Our one-to-one support
How we support and develop individuals
As part of our social mobility community and integration commitment, we ensure that we offer time to members of our community to meet our staff and work on the specific areas that they perceive to be lacking, whether that be language, technology, therapy, integration, or even just a chat.
Why do we help our community? Read more here: https://brazilianculturalcentre.co.uk/blog/f/helping-the-community
If you need our support, contact us today.
Read below some exceptional work that we have done with individuals and some groups too.
One-to-one sessions at BCC will help a member of our community improve his Excel skills for his new
We change people's lives - case studies
Meet Simone Dias
Simone Dias is currently one of our Directors; she was appointed in 2023. However, Simone's story with BCC didn't start then. It started further back when she attended one of our Mental Health courses - Ignite the Brain - in 2022.
Simone was suffering from trauma, severe anxiety, and a lack of confidence. Tatiana Woolley, the CEO, started to work with Simone to allow her to see her potential and begin to believe in herself again.
Tatiana Woolley said: "From the moment the group started to share, I could tell that Simone was a raw gem. She needed polishing and caring with love. There were a lot of broken pieces that could be swept away, revealing the strong woman that she is. The 7-month course allowed Simone to get in touch with the part of her personally that had been dormant for years."
When the course finished, we offered Simone an opportunity to use her skills at BCC to regain the pride and confidence she had lost. We offered her a mentorship programmer for six months, which allowed her to learn many different work skills and use her existing ones to make a difference.
Simone shares her experience: "I sought the services of BCC in a time of extreme personal grief when I found out that my mother had a terminal illness. My anxiety had reached a point that I had never experienced in my entire life, and it was affecting my physical health to the point where I could no longer dance, which for me was devastating.
"I participated in the course to rescue some of my mental health and ended up rediscovering myself and understanding myself capable of doing things that I no longer believed I could do. When I was offered the 6-month mentorship I was afraid of not being able to meet what would be expected of me, but with constant work focused on increasing my self-esteem and training myself to develop the necessary tasks for the centre, I rediscovered myself capable of going much further than I could imagine.
"During this period, I was able to refresh my existing skills and learn so many others that made me able to believe in myself again. I was able to use all the knowledge I had acquired over the years as a law student, an artist, a professional, and a community leader, which was totally forgotten by me because of the circumstances I had to endure in my life.
"The mentorship, refreshed these skills and taught me so many other invaluable skills that gave me the confidence that I have now, this support made me able to grow personally and professionally in an exponential way that had never happened before in my personal life or career.
"Today, as director of the BCC, I can use the knowledge I acquired, contributing in an effective way in the creation and development of projects that can help our community and especially people who, like me in the past, today come to us for help in the most diverse areas of their lives. And today I can offer this help with great gratitude and with all the competence that would not have been possible if I had not had the support and mentorship of BCC to develop myself."
To date, Simone has delivered several significant projects, is now part-time employed by BCC and is a fundamental positive part of the organisation. We look forward to what else Simone has to unravel with time.
Meet Alice Cobbin
Alice Cobbin (right in the picture), a costume designer, came to BCC as a university student for a summer placement in 2018. Alice took the opportunity to learn all about the making of Brazilian carnival costumes and has since had a magical and impressive journey.
Even after her placement finished, Alice came back year after year to join us and support us in our activities as a costume designer. BCC has always appreciated her presence and offered her opportunities to learn more and put her skills into practice, whether as a volunteer or on a freelance basis.
In 2023, Tatiana Woolley, BCC CEO (left in the picture), offered Alice a paid opportunity to work on a year-long project for BCC. The project took Alice and three other professionals—also BCC mentees —to Brazil to do some research and bring it back to the UK.
Alice said, " I absolutely love being a part of the Brazilian centre—the music, the people, the energy! I love meeting new people, pushing myself to learn fantastic choreographies, making dance costumes, and getting to wear so many beautiful pieces from their collection!
"Thank you, Tatiana Woolley, for all of the opportunities and support you have given me in the last 7 years. First at ABC Dance School, now the fantastic Brazilian Cultural Centre which radiates love, warmth and community. This is where I began as a carnival artist and costume maker and have met so many lovely people along the way."
Even though we offered Alice a placement in the summer of 2018, we have never stopped offering her more opportunities to express her potential and explore different areas of her personality. Her work with us is ongoing and we look forward to see what the future brings to Alice.
Meet the Refugee Women
BCC started a partnership with the Nottingham Refugee Forum a few years ago when our instructors visited their organisation to deliver sessions to support their women refugee group and their children to decompress from their daily life struggles.
This year, through our Fitter Together programme, funded by Sport England, we have been meeting this group for over six months, giving them an opportunity to meet, socialise, and relax from their daily routine and life's problems.
Valeria Aquino, Youth Project Activities Worker, Children and Families Activities Worker at the Notitngham Refugee Forum, said: "We love our dance sessions with Simone and Tatiana at the Brazilian Cultural Centre.
The Pamoja ladies had the chance to share music, dance and have lots of fun. We discovered how much we have in common even though everyone comes from different countries and cultures."
BCC also offers the LGBTQ+ group at the Nottingham Refugee Forum a place at BCC to meet, have fun and socialise.
Tatiana Woolley, CEO, said: "This work is very important to us. We can see on the participants' faces how much they release and are able to let go of life's daily chores and problems. Whether they contribute to their lives a little bit or a lot, either way, it is a privilege that cannot be measured.
"What is also very significant is how they hear about our other social projects and start to take part, expanding their opportunities for growth."