Future Toolbox CIC
Setting and Achieving Goals in a Supportive Community
For many years, we’ve worked in mainstream and post-16 education and have met over 150,000 teens, young adults and teaching staff. Our passion is to help create communities of people working together to engage in personal development to enhance their lives.
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More About Mark & Jules
In April 2021, we also set up the Future Toolbox as a Community Interest Company, Future Toolbox CIC. A social enterprise designed to help community groups both locally and across the world.
This allowed us to attract further funding for our life skills programmes and tools to become more accessible to groups who we may have reached before.
Was this the right decision? Absolutely!
Since then, we’ve been fortunate to receive grants from the National Lottery and West Northants Council and have also become Fellows of the School of Social Entrepreneurs (SSE). This has allowed us to launch the following programmes:
- Brain or Shine – a huge ongoing programme to help those affected by brain injury
- Parents and Youngsters / Family / Sports Community Groups – we’ve worked with a local swimming club, youth football club and a black African community project
- At-risk NEET Students – students and young adults who are at risk of dropping out of education, employment and training.
Finally (drum roll, please), we’re so excited to be named finalists at the Charity Heroes Awards in the Local Community Initiative category. This followed the 2023 Award of the One to Watch Family Business of the Year. So, keep watching as we keep evolving!
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Thanks to funding from the National Lottery, we launched an ongoing programme called Brain or Shine, which is designed to help individuals and their families, friends, and work colleagues understand how to live with the life-changing effects of traumatic injuries and hidden disabilities.
Mark suffered a brain injury following a freak accident in 2012 and thankfully survived with very few visible side effects. However, the hidden disabilities that a brain injury can present can be devastating, not only for the individual but for those around them.
Where did this title come from? Well, to me, a brain injury can be like the wonderful English weather: one minute, the sun is shining, and the next, it’s raining. It’s so unpredictable and has the ability to change very quickly.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s not all doom and gloom. In fact, so many Brits love to complain about how bad the weather is, but they don’t focus on a blue sky on a cold, crisp morning; they complain about the low temperature instead. If you can focus on the beauty and positive aspects, life will become more joyous. So back to my blog, well it’s here to help not only those living with brain injury but the family and friends who have also been affected by their loved one suffering these side-effects.
Brain or Shine now has a peer-to-peer support group, podcast, blog, regular newsletter and various other tools to support those affected by brain injury and traumatic injuries.
Brain Injury Groups
In 2012, Mark suffered a brain injury in a freak accident leaving him with side effects including PTSD, fatigue and memory loss.
As part of his recovery, Future Toolbox has supported a number of brain injury community groups including Isebrook Hospital, Northamptonshire, Headway UK and Brain Health Breakthrough. We have run support and personal development workshops, created video resources and an online blog, as well as publishing our story, What The Hell Just Happened.
Click Here For Free Brain Injury Resources
Charity Groups
The Future Toolbox works with charities which has included personal development workshops to people in care and social events for a cancer charity.
Jules is involved in running events for the charity Breast Friends Northamptonshire, supporting members who are affected by breast cancer.
Parents and Youngsters / Family / Sports Community Groups
Thanks to organisations including the National Lottery and West Northamptonshire Council, we’ve been able to work with a range of community groups, including a swimming club, a youth football team (who won their cup final), families from a black African community group and at-risk NEET students – students and young adults who are at risk of dropping out of education, employment and training.
Businesses and Charities
Personal development is for all ages and adults should never stop learning. Through various collaborations, we have worked with a number of businesses and local authorities, which have included a post-redundancy programme for executives, a European science company and GCSEPod, to help teens and parents get a grip of exam stress.
As you can see, the potential at the Future Toolbox is limitless.
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