Farm, Family and Therapy.
The results are clear. Increased self-esteem, much more focus, better behaviour.
To speak to the founders or to visit the farm, do get in touch. It's a magical charity.

WITH half the summer holidays still to go, you might be running out of inspiration for ways to keep the kids busy. But help is at hand with these brilliantly simple recipes that could just inspire …

07/08/2023

The incredible Emery's extraordinary story. One day at a time is an excellent mantra for families with disabled children. The Mirror

Left paraplegic by a car accident, Chantel Emery was surprised when she conceived naturally - but greater shocks were in store for her

03/08/2023

Quadruple hit for our brilliant client Angela Terry, CEO of One Home today. Quoted in The Mirror on Britain's impending water crisis, NerdWallet on why loft insulation is the best investment home owners can make, her weekly National World plc Going Green column PLUS this evening at 8.30pm she will be on ITV Tonight's Britain's Dirty Water: What Went Wrong? Phew! If you want calm, considered expertise on anything to do with , and a greener world, Angela's your person.

Climate Change is here now. Choices we make every day have an impact. One Home is full of ideas to help you make informed decisions that will benefit you and have a positive impact on the world around us.

14/07/2023

Absolutely delighted that our Campaign for the with The Sun has won another award.
Thank you to the judges for their insightful summary:
“This was a neglected issue across the income brackets,” said one judge “disability is a universal issue, they fought for an interest group not being heard and they owned it”. Judges praised the campaign for its “amazing storytelling and use of case studies”, packaged together as “a joined-up multimedia campaign”.
Thank you to the children and parents who shared their stories.
We continue to campaign on behalf of disabled children and their families.

Headlinemoney Awards 2023 - Campaign of the Year 2023

21/06/2023

Absolutely chuffed to bits that Frank Pye's piece made Metro. Great to work with his brilliant and lovely family to help publicise There She Goes. - a show that means a lot to Cause. The new and possibly final episode goes out tonight. Watch it, cry, laugh and remember this is real life for so many families.

It’s great to see our family’s eccentricities represented on the show, but I didn’t comprehend quite how personal There She Goes would be.

23/04/2023

We had the privilege of working with Dame Christine Lenehan and the excellent team at The Sunday Times on this piece about the recent abuse of disabled children seen through the lens of her 43 years as a social worker.
Christine is the country's most senior social worker and has dedicated her life to improving the lives of disabled kids. She was the lead investigator into abuse at Hesley Group's Doncaster schools and homes.
Her anger and frustration is palpable but she still believes we can get this right.

A shocking betrayal of children’s humanity has happened right in front of us. More than 100 children, the youngest aged ten, have been physically, sexually and emotionally abused in care settings paid for by you, the public

23/03/2023

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02/03/2023

Qasa Alom takes your calls on the day's talking points.

02/03/2023

Busy day at Cause Towers enabling parents and the Disabled Children's Partnership to respond to the Department of Education's Improvement Plan for disabled children. We've had families and spokespeople on the Radio 4 Today Programme, Times Radio, Radio 5 Live, and in The Guardian, Times, and Sun as well as 83 regional titles. Check out Alex on Channel 5 News, he is loving every minute of his interview.

“The government has unveiled new plans to reform support for children with special educational needs and disabilities in England. But families and charities say it's not enough to fix a "badly broken" system. has been to meet one of many families affected. ”

27/02/2023

Thank you to Linda. And Elissa for telling their stories.

PARENTS of disabled children are being forced out of work as their kids aren’t getting the correct level of care or access to vital services. Three quarters have turned down work and half have aban…

01/02/2023

31/01/2023

Just some of the publications that ran our story on the English villages that will be lost to the sea because of climate change. What's new is that decisions have been made about whether to defend coastlines or not without residents being aware.

19/12/2022

Councils fight doomed legal battles against parents of disabled children to delay paying higher support bills, lawyers say

04/12/2022

A lively and fun activity to enjoy with all the family! FREE tickets for families with disabled children.