Tag Archive for: Complex Needs

thumbnail saying we are looking for volunteers

Could Your Company Spend a Day at MAIN?

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Could Your Company Spend a Day at MAIN?

🌱 Calling all parents, carers, friends and supporters of MAIN… we have a little favour to ask!

What if your workplace gave you a volunteering day… and you brought your whole team to MAIN? 💙

We’re putting a challenge out there to all our wonderful MAIN families, friends and supporters.

If you work for a company that offers volunteering days, community days or team volunteering, why not ask your boss or HR team:

“Could we spend a day volunteering at MAIN?”

You never know… they might just say yes!

So, what would we actually do?

Well, that’s the fun part.

You don’t need to be a gardener, painter, DIY expert or professional organiser. You just need to turn up with enthusiasm, sensible shoes and a willingness to get stuck in! 😂

There are always jobs at MAIN that need a few extra pairs of hands.

🌱 Fancy getting your hands dirty?
Come and help us in our allotment or community garden. There are plants to plant, things to tidy and plenty of opportunities to discover whether you actually have green fingers!

🎨 More of a creative type?
We always have painting, decorating and creative jobs that could use some extra help.

🧹 Love a good sort-out?
You could help us clean, organise, declutter and generally make things look fabulous.

📦 Got a talent for finding treasure?
We have donations, fundraising bits and tombola prizes that need sorting and organising. You might even discover something you didn’t know existed!

🔨 A bit handy?
There are always those little jobs that we never quite get around to. A team of willing volunteers can make a huge difference.

🌿 Outdoor person?
Help us get our outdoor spaces looking their best and ready for everyone who uses them.

🎉 Love events?
You could help us prepare for fundraising events, set things up, decorate, organise and generally help make the magic happen.

💙 Or just come and see where you’re needed most.

Sometimes the most valuable thing you can give a small charity isn’t money.

It’s time.

One day. A whole team. A BIG difference.

For a small charity like MAIN, having a team of people come in for a day can make an enormous difference.

Jobs that might take us weeks to get through can suddenly be done in a day.

A tired garden can be transformed.

A room can get a fresh coat of paint.

A mountain of donations can become beautifully organised.

And, perhaps most importantly, we get to meet some lovely new people who become part of the MAIN family for the day. 💙

And let’s be honest… we’ll probably put you to work! 😂

But we promise there’ll be plenty of laughs along the way.

Could you be our next MAIN volunteer team?

So, if you’re reading this and thinking:

“I reckon my workplace would do this…”

Don’t keep it to yourself!

👉 Send this blog to your boss.
👉 Pop it into your work WhatsApp group.
👉 Tag your HR team.
👉 Mention it at your next team meeting.

And ask them:

“Could we volunteer a day at MAIN this year?”

We’d absolutely LOVE to hear from you.

Whether you’re a team of 3, 10, 20 or more, we’d love to talk to you about how you could spend a day helping MAIN.

You bring the people. We’ll find the jobs! 😄

📩 Interested in bringing your team to MAIN?
Email us at info@iammain.org.uk

💙 Together, we’re raising smiles.

HUGE Thank You to COSTAIN and Their Amazing Volunteers!

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A HUGE Thank You to COSTAIN and Their Amazing Volunteers! 💚

We would like to say a very big and heartfelt thank you to COSTAIN, and especially to Sandra and her wonderful team of volunteers, for giving up their time and working incredibly hard to transform and clear our internal garden area at MAIN.

What started as an overgrown and unused space is now well on its way to becoming something really special. 🌿✨

The team has worked tirelessly to clear and prepare the area, with the hope that we can have the area resin and ready for our teenagers and young adults to enjoy.

Our vision is to create a tranquil, welcoming and safe outdoor space where our young people can relax, take some time out, enjoy the fresh air and simply feel comfortable being themselves. 💚

We also hope to be able to dress and decorate the area throughout the year, Christmas 🎄, Easter 🐣, Halloween 🎃 and everything in between, making it a space that changes with the seasons and gives our young people something to look forward to.

But there is another reason this support means so much to us.

Sandra has recently signed up to become a Trustee of MAIN, and we genuinely couldn’t be more prouder or more grateful to have her on board. Her commitment to our young people, her willingness to get stuck in and the support she has already brought to MAIN is absolutely fantastic.

To Sandra, COSTAIN and every single volunteer who picked up a tool, cleared an area, moved materials or simply gave their time, THANK YOU! ❤️

Your kindness, hard work and generosity are helping us turn a neglected space into somewhere our young people can relax, feel safe, make memories and call their own.

We can’t wait to see the finished space!

From all of us at MAIN, thank you for believing in what we do and for helping us make a real difference. 💚

🌿 Together, we’re creating spaces where young people can feel safe, valued and at home.

A BIG Thank You for Helping Our Community Garden Grow!

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🌱💚 A BIG Thank You for Helping Our Community Garden Grow! 🌻🥕🍅

We would like to say a HUGE thank you to one of our wonderful mums, Lynn, and to Morrisons, where Lynn works, for their incredibly kind donation of seeds for our allotment and community garden! 🌱💚

We were absolutely delighted to receive lots and lots of seeds, including:

🥕 Carrots
🧅 Onions
🥬 Lettuce
🍅 Tomatoes
🫘 Beans
🌱 Peas
…and so much more! 🌻🌿

Our community garden is a really special place at MAIN. It gives everyone the opportunity to get outside, get their hands dirty, learn about growing food, watch things develop and, of course, enjoy the excitement of seeing those first little shoots appear! 🌱👩‍🌾👨‍🌾

There is something so rewarding about planting a tiny seed and watching it grow into something we can eventually enjoy together. 💚

We are so thankful to Lynn and Morrisons for thinking of us and helping our garden grow. Your generosity will make a real difference and bring lots of smiles over the coming months. 🌈🌱

And while we’re saying thank you, we also want to give a massive THANK YOU to everyone who supports MAIN, day in and day out. Whether you donate, volunteer, fundraise, provide resources, share our work or simply cheer us on,  we appreciate every single bit of support. 💚

Together, we’re not just growing vegetables… we’re growing opportunities, confidence, friendships and our community. 🌱💚🌈

Thank you for helping MAIN grow! 🌻🥕🍅

World Smile Day – be KIND

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😊 World Smile Day at MAIN

Friday 2 October 2026

This World Smile Day, we’re bringing a little extra kindness, fun and positivity to MAIN! 💛

The message behind World Smile Day is simple:

“Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile.”

Created by Harvey Ball, the artist behind the original yellow smiley face, World Smile Day is all about bringing the focus back to goodwill, kindness and making a positive difference.

And that’s something we can all get behind at MAIN! 😁

🌟 The MAIN Smile Challenge

We’re challenging our staff and young people to spread as many smiles as possible!

Try one — or all — of these:

💛 Make Someone Smile – Give someone a compliment, help them out or do something thoughtful.

🎨 Design a Smiley – Create your own unique MAIN smiley and add it to our Smile Gallery.

😊 Smile Wall – Complete the sentence:
“Something that makes me smile is…”

🕵️ Secret Kindness Mission – Do something kind for someone without telling them it was you!

📸 Capture the Moment – With the right consent, share a photo or story of something that made you smile.

🎤 Ask Someone:
“What makes you smile?”
“What are you grateful for?”
“Who deserves a thank you?”

💬 And remember…

You don’t have to smile to take part!

Kindness can look different for everyone. It could be listening, creating, helping, playing, spending time together or simply doing something that makes you feel good.

💛 Our challenge:

Can the MAIN community create 100 smiles in one day?

Let’s spread a little kindness, celebrate each other and show the world how MAIN raises smiles!

#MAINSmileDay #TogetherRaisingSmiles #WorldSmileDay

Blessed and Thankful to KSB Greenhouse UK

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🌱 A Huge Thank You to KSB Greenhouse UK for Their Incredible Support

We are absolutely delighted to share our sincere thanks to KSB Greenhouse UK for their kindness, generosity, and support towards MAIN.

Thanks to their incredible help, we now have a newly installed 3m x 4m Signa Lux polytunnel, which would normally cost upwards of £1,500 installed. Through their generosity, we have been able to access this at less than half the usual cost, and we are truly grateful for this outstanding support.

A heartfelt thank you also goes to the amazing installation team, who did a fantastic job. The polytunnel is secure, high-quality, and already looking like it will make a real and lasting difference to our charity. Your professionalism and care throughout the installation process have been greatly appreciated.

This new space opens up so many exciting opportunities for us at MAIN. We are now able to take another step forward in our vision of “soil to plate” learning, where our young people, aged 5 years and upwards, can actively engage with growing, harvesting, and cooking their own produce.

From tomatoes and herbs to runner beans climbing our wigwam supports, this hands-on approach will encourage learning in unique and meaningful ways. It will help the people we support to build confidence, develop life skills, and connect with nature in a therapeutic and inclusive environment.

At MAIN, we proudly support autistic and neurodiverse individuals, as well as people living with mental health challenges, disabilities, and complex needs. Opportunities like this help us to continue creating accessible, engaging experiences that make a real difference in people’s lives.

We would also like to extend a special thank you to Emma and Gary, whose encouragement and connection helped make this possible. Your kindness and community spirit are deeply appreciated, great friends doing great things locally.

From all of us at MAIN, thank you to everyone involved for helping us grow, both literally and figuratively. 💚

Carers Week Logo

Carers Week 2026: Celebrating the People Who Care Every Day

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Carers Week 2026: Celebrating the People Who Care Every Day

From 8th–14th June 2026, we proudly recognise Carers Week—a time to shine a light on the incredible dedication, compassion, and resilience of carers everywhere.

At our charity, this week is especially meaningful. Every day, we work alongside carers who support children and individuals who are autistic, neurodivergent, awaiting diagnosis, or living with learning disabilities and complex needs. Their role is vital—and we believe it deserves to be seen, valued, and supported.

Our Vision

Our mission is to develop new ways of supporting and encouraging those we work with, while building a world where:

  • Everyone is empowered to reach their full potential
  • Individual uniqueness is recognised and celebrated
  •  Inclusion exists in every part of society

Carers are a huge part of making this vision a reality.

Supporting Carers in Real Life—Not Just in Words

We understand that being a carer can be rewarding, but also demanding, emotional, and at times overwhelming. Advice like “take time for yourself” can feel unrealistic when your time is already stretched thin.

That’s why, this Carers Week, we are highlighting something simple but powerful:

Small Moments Matter

In our website resource centre, we’ve created 5 top tips designed specifically for carers, all focused on taking just 5–10 minutes out of your day.

These are practical, achievable ideas that help you:

  • Reset your mind
  • Find small pockets of calm
  • Recharge without pressure

Because self-care shouldn’t feel like another task—it should feel possible.

Visit our resource centre to explore these tips and find what works for you.

Caring for Our Team, Too

Carers don’t only exist at home—many of them are also part of our workforce. Our staff work tirelessly, often going above and beyond to support others.

This Carers Week, we’re also celebrating the importance of connection, communication, and joy within our teams.

The Golden Duck Challenge

To bring some lightness to busy days, we’ve introduced a simple but fun initiative in our neutral zones:
A quick game of rock, paper, scissors.

The prize? The much-loved Golden Duck

It may be small, but it creates:

  • Moments of laughter
  • Opportunities to connect
  • A chance to pause and reset

Because even a brief moment of joy can make a big difference—especially in roles that give so much to others.

Our Values in Action

Everything we do during Carers Week—and beyond—is guided by our core values:

  • Making a lasting and positive impact
  • Being inclusive, valuing every voice
  • Recognising and celebrating uniqueness
  • Working collaboratively
  • Being honest, authentic, and accountable

These values help us support not just the individuals we care for, but the carers who stand alongside them.

Thank You to All Carers

This week, and every week, we want to say:

Thank you

Thank you for your patience, your strength, your compassion, and your commitment. The difference you make every day cannot be overstated.

Hallway Rock paper scissors

Hallway Rock paper scissors

Rock Paper scissors before afterschool club

Rock Paper scissors before afterschool club

Rock paper scissors Pathway centre

Rock paper scissors Pathway centre

This Carers Week, we encourage everyone to pause—even for a few minutes—and reflect on the importance of care, connection, and community.

Celebrating Linda Dickinson’s Incredible 25 Years of Dedication to MAIN

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Celebrating Linda Dickinson’s Incredible 25 Years of Dedication to MAIN

Everyone at MAIN would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our much-valued Trustee, Linda Dickinson, as she retires after an incredible 25 years of dedication and support.

Linda has been part of MAIN since the very beginning, playing an instrumental role in helping shape the organisation into the specialist charity it is today. Through her unwavering commitment, compassion, and belief in our mission, Linda has helped MAIN grow to support autistic, neurodiverse, learning disabled, and complex needs children, young people, and adults through our short breaks provision and wider services.

Over the past 25 years, countless families have benefited from Linda’s care, encouragement, and advocacy. Her wisdom and understanding have had a lasting impact not only on the individuals and families we support, but also on staff, volunteers, and fellow trustees across the organisation.

Linda has always brought kindness, warmth, humour, and positivity into every room she enters. Her ability to support others with genuine compassion while championing the values of MAIN has made her an irreplaceable part of our journey.

Trustees are often the quiet strength behind charities, and Linda has been exactly that for MAIN, offering guidance, reassurance, and unwavering belief from our inception through to where we are today.

As Linda begins her retirement, we want to say how truly well deserved it is. After 25 years of support and helping countless families, her legacy within MAIN and the wider community will continue for many years to come.

Thank you, Linda 💙

With love and appreciation from everyone at MAIN.

Lucy PA photo

MAIN’s PA Service Meet Lucy

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Hello, I am Lucy. I am 22 years old and I attend MAIN twice a week.

I love doing crafts at MAIN and enjoy going to the shops. I also like going bowling and playing crazy golf.

I spend time with Carrie, Aparna and Alima, who support me.

I feel very happy and jolly at MAIN!

Love heart art work

MAIN Open Day Drop in Sessions Spring/Autumn

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You’re Invited! MAIN Open Day –Come and Visit Us!

Join us for a calm, friendly drop‑in where you can:
✔ Explore our site
✔ Meet our staff team
✔ Learn more about our services and support
✔ Ask questions in a relaxed environment

📅 Date: Wednesday 24th June 

🕐 Time: 12:00 – 1:30pm

📅 Date: Wednesday 9th September 

🕐 Time: 10:00am-11:30am

📅 Date: Wednesday 11th November

🕐 Time: 2:00pm-3:30pm

📍 Location:

MAIN – The Finlay Cooper Centre
Elizabeth Terrace, North Ormesby
TS3 6EN

📞 Contact: 01642 608012

Everyone is welcome – we look forward to meeting you!

St Mary’s Cathedral, St Clare’s and St Francis supporting MAIN

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“Honoured to Be Chosen as a Charity of the Year 💙”

We’re incredibly grateful to share some wonderful news with our community 💙

MAIN has been chosen as one of the charities of the year by the Justice & Peace Group across the three parishes of St Mary’s Cathedral, St Clare’s Brookfield, and St Francis, Acklam.

After attending the recent meeting, we were truly touched by the warmth, kindness, and genuine care shown by everyone we met. It’s clear that these parish communities are built on compassion and a real desire to make a difference, and we feel so honoured to be part of that.

Thanks to the generosity of parishioners across all three churches, regular collections will be kindly donated to support our work over the next 12 months. This support will make a meaningful difference to the children, young people, and families we work with every day.

We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the Justice & Peace Group, and everyone across the three parishes for choosing MAIN and believing in what we do. Your support truly means the world to us.

We’re really looking forward to building this relationship over the coming year and hopefully welcoming you to visit us soon.

#togetherraisingsmiles