FIRST POSTED ON DECEMBER 2 2019 AT 15:24
We wouldn’t be able to do what we do if it wasn’t for our staff. Our dedicated teams work tirelessly across the country, ensuring that as many young people and families get the support that they need to live better lives. This means that we don’t often get the chance to spend time with our colleagues from other offices. However, along with our Fun Day, our annual staff conference is one of the few times when we are able to get everyone together.
The staff conference is an opportunity to plan for the future, share achievements, acknowledge challenges, and catch up over a coffee!
A clear highlight of the day was our keynote speaker, Sylvia Douglas. Sylvia is the founding director of MsMissMrs CIC, a social enterprise founded in 2014 to serve women and girls who have travelled a difficult journey to become the leaders in their own lives.
“I think includem is an absolutely fantastic charity, and at the heart of that is their staff – I think they seem like really incredible people.”
Having spent much of her young life living in children’s homes, leaving school with no education and becoming a mum at 15, Sylvia is focused on supporting change for others.
“I know for myself at [age] nine, 13, 16 and 24… services practically saved my life…See having someone in the room, just somebody who is present with you, who is there because they want to be there for you, it makes a huge, big difference to feel that loved and valued.”
“Being here today, just meeting some of the staff, [seeing] the passion and the drive, and the love, and the care that they have for the families and the young people that they work with is absolutely incredible.”
As well as hearing from Sylvia, staff were given the opportunity to input to our next five-year strategy. We used workshops throughout the day to look at four key areas: the impact of poverty on young people and families; how we develop our services; how we ensure a healthy work-life balance; and the values we live and work by at includem.
One staff member said of the day, “The conference was great, I enjoyed meeting more staff from across the organisation and hearing different views of others. I feel very proud to be a part of Includem and look forward to the future.”
