Who we are

Grow is a youth development charity that works with young people in Sheffield. Many of the young people we work with face mental health difficulties that have resulted in social isolation and a lack of engagement in work or training prospects. At Grow, we combine coaching with nature-based projects to help our trainees combat social isolation, boost their wellbeing and develop employability skills.

Watch Kendal’s story below…

Impact Report 2023

A great way to understand what we do and our impact for young people is to take a look through our 2023 Impact Report.

Our history

Grow gained charity status in February 2018 and it has been an incredible journey so far.  Grow was founded by Steven Cotton (our MD) and a small core of original trustees.

Since launching Grow we have focussed on developing programmes that combine coaching with the therapeutic benefits of being in nature.

We first launched with the Grow Programme, but we have since developed Grow Gardeners a gardening social enterprise, the Potting Shed – a micro plant nursery, and our Walk and Talk mentoring programme.

The future

We, like many, were hit hard by the pandemic! Whilst we had to initially pause our work, we found that we were able to quickly bounce back by basing more of our programmes outdoors. The push to be outdoors more gave us the nudge we needed to be more brave with our programmes and more firmly commit to being ‘nature based’. Since then we haven’t looked back!!

In the future we hope to be able to develop more programmes that can both broaden and deepen our reach. We are moving to become a more user led organisation that puts lived experience at the heart of every strategic decision.

If you’d be interesting in hearing more about our work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Our values

Nature

Connection to nature is a key ingredient to thriving as a person. This involves time spent in nature but also choosing to cherish and protect nature where possible.

Growth

Everyone has the ability and the right to grow.

Creativity

Creativity is a tool for inspiration, problem solving and creating opportunities.

Team

 Grow is a dynamic team where everyone’s skills, qualities and lived experience is celebrated. Involve others in the problem and work out the solution together.

Simplicity

A simple approach is often the most efficient and accessible.