Creating work experience opportunities for disabled young people

Posted: 17th October 2017

Treloar College in Alton, which supports young people with complex physical disabilities, has been awarded £50,775 to help create valuable work experience opportunities for its students. This grant will fund the role of a Work Experience Officer, who will arrange work placements for students, helping to prepare them for life after college. This may include going into voluntary or paid employment with the aim of boosting confidence and skills for the future.

The Work Experience Officer is part of the Transition Team at Treloar’s. The total cost of this department is over £220,000 a year, which is funded solely through voluntary donations.

Disabled people are far less likely to find employment

Young disabled people are almost half as likely as their non-disabled peers to be in employment – 46.5% compared to 84%, according to a 2016 report from the Papworth Trust.  A shocking 44.3% of working-age disabled people are without a job; nearly 4 times higher than for non-disabled people.

Treloar’s Principal Martin Ingram said:

“We are very grateful to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Freemasons for their generous grant. It will help give our students confidence and develop skills and experience for the future.”

Mike Wilks, Provincial Grand Master for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Freemasons said:

“We are very pleased to be able to support the Treloar Trust, which does outstanding work in giving young disabled people in our community the chance to experience the world of work.”




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Age UK grant will help older people get online

Posted: 16th October 2017

Older people who have never learned to use the internet will be helped online thanks to a £66,000 grant to Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland.

This grant will help Age UK recruit at least twenty “Digital Champions” to teach 2,000 older people to use communication tools like email, Skype and FaceTime; skills which younger people take for granted.

Digital Champions Project

The Digital Champions project aims to help older people to access online information on everything from benefits to bus timetables. With many services becoming digital by default, people who are not online face more hurdles in their daily lives to access both private and public sector services. There will also be an emphasis on online safety, and protection from viruses and fraud.

The project is supporting older people across  Leicestershire and Rutland with a focus on people in rural areas. It aims to combat loneliness by helping these budding “silver surfers” to keep in touch with family and friends online.

Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland’s Digital Champions will be holding up to four sessions a week across Leicestershire and Rutland. Sessions for groups of around 15 people will be held in libraries, village halls and residential homes. One to one lessons will also be available.

Tony Donovan, Executive Director at Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland said:

“We are very grateful to Leicestershire and Rutland Freemasons for their generous grant which will improve the quality of life for thousands of older people. More than four million older people nationally have never used the internet and we need to help them to benefit from all the advantages of a digital world that most of us take for granted.”

Leicestershire and Rutland Freemason, David Hagger said:

“We are very pleased to be able to support Age UK’s Digital Champions. As well as fighting loneliness and depression, getting older people online has great practical benefits. A household without internet access is on average £650 a year worse off.”

About Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland

Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland is an independent, local charity with a national name. The charity raises funds locally to support local older people with information, advice, services and support.

Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland offers a wide range of services for older people with physical frailty, impaired mobility, mental health issues such as dementia and learning disabilities and for those who are at risk of social isolation, loneliness, fuel poverty or financial abuse. Many services are free at the point of delivery.




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More young people are volunteering, says nfpSynergy research

But levels are falling among those aged over 45, according to the consultancy’s latest figures

Volunteering levels among the younger generations are increasing, but falling among middle-aged people, new figures from the consultancy nfpSynergy show.

Its latest statistics on volunteering, based on surveys involving thousands of people since 2004, the consultancy says that the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds who volunteer has increased significantly over the past 13 years, rising from 15 per cent participation to 29 per cent in August this year.

The research shows that there has been a similar rise in the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds volunteering over the same period, with 26 per cent of respondents to the most recent survey saying they had volunteered over the previous three months, up from 14 per cent in 2004.

The research shows that volunteering rates peaked at 33 per cent among 16 to 24-year-olds in 2013/14, but the rates for 25 to 34-year-olds are doing so now. According to nfpSynergy, this might show that people who volunteered at school and university are continuing those habits as they get older.

The figures show that 16 to 34-year-old men are now one of the most likely groups to volunteer, closely followed by women of the same age.

But volunteering rates appear to be falling among 45 to 54-year-olds and 55 to 64-year-olds, the figures show. In 2012, 20 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds volunteered, as did 22 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds, according to nfpSynergy.

This fell to 14 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds and 15 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds, according to the most recent research in August.

Both of these age groups have not been targeted with any major initiatives to increase volunteering rates, which nfpSynergy said could be contributing to the decline in volunteering.

The gap in volunteering rates between men and women has closed significantly in recent years, with increases in the proportion of men volunteering over the past 13 years.

Overall volunteering rates have remained generally stable at around 20 per cent, the figures show.

Joe Saxton, co-founder of nfpSynergy, said he did not think the National Citizen Service, which includes an element of community work, was responsible for the rise in volunteering rates among younger people.

He said schools and universities were better at encouraging people to volunteer and it was a more important part of building a CV than it used to be.

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Lifeboat service to use donated drones to help rescue people at sea

Direct Line and Saatchi & Saatchi London have formed the first partnership making use of its pioneering Fleetlights drone technology and donated a fleet of waterproofed drones to the Caister Lifeboat service.

The Norfolk service will use a network of Fleetlights drones equipped with high-powered lights and high-definition cameras to perform semi-autonomous flights, helping lifeboat crews to spot people stranded at sea.

Saatchi & Saatchi filmed the fleet’s inaugural flight earlier this week, with the drones lighting up the sea in a 10-mile radius from the lifeboat.

Each mobile-controlled drone uses “mesh networking” tech, which helps operators spot people who would otherwise be easy to miss. At night, the technology can help rescuers see further than they usually could thanks to the high-powered lights.

After conversations with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and HM Coastguard, Direct Line decided that Caister would be the first to benefit from the technology, given its distance from helicopter support.

The drones will be used in searches ahead of a potential national roll-out.

Paul Garrod, chairman of the Caister Lifeboat, said: “In the past, there have been instances where we have been unsuccessful when searching for someone in need of help. Perhaps if we had been equipped with the drone technology, these searches would have had a positive outcome.”

Mark Evans, Direct Line’s marketing director, added: “We deliberately created the Fleetlights code on an open-source basis in the hope that this would help us to accelerate. Now that we are using the technology to develop the drones for sea rescue it has happened much faster than anticipated.”

This article first appeared in Campaign


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Charity shops vital to helping people back into work, says Demos survey

According to research by the think tank, two-thirds of charity shop volunteers felt this had helped their employment prospects

Volunteering at charity shops plays a vital role in helping unemployed people gain paid employment and has a positive effect on local communities and high streets, according to new research from the think tank Demos.

The research, which is based partly on a survey of 650 charity shop managers and volunteers carried out in 2016 and 2017, follows similar research released in 2013. Researchers this time found that two-thirds of charity shop volunteers felt their role had improved their employment prospects.

Seventy-five per cent of the volunteers surveyed said they gained new skills, and 73 per cent said volunteering at charity shops had helped their self-esteem and confidence.

Most charity shop managers said they believed charity shops were positive additions to high streets, with about two-thirds saying their premises would otherwise be left empty if the charity shop did not exist.

Demos also found that charity shops saved local councils £27m between 2015 and 2016 by diverting clothes and other goods from landfill.

A separate poll of 2,000 members of the public found a generational divide on whether charity shops were positive for high streets, with younger people more likely to see charity shops as cost-effective, environmentally friendly and trendy.

In contrast, many older people said they thought that the appearance of charity shops was a sign of an unhealthy high street.

According to the research, three-quarters of charity shop managers were satisfied in their roles, although 55 per cent found the job either stressful or very stressful.

Volunteers were generally motivated to help out at charity shops in order to contribute to the specific charity, charity in general or to their communities, the research found.

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Robin Osterley, chief executive of the Charity Retail Association, said: “From environmental benefit and getting people back into work to improving the confidence and wellbeing of the more vulnerable members of our society, charity shops continue to give far-reaching benefits to their local communities.

“In addition, this report makes it clear that a volunteering revolution would not only benefit the sector but would also help communities all over the country.”

The report’s author, Peter Harrison-Evans, said that the charity shop sector faced an “image problem”, despite its positive impact on communities and volunteers.

“Exactly half of those polled wanted to see fewer charity shops on the high street,” he said.

“That said, Demos finds that this view is strongly mediated by the use of charity shops and demographic factors, with younger people far more likely to see them as valuable assets.”

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Digital round-up: CBM launches app to help disabled people access life-saving disaster relief

Overseas disability charity CBM will launch the full version of its Humanitarian Hands-on Tool on Saturday to coincide with World Humanitarian Day.

The app, which is designed to provide help for people with disabilities seek life-saving relief services during emergencies, was unveiled in prototype version last year, since when CBM has consulted with humanitarian and disabled people’s organisations and incorporated their feedback.

HHOT aims to provide practical, step-by-step guidance that emergency workers can access freely and easily to ensure that the help they provide, such as emergency shelters or food and water points are accessible to people with disabilities or other marginalised groups.

Zoe Hopkins, senior programme officer at humanitarian aid agency Mercy Corps, who took part in the consultation sessions, said it was important to adapt common emergency responses to be more disability inclusive.

“Interactive use of the HHOT tool revealed many practical ways of adapting all sectors of emergencies, from quick wins such as appropriate signage in a camp, to more participatory approaches of ensuring disabled people’s organisations are present at Cluster meetings,” she said.

Breast Cancer Care has created a video to celebrate 25 years of the pink ribbon, the global symbol for breast cancer.

The Pink Ribbon 25 anniversary film, which also features the charity’s new limited edition pink velvet ribbon, has been launched across Breast Cancer Care’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels. It features 25 people who have been affected by breast cancer in some way whether that is through facing their own cancer diagnosis or supporting someone else.

Samia al Qadhi, chief executive of Breast Cancer Care, said: “Since the first pink ribbon was created we’ve helped millions of women, men, their friends and families live with, through and beyond breast cancer. This year, as we celebrate and mark its 25th anniversary, it remains as compelling as ever – a powerful symbol of hope, strength and unity.”

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Charity’s app allows people to report cetacean sightings

Whale Track from the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust was helped by a grant of more than £79,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund

The conservation charity the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust has developed an app to allow people and boat operators to report sightings of whales, dolphins and porpoises off the Scottish coast.

The Whale Track app was made possible by a grant of more than £79,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and is available to download to Apple and Android phones and tablets for free.

The app is designed to work in areas with little or no network coverage, so that boat operators, fishermen and other seafarers can share their sightings, and coastal communities and visitors can report their sightings from land.

Of the 92 whale, dolphin and porpoise species in the world, 24 have been spotted off the coast of western Scotland. The app includes a guide to help people identify the marine life they see.

All the scientific data collected by the app feeds into a web portal, allowing anyone to see what sightings have been reported and where.

Registered users will also be able to upload photographs.

Dr. Lauren Hartny-Mills, the charity’s science officer, said: “Whale Track is an exciting innovation that will help to gather crucial data that will improve our understanding of local species of cetaceans – especially coastal species such as bottlenose dolphins and rarer ones including killer whales and humpback whales – and  inform policies to safeguard them.

“By using the technology most of us carry around in our pockets, Whale Track makes recording and submitting sightings of marine mega-fauna more convenient and accessible to everyone. This is important in an area that is difficult to monitor because of the nature of the remote coastline.”

Whale Track has been developed by the mobile app company Natural Apptitude.

Lucy Casot, head of HLF Scotland, said: “Our natural heritage is a most precious resource and, thanks to National Lottery players, Heritage Lottery Fund grants have helped to protect an amazing range of landscapes, habitats and species of plants and animals.

“HLF is delighted to support the Whale Track app, which will stimulate people’s interest in the marine wildlife along Scotland’s west coast and help them conserve it for future generations.”

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Contact the Elderly grant will help fund tea parties for older people

Posted: 10th August 2017

Isolated and lonely elderly people across Kent and the rest of the UK are being invited to a series of monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties with Contact the Elderly, thanks to our recent £75,000 grant.

Contact the Elderly is dedicated to tackling loneliness and social isolation among older people. Supported by a network of volunteers, the charity organises monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties for small groups of older people, aged 75 and over, who live alone.

Each older guest is collected from their home by a volunteer driver and is taken to a volunteer host’s home, where they join a small group for tea and companionship. The tea parties bring people of all ages together, develop fulfilling friendships and support networks, and give everyone involved something to look forward to each month.

This grant will play an essential role in long-term funding for Contact the Elderly’s National Support Officer, who helps run 55 of the charity’s tea parties benefitting around 450 older guests, as well as coordinating over 700 of the charity’s 10,000 volunteers who help make the tea parties happen every month.

The need for action to help isolated elderly people is clear from recent statistics showing that a million older people have not spoken to anyone in the last month. There is also mounting evidence about the effect of loneliness on mental and physical health and wellbeing, with lonely people having a 64 per cent increased risk of developing dementia.

Cliff Rich, Acting CEO at Contact the Elderly, said:

“We are incredibly grateful to West Kent Freemasons for their generous grant which will continue to help us to reach more lonely and isolated elderly people. The act of attending a tea party is simple but profound and can make an enormous difference to someone who might not have spoken to anyone for weeks.”

West Kent Freemason, Mark Estaugh, visited the charity to find out more:

“We are very pleased to be able to support Contact the Elderly with their wonderful work helping some of the most vulnerable people in our community. The isolation of elderly people is a very serious problem that’s set to get much worse as our whole population ages.”

Get in touch with Contact the Elderly

Local residents interested in attending Contact the Elderly’s tea parties as an older guest, referring potential guests, or volunteering to help, can contact the charity’s National Office on Freephone 0800 716543




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Fundraising Regulator appoints partner to help ‘vulnerable’ people with FPS

The Fundraising Regulator has appointed Yonder Digital Group to provide telephone support to the Fundraising Preference Service.

Yonder will offer its services to “vulnerable” people wishing to register their preferences with a live agent rather than use the online service. 

The FPS, which will enable people to block post, phone, email or text communications form named charities, was officially launched earlier this month. According to the regulator, 4,015 suppression requests were made in the first six days of launch.

The regulator said Yonder had been chosen to help provide the service because its staff had been specifically trained to work with vulnerable callers. The company will offer a supportive service to callers via a team of ‘brand ambassadors’.

Nick Allaway, head of finance at the Fundraising Regulator, said: “The FPS is a website based service which will give the public the chance to manage all direct marketing communications from a specific charity.

“However, we are fully aware that some members of the public, particularly those not familiar with using online services, will want to just pick up the phone to specify their preferences.

“Therefore, having an alternative contact method was critical. Yonder Digital Group, with its technology, expertise and highly-skilled contact centre agents was able to offer this additional support.”

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