A big thank you to Andrew Blackenbury and Chris Homer from the Aspire Networking Groups! Skydiving 13,500ft with resident James on behalf of all of our residents and people we are yet to help still stuck and unable to take that difficult and terrifying step of change from a life of hell, pain and harms caused to others and society. We're really proud James and all of all our residents, along with Andy and Chris for being a living example of the courage, faith and trust required to take that step and have a different life. You all bring a message of hope and vision to others that you can do it! Thank you to everyone that has donated so far. Help more people like James have a different experience of life and be transformed in to postive members of the community

Staff and residents enjoyed a well deserved day out at Delta Force Paintball - UK An opportunity to not take things too seriously, let our hair down enjoying ourselves and forming sronger relationships, enjoying life and recovery together. Plenty of bruises, but no one killed each other. Well done everyone that took part.

We are delighted to be supported again this year by The Archer Trust. The Archer Trust is a UK charitable grant-making trust based on Christian values. The Archer Trust was set up in 1994 in memory of Ronnie Archer, who rose through the ranks of Unilever to become Vice-Chairman. Throughout his life he and his wife Catherine applied his surplus earnings for the support of good causes. He provided the money; Catherine researched the beneficiaries. Ronnie's early death did not bring this fruitful partnership to an end. Catherine set up the Archer Trust in 1994 and gave it initial funding from Ronnie's estate. As well as being a trustee, Catherine acted as the Trust's secretary and, from the company's generous widow's pension, made further gifts every year from the date of its foundation. She was a pillar of her local church and community, passionate about education and the disadvantaged, a loving mother who was keen to keep her wider family in touch with each other, and in times past a fine magistrate and an enthusiastic horsewoman. Her service to the Trust involved, among other things, consideration of all applications, correspondence with many of the applicants and visiting a number of the charities chosen for support. Her sudden death in November 2021, at the age of 87 but at a time when, though frail, she was living a full social life, was unexpected, and a blow to the Trust. Generous provision in her will, however, demonstrates her wish that it should continue its work unabated, which it will.

We are delighted to have recently recieved a £20,000 grant with thanks to Garfield Weston Foundation who have generously contributing towards our shortfall this year so we can continue to deliver and grow our work Garfield Weston Foundation is a family founded grant-maker that gives money to support a wide range of charities across the UK. In total they donate around £90 million each year. This kind of funding is so valuable to us and the guys we work with in a challenging and changing environment Thank you!

We welcome Donna Duffy to our team as our Trusts and Grants Fundraiser! We are committed to sourcing the valuable funds to continue the support we offer our community and our plans to move forward and grow Donna has over 20 years experience of working for charities looking after Trusts and Foundations for them. Her knowledge of this landscape is vast and she brings a wealth of experience. Her experience also includes working for some of the Trusts. Regularly called upon to speak publicly about the fundraising challenges faced by charities Donna is able to steward relationships and has a large network. In her spare time Donna enjoys spending time by the sea and watching Luton Town FC

A pleasure and a privelage to be invited to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley community fund awards again as they have generously continued their support of our work with an award of £7,750 to deliver support to our residents Matthew Barber and Jason Hogg (Chief Constable, Thames Valley Police ) have awarded 36 community and voluntary organisations £201,445 in the first round of this year's Community Fund. Over 170 organisations applied for over £1.2m of funding from the latest round of the Community Fund, with 36 organisations successful in receiving funding of between £500 – £10,000 to support one of the PCC’s Police and Criminal Justice Plan key priorities. Announcing the funding, Matthew said: “I’m really pleased to invest extra cash – taken from criminals by our hard-working police officers – putting it back into the fight against crime. Along with other projects supported by my Community Fund, these initiatives are making a difference across every area in Thames Valley." It was lovely to connect with other charities doing great work in our communities and look forward to beginning and nurturing relationships as we put the award to good use

“As a result of the continued growth of Hope and Vision Communities the trustees decided to restructure our senior team in order to ensure that we are ready for the next stage in our development. I'm delighted to welcome Treflyn Lloyd Roberts into his new role as CEO. Treflyn brings enormous experience both of our sector and leading organisations within it. He knows us very well, having been one of the founding trustees of Hope and Vision, stepping down from the board in the middle of 2023. This has enabled Tony Attwood to move to a new role as Head of Operations and Development, allowing him to focus on building relationships and developing opportunities as part of our expansion strategy. Hope and Vision will thus be able to utilise his skills and experience in looking outwards rather than having to combine this with his previous role as CEO. Our Head of Key Working, Kevin Randall, joined us in late 2023 having run a successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation unit in the West Country and is already building upon existing support mechanisms for the benefit of our residents. Together, Tref, Tony, and Kevin make a very strong senior team who will take forward the important work of making Tony's vision for our charity a reality.” Peter Ross, Chair of Trustees Exciting News! “We have grown considerably and are evolving and looking at the next stage of our development with some exciting changes taking place. My role is changing slightly to Head of Operations and Development, which has created space where we are pleased to welcome Treflyn Lloyd-Roberts to join us as CEO. I am looking forward to working alongside Treflyn to reach Hope and Vision Communities full potential with our mission and vision moving into our next season of stability and growth. Tony Attwood, Founder

"An unlikely friendship between two people with experience of the opposing sides of the criminal justice system...a wonderful story of how two people with different life experiences can come together to make the world a better place" Peter and I recently talked to Kaigan Carrie at Evolving Prisons, a podcast about people who have been incarcerated in prisons around the world. Thanks to Kaigan Carrie for sharing our story and shedding light on prison and the people in them. Have a listen and please share your thoughts, and consider subscribing to her podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3DuYEYzZb4y8KorU1lKwfI...

We are hiring for two part roles within our fundraising team: A Supporter Fundraiser to create and build relationships with corporate supporters and community organisations A Trusts and Grants Fundraiser to help us grow our existing income and build a strong portfolio of funder For copies of the job descriptions please send an email to tony(at)hopeandvision.org.uk referencing the role you're interested in.

“We did it” is a phase I wasn’t sure we’d be saying at some points this weekend but WE did it! Not only did we smash our target (every penny comes to the charity so please keep giving) but we also climbed mountains we didn’t think we could We’re really proud of the residents that took part. The route taken was an ultra marathon trail. Some guys said it was harder than getting to Everest base camp. We all laughed, some of us cried. The fellowship and everything we shared in those moments were more valuable than the steps we took. Conditions worsened as we faced rocks and ice, injury and weather warnings caused the decision to be made to stop at 26miles and 17peaks. There is talk of going back in May to do the challenge again to complete if anyone wants to have a go! I’ve decided to give that one a miss😂 With a busted knee and testing positive for Covid I am pretty broken, but my spirits remain high. We are surrounded by a group of friends who walk alongside us and through the highs and lows of life. They are a tribe of people who say yes to the things that seem impossible. Maybe you’d say they are insane, but for those of us that have had to walk these kinds of paths in life, it’s a tribe I’m proud to belong to. Your money makes a huge difference, but your friendship makes an even bigger one. Thank you to the 124 people that have donated to this challenge. Special thanks to our Ambassador Danny Williams for joining us, Paul Blair and Abingdon Extreme Fundraisers, Places Leisure and Day 1 Connectivity for making this weekend possible.