Communities and Place programmes
The projects listed here are free and inclusive, offering opportunities for York residents through volunteering, training and development, energy advice, physical improvements or simply getting to know our city and its people in greater depth.
We are also investing in Acomb and the city centre to improve the local area and make them more accessible.
Volunteering
See details of volunteering schemes in York.
Volunteer it Yourself CIC
Volunteer it Yourself CIC is running the Volunteer It Yourself programme.
The project supports 14 to 24 year olds, who are NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), to develop construction and trade qualifications through volunteer placements.
In York, these opportunities will be at 5 community facilities and venues in need of renovation work - 4 of these projects are already underway.
There are 100 volunteering opportunities, working with 75 young people at:
- The Fulford Arms - Disabled Ramp, DJ Box, changing room facilities
- Joseph Rowntree Theatre
- The Vaults
- The Crescent
The project will run until March 2025.
See more information about volunteering on the Volunteer it Yourself CIC website.
York Centre for Voluntary Services
York Centre for Voluntary Services supporting York Citywide Volunteering.
Funding has been awarded to this longstanding York organisation to support the continuation and expansion of the York Volunteer Centre run by York Centre for Voluntary Services.
The Volunteer Centre will use the funding to deliver the newly launched Citywide Volunteering Strategy, through the establishment of a Volunteer Management Forum which will train senior leaders in the voluntary, community and social enterprises sector, in the creation of resources to recruit volunteers from underrepresented communities, and develop a quality mark to highlight which organisations are demonstrating good practice in volunteer management.
Contact the York Volunteers Team on email: volunteering@yorkcvs.org.uk, or telephone: 01904 621133.
Energy Advice
York Energy Advice service from York Community Energy.
York Community Energy has been commissioned to provide free energy advice and support to York households, along with installing free energy-saving measures to those on low incomes, aged 65 or over or experiencing long-term physical or mental health conditions.
See details of York Energy Advice events, where you can meet the team.
If you would like to know more contact the team from Monday to Thursday on telephone: 01904 922249, on email: info@yorkenergyadvice.org.uk, or by text on telephone: 07418 364631.
Alternately you can complete the York Energy Advice online referral form.
Creative and Inclusive
See details of Creative and Inclusive schemes in York.
Next Door But One
The Producing Hub from Next Door But One CIC.
Over the coming months, this York-based theatre company Next Door But One (NDB1) will stage 16 performances for neurodiverse audiences, kicking off with an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s The Firework Maker’s Daughter.
NDB1 will also offer online and in-person training and support for local arts professionals, and quarterly coaching for four social enterprises, with the target that 2 social entrepreneurs produce new, innovative pieces of theatre for York audiences to enjoy.
For more information contact NDB1 online.
You can also follow them on social media:
Aesthetica Film Festival
Diversity and Inclusion Screenings at Aesthetica Film Festival 2023 and 2024.
The applicant is now in their 13th year of delivering the Aesthetica Film Festival, and this project is an extension of that work.
Funding will support an extension of the York Days initiative, which will involve curating programmes of films that are looking at the breadth and diversity of people in York and the UK, such as refugee communities, different religions and ethnicities, people with disabilities, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, and films that challenge poverty and deprivation.
The detailed brochure for this year’s Aesthetica Film Festival gives a flavour of what you can look forward to in November 2024.
History and Architecture
York Unlocked CIO presents York Unlocked.
York Unlocked focusses on access to buildings of architectural merit in York and offers a year-round programme of public events.
This includes a weekend of opening buildings (old and new) and public spaces within York to the visiting public along with an education programme for schools.
Public Realm
Acomb Front Street - Public Realm improvements.
As part of a 2-phase project, Highway improvement works to Acomb Front Street shopping area took place between January and May 2023, replacing paving, drainage, signage, bollards and the traffic gate.
Phase 2, coming in 2024, is in development, but plans include exploring welcome signs and seating, provision of toilets and looking at planting and accessibility.
Find out more about the Acomb Front Street scheme.
