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FOURTEEN charity and voluntary sector infrastructure organisations across the UK are to receive a share of £600,000 to enhance their digital capabilities and become fit for the future, The National Lottery Community Fund has announced this week.
The money, from the largest funder of community activity in the UK, will support both established and emerging infrastructure organisations to become more flexible, resilient and responsive to the changing environment whilst also renewing their relevance and be better able to support communities.
Cassie Robinson, Deputy Director for Funding Strategy at The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
“We’re delighted that thanks to National Lottery players, we are able to support a range of established and emerging infrastructure organisations with the opportunity, space and time to plan for the future.
“We understand that for grassroots, community-led and frontline organisations across the UK to be adaptive and resilient, there’s a need for a diverse and effective support system, which includes infrastructure organisations, and this is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
One of the organisations to receive National Lottery funding from the New Infrastructure programme is Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (VONNE). It has been awarded £50,000 to understand and interpret data so it can better advocate for the interests of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and connect with its members.
Carol Botten, Chief Executive of VONNE, said:
“This National Lottery funding is allowing us to develop and embed improvements in our use of data and – crucially – share our experiences and learning with the North East VCSE sector. Data was always an area we wanted to focus on but never had the time or capacity to give it the attention it deserves. This funding enables us to do just that and will make a huge difference to our long-term sustainability and the service we can offer to our members.
“We represent over 1,200 member charities, voluntary organisations and community groups from across the region, from very small volunteer groups, up to multi-million-pound charities and everything in between. Through improving our understanding and use of data, we will be strengthening our offering to the VCSE sector and can share our learnings to benefit all members.”
Shape London’s Unlimited programme embeds work by disabled artists within the UK to reach new audiences and shift perceptions of disabled people. As Unlimited moves from a programme to an independent organisation, the group is using its £45,000 National Lottery grant to develop its own structures, policies, and practices.
David Hevey, CEO of Shape, said:
“This vital funding has allowed Shape to sustain the flexibility of our Unlimited programme. It is not only enabling us to continue breaking barriers to creative excellence but to innovate and collaborate in bigger and more exciting ways than ever before. At a time of such precarity and disruption for marginalised creatives, we extend our sincerest gratitude to The National Lottery Community Fund for investing in the inclusive future, we are excited to be building.”
Another organisation receiving National Lottery funding today includes Brighton-based Friends, Families and Travellers, which is using a grant of almost £50,000 to maintain a directory of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller specialist services and provide a range of training and support to the community.
Sarah Mann, Director of Gypsy, Roma Travellers said:
“During COVID-19, we have seen grassroots, community-led, and frontline organisations take the lead in work to ensure Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people have the support they need during the pandemic. Over the next year, we want to build on our learning, strengthen our work with others and work together to ensure the needs of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people are understood and acted upon as the country goes into recovery mode following the pandemic. We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund for making this work possible.”
The New Infrastructure programme, part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s Digital Fund, hopes to stimulate a conversation around the ways infrastructure can reinvent itself for the digital age and the kind of resource and support it needs. The grant holders announced today will also receive coaching, expertise and practical advice in the form of ‘Design Labs’, which will see organisations deliver development support.
The Digital Fund, and today’s announcement, is a key part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s commitment to enabling civil society to be fit for the future – supporting organisations and the voluntary sector to create opportunities to help local communities thrive. This programme builds on The National Lottery Community Fund’s previous experience of supporting the voluntary sector’s digital transition, which extends back over a decade.
National Lottery players raise £30 million a week for good causes. In 2020 The National Lottery Community Fund distributed over £650 million to community projects across the UK.
To find out more, please visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk.
charitytoday.co.uk | 12 March 2021
An inspirational mum who learned to walk again after being diagnosed with a brain tumour weeks after her daughter’s birth is now set to run the London Marathon.
In 2015, former civil servant Marie Garnett said goodbye to her husband and newborn daughter Amelia after being diagnosed with a benign meningioma brain tumour less than six weeks after giving birth. The 45-year-old had suffered from severe headaches for seven years, which had become unmanageable after Amelia’s birth, and also developed dizziness and loss of balance in the days leading up to her diagnosis. Mum-of-one Marie was rushed to The Walton Centre, where she spent more than a month as she underwent three brain surgeries, the longest of which lasted eight hours, before battling meningitis – all while trying to be a new mum from her hospital bed. The trained counsellor also discovered she had a Chiari malformation, where the brain pushes down into the spinal cord, and hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid on the brain, as a result of the golf ball-sized tumour. After her life-saving operations, Marie needed several days of physiotherapy to be able to stand on her own, and it was weeks before she could properly walk again. But remarkably, the tenacious fundraiser is now running the virtual London Marathon from her home in Haydock, St Helens, and hopes to raise at least £300 for Liverpool cause, The Brain Charity.
She said:
“The night before my first brain surgery, I said goodbye to Amelia and my husband Darren. When Darren went to the toilet, I whispered to Amelia, ‘look after your daddy’.After the operation, I struggled to walk, but I did it. At first, it took two physios to get me from my bed to the nurses’ station, and when I first left the hospital, I could only do 300 steps per day – even just going to the shops was exhausting. But I kept pushing my boundaries. I appreciate my legs and the ability to use them every single day because some people with neurological conditions are not as lucky. So what better way to celebrate life, beautiful and miraculous brains and legs by completing the Virtual London Marathon. I’ve never run a marathon – everyone thinks I’m crazy, but everyone knows I’ll be able to do it. My plan is to run as much of it as I can, but I am happy to walk or crawl too. I have chosen to support The Brain Charity as they provided me with invaluable counselling for free, which helped me put the pieces of my brain back together.”
Marie will have 24 hours to complete the 26.2 miles on a course of her choice.
While this will be her first marathon, she is used to cycling and walking long distances and has also lost four and a half stone since her diagnosis, going from a size 26 to a size 12-14. The Brain Charity supports people with all forms of neurological conditions from anywhere in the UK. Marie was also keen to support their cause as her daughter Amelia, now six, was diagnosed with severe learning disabilities before her first birthday; she has global development delay, epilepsy and is non-verbal. Marie and her husband Darren do not know whether Marie having a brain tumour during her pregnancy may have caused these conditions, as so far, genetic testing has not given them answers. Marie still has hydrocephalus and needs a VP shunt, a medical device that relieves pressure on the brain by reducing the accumulated fluid, meaning she could need more emergency brain surgery at any point.
Marie, who is now a full-time carer for Amelia, said:
“The way things happened to our family – you literally couldn’t write it. Who has triple brain surgery, and then it turns out their daughter has a neurological condition too? But in a way, we’re grateful as everything we went through with my brain made us stronger to be able to help Amelia. She, too, struggled to walk but did it – shedoes so many things we never thought she might be able to do, and she brings us so much joy every day.”
Every year, Marie and her family celebrate her ‘tumourversary’. She and her husband Darren go away on the anniversary of her diagnosis and toast to another year of life. The 45-year-old said The Brain Charity’s counselling sessions were a lifeline in helping her come to terms with not just her own experience but Amelia’s diagnosis too. Marie was offered counselling, which is free to anyone with a neurological condition, after speaking to The Brain Charity’s staff, who are based at The Walton Centre.
She added:
“There was one point where for about 48 hours I was waking up, and I didn’t want to wake up. I was in a dark place. I felt like I was being tortured. It was so difficult being away from my baby Amelia, who was at home just six weeks old. But my counsellor was absolutely amazing, it was the best thing I could ever have done. The Brain Charity gave me an incredible gift – it was life-changing and amazingly supportive. I needed a specialist who understood neurological conditions – not many people know what a wide-reaching impact they can have on your life. The Brain Charity gave me perspective. It taught me to accept ‘this is life’ and that just being able to do the dishes is a gift.”
To sponsor Marie, please visit her fundraising page.
To find out more about The Brain Charity, please visit:https://www.thebraincharity.org.uk/or search @TheBrainCharity on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
charitytoday.co.uk | 12 March 2021
ESSEX & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) is looking for sixty people to help it raise £30,000 so that the charity’s critical care teams can continue carrying blood to patients who need it most.
Each year EHAAT treats approximately 60 people in need of a potentially life-saving blood transfusion at the scene of an incident.
On average, it costs EHAAT around £500 to help each of these patients in need of blood, so it is appealing for 60 people to donate £500 each to get to the £30,000 needed to keep flying blood to those who need it most.
EHAAT’s Blood Project Lead Laurie Phillipson said:
“Being able to give a transfusion at the scene of an incident can be a life-saving intervention for patients suffering significant bleeding. Our pre-hospital critical care teams can provide this rapidly and safely before the patient reaches a hospital.”
EHAAT’s helicopters and rapid response vehicles carry packed red blood cells of blood group O Negative, meaning they can be used on any patient. When required, these are given with plasma, the other major component of human blood.
The packed red blood cells are supplied daily from The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and delivered to EHAAT’s airbases at Earls Colne and North Weald by riders from Essex Voluntary Blood Service (EVBS). The blood is replaced daily and replenished as required.
The blood is delivered and stored in special insulated boxes that keep the blood at a cool temperature for at least 24 hours. These are fitted with a data logger that indicates if the temperature is trending outside of the correct range. If unused after 24 hours, the blood is returned for use elsewhere, preventing any wastage of this precious commodity.
When the blood is required, it is warmed to body temperature to make it safe to administer to the patient and prevent unnecessary cooling of the patient.
To find out more about EHAAT’s Blood on Board Appeal, please visit ehaat.org/bloodappeal.
charitytoday.co.uk | 04 March 2021