Since 2010, BuDS has helped its volunteers towards work. Our Reach4Work project, created in 2018, codified and developed that help, creating a professional wrap-around service for our disabled volunteers who want to move into or closer to work.
BuDS is exceptionally successful at moving disabled jobseeker volunteers into or closer to work…
Please note that the BuDDies scheme is currently on hold due to ongoing challenges facing charity funding across England. Find out more at the button below.
Are you feeling lonely or stressed at home? Need a friendly chat with someone who understands? The BuDS BuDDies are here to help!
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BuDS publishes some of our articles in EasyRead format. These articles are produced by our volunteers, and so our capacity is limited. Over time we will publish more EasyRead articles. Please be patient with us whilst we grow this project.
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The BuDS Enquiries Team answers questions and queries from disabled people about a very wide range of issues. We try to fill the gaps left by other support services and helplines, so we often support disabled people with complex and difficult issues.
Any disabled person in England can contact the Enquiries project for help. Parents, carers, and supporters can also contact us on behalf of a disabled person. We don’t have strict rules about who we can help: we will always do our best to support you and will let you know immediately if, for any reason, we can’t.
The Enquiries project is staffed entirely by volunteers, many of them disabled people themselves. We are often very busy and there may be a delay in getting back to you. We are sorry about this, but we can only do so much. The Enquiries project is not a crisis or emergency service.
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The BuDS SEND Transitions Service is a three-year project funded by The Rothschild Foundation. The purpose of the SEND Transitions Service is to improve the experience of disabled children and young people moving through key transitions within school education and from school education into work or further/higher education. It will do this by:
The SEND Transitions Service is made up of workstreams from a number of BuDS projects, principally Fair4All Education and Reach4Work.
To learn more about the Reach4Work workstream, which is looking at disabled young people’s transition from education to employment, click here.
Fair4All Visitors is a BuDS project to help visitor attractions to be more accessible and inclusive for disabled people.
The Fair4All Education project tackles the most important educational issues facing disabled children and young people, and their parents/carers, in Bucks.
The core of the Fair4All Education project is a ‘working community’ of professionals, parents, carers and disabled young people who are passionate about making a real difference. Working under the BuDS umbrella, the Fair4All Education team works together to define an agenda for action and plan how change will be made to happen.
Read MoreDisabled people are often excluded from outdoor public events. This is not because they do not want to attend these events, but because the way the event is organized and staged creates barriers that make it difficult or impossible for them to attend. BuDS’ free-to-use Fair4All event project helps event organisers remove those barriers and attract more disabled people to their events, making them more successful. There are over 40,000 disabled people in Buckinghamshire and over 100,000 families with a disabled member, so being more accessible can significantly boost an event’s popularity and attendance.
Event organisers are often not aware that they are creating barriers which are reducing the appeal of their events. Event management training and qualifications do not usually cover disabled accessibility and inclusion. Disabled people are so used to events not being accessible that most do not even try to attend, which means event organisers do not see the difficulties that disabled people face.
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Disabled people are sometimes subject to abuse, insults or physical violence because of their disability. The BuDS Fair4All Attitudes and Hate Crime project supports people affected by disability hate, helps them report it to the police if they wish, and campaigns to change attitudes and combat hostility toward disabled people.
Read MoreThe IAG team works tirelessly to produce easy to read, fact-checked and reliable articles about issues relevant to disabled people. During the Covid-19 pandemic, these have included weekly risk posts which break down the latest case, hospitalisation, death and vaccination statistics; analyses of Government policy, and scientific updates about the coronavirus. To read these posts, please see below or visit our Facebook page using the button below:
If you would like to volunteer for the IAG team as a researcher or writer, please visit our volunteering page to find out more.
The Fair4All Card is a secure, evidence based card that can be used by any disabled person to communicate the reasonable adjustments they need.
We created the scheme in August 2020 and have grown from offering around 12 reasonable adjustments to now offering over 40.
Find out more about the scheme below.
Written by Janneke Elford, BuDS HR and Projects Manager
“If you’re reading this, chances are you, or someone you know is dealing with ADHD. It’s no walk in the park (cue Jurassic Park quotes now stuck in my head), but with the right strategies, you can manage the challenges and more importantly, harness the strengths within your neurodiverse brain! Here’s a quick guide to some ADHD-friendly coping strategies to help you navigate life a bit more smoothly.
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Written by Cat Hartwell-Veale, BuDS Reach4Work Personal Development Advisor
On December 12, 2023, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I remember the day so clearly: I had an appointment with a psychiatrist to talk about why I was struggling with my moods, finding stressors challenging, and afraid of damaging my relationships with people I love. After an hour speaking with a team of four strangers, I came away with a diagnosis. I started medication immediately and was told to report back in a few weeks to see how I was getting on.
Three months later, I was made redundant from my job.
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Written by Harry, a BuDS Reach4Work volunteer.
“In recent years, awareness of disabilities has increased, and it is becoming a much more accepted part of our lives. However, there is still work to be done.
Many disabled people struggle to break into the world of work, and this is where BuDS comes in. A successful charity that operates primarily in Buckinghamshire, they have dedicated themselves to the support of disabled people and their issues with preparing for the world of work.
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Written by Siobhan Meade
Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.
As a blind person living in the UK, I am deeply familiar with the numerous hurdles we face in the employment market. This journey is not just about personal determination; it’s also a continuous challenge to prove that a disability does not diminish one’s professional capabilities.
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Written by Siobhan Meade
Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.
Today marks International Women’s Day, a day earmarked to celebrate the indomitable spirit of women across the globe, I find myself reflecting on my journey, not just as a woman but as a blind woman navigating a world designed for the sighted. This day serves as a poignant reminder of the collective and individual strength of women, especially those of us within the disability community, striving to make significant contributions in our unique ways.
Read More![Graphic headed "Thomas’ Blog: Making Videos For BuDS With The Reach4Work Digital Team". Text boxes read "My time at BuDS... [is helping] me to improve my motivation and confidence to work independently " and "These are all valuable skills that will help me to get employment either now or in the future"](https://buds.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/230620-Thomas-R4W-Digital-blog-banner-750x410.png)
Written by Thomas, a member of the BuDS Reach4Work Digital team.
Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.
“Since I joined the Reach4Work Digital Team in January, I have been working both on my own and with a the Digital Team, to create Videos. We usually work as a team in co-production, creating different components for the final video I have worked on several different videos. In blog I would like to talk to about a video we have just finished about Agile Project Management, to add to an article the team had previously written.
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Written by Huw Feakes for Volunteers Week
Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.
“My Name is Huw, I first heard about BuDS through my employment coach at Talkback, this is because I am looking to gain some experience to help me get a paid job in the future. After taking a couple of weeks to officially join I started volunteering with the Reach4Work team 2 weeks ago.
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Written by David Bennett
Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.
The Covid pandemic triggered a truly remarkable effect upon the workplace. Before Covid, everybody was expected to attend an office and sit at a desk where they could be seen to be “working”. In some enlightened workplaces, the advent of remote communication technology allowed employees to work from home. This managerial concession had led to some workers being allowed to occasionally work from home when circumstances demanded it. Indeed, there were some that were allowed to work 100% from home but these were the exception rather than the rule. With the onset of the pandemic, it became imperative if work was to continue, then employees had to be enabled to work from home. Due to technological advances, this proved far easier than managers thought.
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Written by Hope Heeley
Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.
Hello!
My name is Hope, I am the Disability Hate Crime Officer here at BuDS. I began working for BuDS in January 2023. BuDS is my first true experience of the working world and I have never felt more welcome.
“BuDS is an incredibly supportive and hard-working charity.”
BuDS is an incredibly supportive and hard-working charity. Their sole aim is to help disabled people in any way they can, this has been made clear to me in our most recent projects.
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Written by Siobhan Meade
Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.
24 years ago, I heard five words that will haunt me forever, “you’re never going to see again”.
This is how an Ophthalmologist at a Kent hospital broke the news to a distraught 16 year-old girl, who’s one remaining optic nerve finally gave up the ghost and snapped after I walked into a door at school.
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