Charitable trusts, statutory and lottery
We rely almost exclusively on voluntary donations to sustain our work, which is why your support is so invaluable and really does make a difference in enabling us to grow our services and reach more of the 6 million carers in the UK.
On behalf of the hundred of thousands carers we help each year, we would like to thank all of our donors for their support. Grants from charitable trusts and foundations, the Big Lottery Fund, Comic Relief and Government bodies play a key role in enabling us to operate and make a difference where it is needed the most for carers in the UK – whether it be through our network of Carers’ Centres, our campaigns for equal access to services and much needed breaks.
Below are some examples of the Charitable Trusts and Foundations that support our work:
Pears Foundation
Pears Foundation is a British family foundation rooted in Jewish values. Its work is concerned with positive identity and citizenship. A supporter since 2002, the Pears Foundation has made a vital contribution to the progress of The Trust in a number of key areas. For example, their investment enabled the initial design and development of YCNet, they have contributed funding towards our policy work since 2006, and in 2011 they made a significant two-year pledge to our Bursary Funds.
"We are delighted to support such an excellent cause providing vital support for adult and young carers throughout the UK"
The Gwyneth Forrester Trust
Following are some examples from different countries in the UK:
Scotland
The Scottish Young Carers Festival
The festival was first launched in 2008 and is run over one weekend in the summer by Carers Trust. It gives young carers living in Scotland aged between 5 and 18 years-old the opportunity to have a break from their caring responsibilities, meet other young carers and talk to us about their lives. This festival is currently funded by the Scottish Government.
The festival is a great opportunity to increase awareness of Scottish young carers’ roles and how the impact of caring for a parent can affect their lives. Young carers also had direct access to18 key decision makers such as politicians, representatives for child services and public health officials, who they could talk to about issues that matter to them and propose solutions. Indeed, in 2009 the feedback gained from young carers was used towards the development of a Scottish National Young Carers’ Strategy.
Last year, 500 attended the festival and met decision makers such as Adam Ingram MSP – Minister for Children and Early Years, Jeremy Purvis MSP – Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale Liberal Democrats and Gary Coutts – Chair of NHS Highland.
England
Building Sustainable Carers Support Services across Southern England
Prior to 2008 the South West, South East and the Midlands regions of England were poorly developed and had little or no carers’ support services available. A five year grant from The Big Lottery Basis Fund has enabled us to appoint three Development Managers to provide training, support, advice and networking opportunities to Carers’ Centres in the underdeveloped regions.
We are currently in the fourth year of delivering this work and are currently supporting 30 Carers’ Centres across the South East, South West and Midlands.
As a result of the work of the Development Managers, there has been a 16.2% increase in the number of carers and 9.6% in the number of young carers in touch with Carers’ Centres in these regions.
Wales
In 2005 Carers Trust was only reaching 6,000 carers in Wales through our Carers’ Centres, a fraction of the 340,000 estimated carers residing throughout the country. We, thanks to a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government, are able to support six Carers' Centres in South Wales through our South Wales Development Manager.
The Development Manager supports and helps network centres to continue to deliver high quality services for carers, to positively influence policy and practice, to broaden and strengthen resources to sustain activities and to reach more of the estimated 340,000 carers in Wales. We now have a total of 11 Carers’ Centres in Wales, reaching and providing dedicated support services to over 23,000 carers collectively across 15 of the 22 local authority areas in the country.
