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A new project has been launched to support asbestos-related cancer patients in Wales, funded by Mesothelioma UK with support from the Burdette Trust for Nursing. Mesothelioma UK Clinical Nurse Specialist for Wales, Sarah Morgan will lead on the project to review patient needs across Wales, working towards establishing a coordinated All-Wales Specialist Mesothelioma service.
Mesothelioma is asbestos-related cancer and the UK has the highest incidence of mesothelioma in the world with approximately 100 patients per year newly diagnosed in Wales.
The project will likely establish a system using a hub and spoke approach so that all patients in Wales, diagnosed with mesothelioma, are supported by a specialist mesothelioma nurse, are registered at a specialist mesothelioma multi-disciplinary team meeting and have access to the best treatment, care and clinical trials available. The charity will look to establish a welsh network of Mesothelioma UK specialist nurses to complement and support the work of existing the Clinical Nurse Specialist, to ensure support for more patients and increase knowledge of mesothelioma among healthcare professionals in Wales.
Patients in Wales often experience difficulties accessing specialist centres because of limited transport links and the rural nature of Wales. Access to clinical trials is also more difficult for patients in Wales so this enhancement of services is vital.
Sarah will lead the project and she has already secured the support from patients and the wider mesothelioma community in Wales including clinicians.
Commenting on the project, Sarah said:
“I am delighted to be leading this project for Mesothelioma UK in Wales and I look forward to working closely with my colleagues throughout Wales to improve services for all those affected by mesothelioma. Many cancer patients and cancer services have been badly affected by the recent pandemic and none more so the mesothelioma patients and services. The need for an All Wales approach to specialist services for mesothelioma has never been more urgent.”
Lorraine Creech, Mesothelioma UK Head of Nursing, added:
“Mesothelioma UK is delighted to have appointed Sarah as the Project Lead. The project will run for two years and as Sarah is currently the only Mesothelioma UK Clinical Nurse Specialist in Wales she has a wealth of experience about healthcare in Wales as a devolved administration, and also about the needs of people with mesothelioma. Sarah continually works with Mesothelioma UK to ensure we consider how our support and advice services address the specific needs of people with mesothelioma in Wales.
“We are grateful for the support of the Burdette Trust for Nursing to get this project up and running. The project is a big one and as Head of Nursing, I will do my best to support Sarah. We hope the project will serve to streamline services for people with mesothelioma in Wales and make mesothelioma matter.”
charitytoday.co.uk | 7 October 2020
The Virgin Money London Marathon has so far raised £16.1m for charities on Virgin Money Giving.
The marathon took place yesterday and was held virtually for all but elite runners because of Covid-19, having initially been postponed from April to October.
Organisers said some 45,000 people from 109 countries ran the marathon locally in the 24 hours they had to complete it.
Donations on Virgin Money Giving down compared to last year
The London Marathon is the biggest mass-participation fundraising event of the year for charities, raising £66.4m in 2019.
The fundraising total released by Virgin Money Giving on the day after the race is down by more than a third compared to last year’s when £25.5m was raised.
However, donations are still coming in, and JustGiving has not released its fundraising total yet, so a full comparison between the two events is not possible.
The 2.6 Challenge, the virtual fundraising event that replaced the London Marathon in April, raised about £11.2m.
Hugh Brasher, event director of the Virgin Money London Marathon, said: “The Virgin Money London Marathon is the biggest fundraising day of the year for many charities and in these most challenging of times, it’s more important than ever.
“I would like to thank every participant who raised funds for their chosen charity and everyone who donated to their cause. This is the true spirit of the world’s greatest marathon.”
Donations on Virgin Money Giving down by £25 since March
Virgin Money Giving also revealed that it saw a decrease in donations overall following the start of the pandemic, with gross donations down by £25m between March and August 2020 compared with the same period last year.
Jo Barnett, executive director at Virgin Money Giving, said: “This has been an extraordinary year and while this wasn’t the 40th marathon we’d planned for, it’s been hugely encouraging to see 45,000 runners throw their weight behind a virtual race and pound their local streets instead.
“Every runner and walker has defied the obstacles Covid-19 has brought to this annual event and shown a single-minded determination to carry on raising funds for the charities that matter to them. It’s both heartening and inspiring.
“The virtual 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon has provided charities across the UK with much-needed funds in a year when it’s never been more important to dig deep and demonstrate support for the incredible work these organisations do.”
Mencap raised more than £700,000
Learning disability charity Mencap, the London Marathon’s charity partner of the year, had more than 300 runners taking part in the race, and has raised £710,000 so far.
Edel Harris, chief executive of Mencap, said: “While our Team Mencap runners may not have had the race day they had hoped for, we are overwhelmed by their commitment to run the 26.2 miles in their local area. Our 10 runners with a learning disability did a particularly incredible job and showed the world what they can achieve.
“The money raised by all our runners will make a huge difference to the lives of people with a learning disability, particularly as we support them through the difficult circumstances they are facing this year.”
civilsociety.co.uk | 5 October 2020
Future funding is today announced for a programme that takes funds lying dormant in the accounts of inactive or ineffective charities and puts them to good use. The programme is managed by the Charity Commission and the charity UKCF, with funding from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
It was confirmed today that since its launch in 2018 the programme has ‘revitalised’ £32million to help good causes – including charities that are responding to the coronavirus and supporting their communities.
The programme has now secured funding by DCMS until March 2021 and will reach out to around 500 more inactive trusts in the year ahead, to help communities in need.
Funds are released from charities that are either inactive (meaning have had no income or expenditure over the last 5 years) or ineffective (spent less than 30% of total income over the last 5 years).
Once identified as dormant, the Commission gives the trustees an option to act – with support to help trustees get back up and running if needed. Otherwise, the funds are redeployed to causes in line with the aims of the dormant charity or the trust is transferred to a local community foundation to be managed for the long term benefit of local communities.
The money is granted to charities in need, as well as used to create a regular income stream that will sustain their work to help communities for years. And the income from the investments is hitting the front line already, with many charities depending on this to help them support essential causes through the pandemic.
The programme, which began in January 2018, has so far contacted over 1,800 charities. In many cases, the programme has helped them get back on track, but when trustees have failed to respond, the Commission has intervened to wind up the charity and remove it from the register of charities.
The Commission has so far removed 179 charities from the register – 67 since lockdown – transferring funds to similar charities, to local Community Foundations or to UK Community Foundations, and revitalised 26 charities.
Baroness Stowell, Chair of the Charity Commission, said:
“There is nothing worse than money donated for a good cause not being put to good use. So I am delighted that we have helped to release £32 million of dormant charitable funds. The charities, which for some time were inactive or ineffective, that have come forward willingly to assist with this important programme has done a great public service and we are hugely grateful to them. But this shared effort to revitalise charitable funds and deliver the donors’ intended benefit to society has the potential to go even further – and it’s needed now more than ever.
“The Charity Commission is calling on trustees of charities that have funds and are inactive or unable to make the difference they once did or had hoped to achieve, to come forward now so that the charity money they hold doesn’t sit idle, but can be put to good use by other charities with similar causes supporting people and communities at this time of heightened need.”
Baroness Barran, Minister for Civil Society, said:
“The efforts of charities and their volunteers will continue to be crucial as they have been throughout coronavirus to date.
“We are determined to further support the sector, building on our £750 million packages for charities across the country, so I am delighted to unlock significant extra funding to help vulnerable people. I hope the Revitalising Trust programme goes from strength to strength.”
Rosemary Macdonald, CEO of UK Community Foundations, said:
“UKCF and community foundations are uniquely placed to offer this exciting programme. Community foundations are embedded in their communities and have years of experience working with local trust funds and philanthropists. Community foundations are helping to modernise old trusts and get them back into action – all at a time when our voluntary sector desperately needs financial support to get through this difficult crisis.”
charitytoday.co.uk | 03 July 2020