About Us

Stepping out in the community with compassion to meet local need

Our Aims

Our aims are to establish a variety of services under one umbrella to help address isolation and poverty in and around Redcar and to provide a network of support to local people and organisations.

Our History

Footprints in the Community became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in July 2013, though our first project actually started back in November 2011 with the Footprints Cafe, based in a local church hall.  The cafe was only open once a week, but quickly became a popular place for people to enjoy a healthy, value for money lunch.

In January 2013 the cafe became the venue of the first foodbank centre for Redcar Area Foodbank, with two more centres opening shortly after and the launch of First Steps.  In November of that year, Ruth Fox (our CEO) became the first employed member of staff.

Over the course of 2014 and 2015, the organisation grew quickly with 100 Club, Lunchbox project and Redcar Beacons all getting up and running. Other Footprints’ projects followed, through identifying the needs of local people attending either foodbank or the cafe. By November 2015, we took on our first office space at Westfield Farm in Dormanstown and opened the Next Step Shop and Men’s Shed in central Redcar.

In May 2017, Footprints received 3 years’ funding from the National Lottery and by November 2017 we moved into our current offices at 10 Queen Street, Redcar which allowed us to bring office space, a dedicated training room and our Next Step Shop and Men’s Shed projects all together under one roof.

Our Reflections Dementia Support Group started in 2018, as part of our commitment to being a dementia friendly charity, along with Women’s Shed and Artspace. We started 2019 by launching Bridging the Gap, in conjunction with a local care home.

In June 2019, Footprints Community Cafe formed a partnership with South Tees Community Bank, to move into joint premises on Redcar High Street and allow the cafe to open 6 days a week.

We continued to operate throughout 2020/21 and the Coronavirus pandemic, although some of our projects were temporarily paused. In December 2020 we launched our most recent project, The Book Club, which distributes free books to local children, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the aim of improving literacy levels.

During 2021, we opened our second Next Step Shop and employed an Operations Manager to work alongside our CEO.  We also formed a collaboration with FROG (Future Regeneration of Grangetown) to offer a one-to-one advice service to our clients and members.

By 2022, Footprints employed over 10 staff members (mainly part-time), including a newly-recruited Support Worker. At the end of the year Footprints worked with Beyond Housing to run drop-in sessions at Birkdale Community Centre in Eston for the local community.

2023 saw Footprints reach a siginificant milestone of 10 years as a registered charity. We employed an Assistant Foodbank Manager and a Shout Out Against Poverty Development Worker to liase with members and clients of our projects to develop a ‘voice’ to challenge and influence change.

In 2024 the demand for our projects continues to grow. We have employed a Community Wellbeing Coordinator to support local people to improve their mental health and wellbeing. We also have a Campaign Against Poverty Advocate to work with local people and develop solutions that may help reduce people’s need to use foodbanks.

Take a look at our Get Involved page to find out how you can join us!

Our Board of Trustees

Footprints in the Community is run by a Board of Trustees, who meet approximately every 6 weeks. They are responsible for ensuring the organisation runs responsibly and within the law. They regularly look at other development ideas, researching projects and assessing local need.

Our Trustees have a range of skills from management and finances to HR and policy making. They are all volunteers.  For more information about our Board of Trustees, please contact Steve Duffield, Chair at chair@footprintsinthecommunity.co.uk