Annual
Review
2020 - 2021

Welcome

Together We're Stronger

We have created this year’s Annual Review to build on the story we shared last year, which harnessed the impact of Mahdlo’s response to the pandemic, providing a vital lifeline for many young people and their families in our community. However, we have not done this alone. The overwhelming spirit of our community has provided a strength that has pulled our team and the people we support through the last 12 months, making our contribution so much more valuable. We want to take this opportunity to thank each and every person that has given their time, a donation or a kind word. It means more than you will ever know.
Watch Lucy's Video Welcome
Lucy Lees
Chief Executive

Impact In Numbers

500 miles for Mahdlo

Double the difference

Mahdlo: Always in reach

President's Cup at home 2020

Finance

2019 – 2021 Finances

Holiday Hunger

Together We're Tackling Holiday Hunger

For many families across Oldham, this year has been incredibly tough, taking a significant toll on the health and wellbeing of young people. Being there for our community has been our number one priority, and whilst we could not provide our normal service, Mahdlo committed to extend its efforts to help those struggling during the pandemic. 

After our ‘Don’t Go Hungry This Half Term’ campaign in October was so well received, Mahdlo pledged to provide packed lunches to Oldham’s young people during every school holiday for the remainder of the academic year.

Packed Lunches

Christmas Hampers

Essential Packages

Covid Case Studies

Stories Of Empowerment

During the pandemic Mahdlo continued to support around 2,000 members. Throughout lockdown Mahdlo provided remote support through online interactions and phone calls, as well as home visits to support vulnerable young people and families.

Youth services are an essential part of helping a generation of young people, which stand to be hit hardest by the economic, social, health and mental wellbeing implications of the crisis for many years to come.

These are the stories of empowerment that highlight just how important youth work has been during the pandemic.

Making Music That Matters

I Have To Be Patient

Finding A Way To Cope

Express Yourself

Mahdlo TikToks its way into

Young People’s Inboxes

Lockdown saw Mahdlo adapt to change how it supported young people, moving sessions online and finding new ways to keep them engaged. To keep our offer as relevant as possible, we launched a new TikTok account, becoming one of the first OnSide Youth Zones to do so. We started to build a following with fun videos from the team, showing behind the scenes and at home, as we jumped in with challenges, duets and viral dances!

Mike’s Legacy

Leaving A Legacy

Just over a year ago the Mahdlo family lost a dear friend and faithful colleague, Mike Doran, our Chief Executive. The loss has been felt by many, but Mike’s memory remains strong within the Youth Zone culture of excellence, which he spearheaded. Tightly interwoven within the fabric of our service offer for young people, we live and breathe his values of: Passion, Respect, Innovation, Dependability and Excellence.

When Mike passed away, we created a fundraising campaign for those that wanted to donate to ‘inclusive provision for all’ in honour of Mike’s legacy. To date Mike’s fund has raised nearly £7,000 and will be put towards delivering an inspiring leaders programme. One of those team members that encapsulates the values Mike worked so hard to foster is our new Sports and Outdoor Co-ordinator, George. George started with us in 2013 on a six-week placement and his journey at Mahdlo has been a great example of the personal and professional development within our team. George will be relaunching our Duke of Edinburgh programme in 2021, as well as lots of other great projects.

When Mahdlo is filled with young people, we will always take a moment to remember Mike’s influence, infectious personality and fantastic humour. 

Forever in our hearts, we miss you, Mike.

Thank You

Mahdlo President

Sir Norman Stoller, CBE KStJ DL

It does not take much imagination to recognise the fantastic difference that Mahdlo has made during the pandemic to the quality of life of the local community. It is, however, hard to appreciate just how traumatic the last 12 months have been, and in turn, just how invaluable is the provision that Mahdlo provides.

Our admiration for those selfless people who are providing this support is surely beyond words: it is simply priceless! The fact that many of them are still young and returning the support that they themselves have received, is also a sobering thought.

This report provides a brief, but important glimpse of how vital Mahdlo is to the local community, and I share your admiration of our staff, our young members, our wonderful volunteers and of course our vital supporters. Bless you all.

Mahdlo Chairman

Chris Wareing

The world today looks very different than it did last year; Mahdlo has had to adapt to support our wonderful young people, even when we have faced some of our darkest of days. Losing our amazing CEO Mike Doran has been incredibly difficult, and he is missed by so many. But his legacy lives on as we continue to deliver for the young people of Oldham, just as he would have wanted us to.

Under the guidance of our new CEO Lucy Lees, we have made fantastic progress even in the face of budget cuts and more lockdowns. From Zoom sessions and supplying thousands of meals to the community to innovative ways of delivering activities to young people as we widen our offer, we have never stopped engaging with our members. We will always be here for them even if our provision looks slightly different. We look forward to the day when we can fully open our doors and embrace the joy and laughter that comes with young people filling our building.

However, none of this would be possible without the generous support of our patrons, volunteers and business community. You have all really stepped up this year: you never let us down. From the bottom of my heart, thank you; you are the reason we continue to give young people every opportunity to achieve greatness.

Our Patrons

Core Founder

Founding Patron

Premier Patrons

Frank & Judith Rothwell
David & Janelle Barker
Heritage Lottery Emergency Fund

Patrons

Graham Kirkham Foundation

Supporters

Peter & Patricia Casey
Duncan & Barbara Arthurs
Rooftop Properties

Friends

David Bellis MBE
Peter Bryant
Jeanette Quinn
The Treeside Trust
Terry & Sue Flanagan
Andrew Illingworth
Roland Hill
Michael Josephson MBE
David Robinson
Warwick Ley & Family
Jonathan Lloyd
The JoRDON GROUP

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Charity Number: 1134427  info@mahdloyz.org

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500 Miles For Mahdlo

In July 2020 walkers from across Oldham set out on their own sponsored walks, runs and treks to help raise vital funds for Mahdlo in our special 500 Miles for Mahdlo fundraiser. Between the amazing efforts of humans and dogs alike, over £2,500 was raised as people ‘proclaimed their love’ for the charity.  

Read some of the stories here. 

Double the donation, double the difference

A staggering £51,260 was raised through a unique campaign delivered last year, where a group of loyal friends pledged to match every £1 donated by the local community. From mountains climbed to bake sales and half marathons being completed in gardens, the money raised was put towards helping young people “Get Back in the Zone” and access the activities and support they vitally needed. It also enabled us to replace our much-loved minibus that was stolen last year.

Always in reach

“I’ve made friends because of this project that I never would’ve spoken to before.” – Member age 17

The pandemic created a shift in the way we have been able to deliver youth work. With many community venues shut or at limited building capacity, our District Team put their concentration into delivering outreach. This provided a unique opportunity for regular interaction with families and young people in their communities, giving a more rounded picture of what the daily challenges were.

As a result the Team was able to tailor its offer to deliver:

  • Early intervention – working with Year 6 and 7 pupils at risk of getting involved in crime with a focus on those that are extremely vulnerable due to lack of transition support
  • A 12-week early intervention project aimed at girls (aged 11-13) at risk of criminal offending and/or sexual exploitation
  • Established an LGBTQ drop-in session for young people
  • Trained 23 mentors, with a total of 14 active matches

President’s Cup at home 2020

This year the OnSide Network President’s Cup took place as a virtual competition,encouraging young people to compete in a series of online challenges over a period of 4 weeks in a bid to battle the boredom of lockdown isolation. From celebrity judges to amazing challenges and of course awesome submissions from Mahdlo members, it was great to see the Network come together.

Packed Lunches

To date 2,500 packed lunches have been distributed during the school holidays

“We cannot thank you enough for all you have done over the past few weeks. Our families were so grateful, and your impact did not go unnoticed throughout our community.” – Shan Potts, Holy Rosary School.

Christmas Hampers

397 Christmas hampers were given out locally, benefitting 2,200 people

“Thank you so much for your hamper. It’s just lovely. It’s the little kindnesses that have the biggest impact on people right now.” – Parent of Mahdlo member

Essential Packages

Over 495 food parcels containing over 13,500 meals and 600 breakfast and meal pots at the weekends have been shared

“On Friday I received a food parcel from you…. I’d just like to say it’s greatly appreciated. This year I’ve been furloughed and then had my hours cut at work. We’re really struggling at the moment and your food parcel has really raised our spirits. It’s so different this year as every year I donate to food banks and usually a charity, but to be on the receiving end has been hard for me, but from the bottom of our hearts thank you. Now my son has a present to open on Christmas morning and food in the cupboard. Thank you so much to everyone involved for their generosity and kindness.” Parent

Making Music That Matters

Last year we were able to secure an internship for a young person on our Get a Job programme with Manchester Camerata – the award-winning orchestra – that delivered amazing results, despite being in lockdown. Being part of this fantastic experience has seen Andrew Campbell’s confidence, ambition and entrepreneurial spirit grow:

“It is not easy to integrate into a new team but to do so whilst in lockdown, and so successfully too, is a credit to Andrew. A huge thank you and here’s to finding another candidate to start in the autumn!” Jake Anchors, Holroyd Foundation (funder of the internship).

“I have been given the support and help I need, and I feel like I have made an impact. Constructive feedback and friendly discussions are massive motivators in this role, everyone is super nice, and I am able to develop my skills every day. I thank Mahdlo and Ali for this amazing opportunity to work within the job sector I wanted to get into.”

“When I first got into contact with Ali, I had lost hope, my confidence was low, and I wasn’t feeling optimistic about where I would be in the future. When I had begun attending Mahdlo at first, I doubted that it would help me, but I was proven wrong. After a few weeks of attending, I began to feel much more positive about my future, my level of confidence had increased, and I actually had faith in myself. I was able to improve my skills for employability, and I felt a lot more prepared than I was.” Andrew Campbell, Mahdlo Member

I Have to be Patient

“I Have to be Patient” is an inspirational music video, created as part of the project: Positive Oldham Music Cultures, which started in late 2019. Funded by the Heritage Lottery, the aim of the project was to promote cohesion and better understanding of diversity through music.

Young people from a mix of backgrounds across Oldham were given access to practical music and musical heritage activities. Due to COVID the project had to be redesigned with lots of “Mahdlo at Home” elements. A partnership with the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) was created, which was originally intended to be vocal lessons became the development of three original songs. These songs were developed by RNCM and a gospel artist, introducing the young people to aspects of song writing and gospel structure composition.

“I Have to be Patient” is one of those tracks! This song in particular cemented the bond between four neurodiverse members through lockdown, developing their skills, their knowledge and their friendships. Enjoy!

Finding A Way To Cope

Having been bullied at school, Mahdlo member Mike lacked confidence, which often resulted in a struggle to control his anger. Social anxiety is a very real challenge for young people that we connect to our mentoring programme and has become heightened because of the pandemic.

“I found early on that when Mike had been teased or provoked in the past, his first reaction was to become volatile,” says Dan. “Mike needed a positive outlet for venting his anger; we found that activities like the gym, boxing and breathing exercises really helped to alleviate the stress he had always internalised. Working closely with the Mahdlo’s safeguarding officer and Mike’s school, we have been able to give him coping strategies, so that when he faced stressful incidents, he was able to deal with them more maturely.

“Lockdown challenged Mike, like many young people, creating an isolation that he hasn’t been used to before. The activities that he had been taking part in, which had started to work to keep his emotions under control, were no longer available. We needed to redirect Mike’s focus to activities that he could do from home. With encouragement he took part in an arts consultation, and theatre production focussing on mental health; I can honestly say he is flourishing. Mike told me recently he feels a sense of achievement and connection despite having been in lockdown earlier this year and made some really amazing friendships. This is why we do what we do at Mahdlo!”

Express Yourself

A unique production entitled; ‘As Time Goes By’ has been created by the Mahdlo Ability Productions Group. Shaped by the pandemic and personal loss, this creation has pushed the group to develop their skills in a way that they haven’t encountered before. The focus is about creating a world where no-one wants to touch anyone or go outside. This is a very poignant piece and as it’s been produced, we got the chance to catch up backstage with the Group to talk about the project and their experiences throughout lockdown, which have ultimately shaped the production.