What’s cooking in Cheryl’s kitchen?
SPACE IS BASED AT CHERYL’S TRUST CENTRE
A STATE-OF-THE-ART kitchen space has been opened at popstar Cheryl’s Newcastle Prince’s Trust centre by bakery giant Greggs.
Greggs, which opened its first shop in Newcastle in 1951 and made a major donation towards the Prince’s Trust Cheryl’s Trust Centre, is aiming to give disadvantaged young people the opportunity to turn their lives around through retail.
The kitchen space will be the main setting for delivery of the charity’s Get into Retail programme, an employability support course that offers unemployed young people the opportunity to gain work experience, training and focuses on job skills to help them move into work.
As part of the programme, Greggs staff are volunteering to help develop new skills and provide a fresh start in life to more young people like Ann Kelley, 27, from Darlington.
At the age of 25, Ann had never had a job interview, and the thought of gaining employment seemed like a pipe dream. Her self-esteem was at rock bottom after years of just sitting at home in isolation having been badly treated by most people in her life.
Ann’s parents separated when she was very young, leaving her to live with her troubled mum who took a lot of her frustrations out on Ann.
When she was 11, Ann was involved in a freak accident when her leg was crushed in a car park barrier.
Although surgeons were able to save it, the damage meant she would go on to spend most of her teenage years in and out of hospital, causing her struggle at school and with making friends.
Coupled with her difficult home life, this led to Ann doing badly in her GCSEs and soon after she dropped out of college.
When Ann found a boyfriend and got married, things appeared to be pointing to a much brighter future. She left her mum’s and moved to Newcastle for a fresh start.
But what seemed so full of hope quickly turned out to be a false dawn, as her relationship became abusive.
Things grew worse and worse and Ann’s family had to intervene, helping her escape to a women’s refuge.
It was her local Jobcentre adviser who told Ann about the Get into Retail programme with Greggs.
Despite being nervous before starting, especially about integrating with a new group of people, Ann soon felt less isolated and her confidence slowly started to return. Her personality grew too, becoming more outgoing and bubbly with other young people and the staff leading the course.
The experience and skills Ann gained during the programme were invaluable.
She was placed in a busy Greggs in Newcastle where she thrived in the fast-paced environment and became part of a team. One aspect of the course that particularly helped Ann was a series of mock interviews designed to boost confidence and improve employability. She said: “I couldn’t believe it when I got through an interview and was given so much positive feedback. My store manager was so impressed with my hard work that at the end of the course I was offered a job.” Ann now sees a bright future and she is still employed by Greggs as a valued member of the team. She said: “The programme gave me a sense of purpose. It made me feel like I was doing something, like I was worth something.
“If I hadn’t taken that leap of faith, I would have been stuck on the dole, sat at home most of the time, stuck in a rut and depressed. It changed my life.”
Roger Whiteside, chief executive of Greggs, said: “We are proud to support The Prince’s Trust and Cheryl’s Trust Centre.
“The new centre will support thousands of unemployed young people across the North East, connecting them with training opportunities and jobs and helping them to fulfil their potential.”
“If I hadn’t taken that leap of faith, I would have been stuck on the dole... stuck in a rut and depressed Ann Kelley