Dear <<First name>>,
We send our monthly e-newsletter, iCare, to keep you informed of news about family carers and let you know highlights of our work supporting young and adult carers.
Do let us know if you don't want to get it; that is fine. You can unsubscribe at the bottom of this page. Even better, tell us what you’d like included to stay subscribed.
Please forward this e-newsletter to any colleagues who might be interested and they can sign-up to receive iCare themselves on our website.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Brown
Chief Executive
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Impact & Value Added Report
The evidence that caring is harmful (financially, emotionally and physically) is now overwhelming and we want to raise more grant and public funding to help those most affected. To this end, our new mission is very focused: we are here to Improve lives and prevent, reduce or delay the harmful impact of caring.
We helped 8,384 carers last year, as shown in our Impact & Added Value Report 2016. The rising scale of need is also described below (Where is my Care Co-ordinator?)
At least two children in every class are young carers. Their responsibility makes them a bit different so they have an increased risk of being bullied, underperforming in school, have reduced life opportunities and poor health.
All of our young carer support in Cambridgeshire is made possible through charitable donations and fundraising – we do not receive any statutory funding. See how our fundraising has helped young carers, Charlie and Thomas, who look after their chronically sick mum.
Online Auction - Lots wanted!
We are looking to raise funds for our work by holding and online auction. This will launch on Friday 28 October and run for 2 weeks - please pass the word on to everyone you know who can support this.
We are seeking items to suit all budgets and they do not have to be local as people from all over the country will be bidding online for experiences, treats, gifts or fantastic Christmas presents. Some terrific donations which we have so far secured include afternoon tea at the House of Lords with a Lord and X Factor audition tickets.
If you know of a business that can support us, or someone who has a holiday home they would be willing to let someone else use, or maybe you know someone famous who might be willing to have afternoon tea with a successful bidder, then please do contact Val Garner by 14 October on 01480 499090, val.garner@carerstrustcambridgeshire.org. The auction will run until Sunday 13th November at www.auction4carers.org.uk.
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Find out about plans to Support Carers #MyCarerPledge
Building a Caring Community - Brick by Brick
Thursday, 22 September 2016
Thorpe Hall, Peterborough
We’re raising awareness so that more people know about caring and pledge to do something, to get a snowball effect of more help for each other, within communities
Join us for lunch at 1pm followed by an afternoon on how we and others are pledging support for carers. The programme includes:
- Our work creating Caring Communities to support carers
- Peterborough’s commitment to transform support for carers - Adrian Chapman. Peterborough City Council
- How employers are helping carers, including James Whitmore, Peterborough Passport Office
- Young Carers Pledge
The afternoon will close at 5pm.
The day starts with events for carers in the morning from 11.00am – feel free to pass this invitation on to any carers you know.
To book your free place email Annette or call her on 01480 499090.
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Where is my Care Co-ordinator
Did you know -
- There are over one million carers over the age 65 in the UK?
- Almost one in ten people over 85 provide unpaid care, with this number set to double over the next 20 years
- Most carers aged over 70 are providing over 60 hours care a week
In Cambridgeshire we support 2,800 carers over the age of 65 and 300 in Peterborough. Yet when it comes to ensuring that different organisations involved in caring for them know what is happening; there is a lack of coordination between health and social care professionals. We know that it can be very stressful for an older person who may have their own health struggles to end up looking after someone else. This is made even worse when their professional care is not co-ordinated; for example, hospital appointments clash and carers are sent to appointments in accessible places without transport.
This is why we are supporting a national campaign from Carers Trust entitled, Where is My Care Co-ordinator? urging health and social care partners to establish a dedicated care co-ordinator or single point of contact to make life less stressful for carers.
The campaign was launched last month following a response from older carers about what would have been most helpful for them to overcome their difficulties.
We hope you will support it. You can read more about it here: https://carers.org/speakup
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Carers Magazine
Every quarter we are commissioned by Cambridgeshire County Council as part of the county-wide Carers contract to publish ‘Cambridgeshire Carers’, a magazine for family carers in the county. It includes carers’ stories, advice and information, as well as listing events being held in the area over the following months.
We welcome your thoughts about it and any suggestions for content. You can download the latest issue here, which covers September-November.
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Four New Trustees Joining our Board
We are delighted that four new Trustees are joining our board. They bring with them a wealth of wide ranging skills and experience that will drive forward the organisation during a time when an increasing elderly population is predicted to place increased pressure and stress on the lives of unpaid family carers.
The new trustees are:
Alison Griffiths, who brings vast financial and professional expertise spanning 30 years to the board.
Beverley Howard has worked in the voluntary sector for 12 years and was formerly CEO of Rural Cambs Citizens Advice Bureau. We hope that Beverley will be joining us soon.
Matthew Lester is a Director of Maxine Lester Residential Lettings and spent 10 years as Operations Director for the disability charity Papworth Trust.
Rhiannon Sarginson has vast commercial, business development and charity sector experience, having worked in charity project management and transformation.
Back row left to right: Matthew Lester, Christina Wells, Rhiannon Sarginson, Roger Rhodes and Wayne Weedon. Front row left to right: Anne Davis, Alison Griffiths, Beverley Howard and Linda Collumbell. The Board also includes Ann Braithwaite who is not in the photo.
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Sainsbury's Charity of the Year
We are Sainsbury’s Charity of the Year You Can Support us too! We are immensely grateful to everyone who supports us. And we are thrilled that we have been named as Charity of the Year by Sainsbury’s in Coldhams Lane, Cambridge.
For every £1 raised through donations, 97p is spent directly on our charitable activities. Our Young Carers projects in Huntingdonshire and Norfolk are purely paid for by fundraising. Also The Wednesday Club and Shelford Dementia Support Groups run because of the funds we raise.
In addition to the Online Auction mentioned above you can join in this fundraising campaign:
Britain’s Best Breakfast
A chance to get together with friends, family or colleagues throughout the autumn for a fun breakfast or brunch while raising funds for carers. All funds raised will support family carers of all ages throughout Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk. For more information please contact Tania Bingham on 01480 499090 or tania.bingham@carerstrustcambridgeshire.org.
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Did you know?
- Six consecutive years of cuts to local authority budgets, rising demand for services and shortages of staff have left the social care system increasingly unable to meet the needs of the older people who depend on it and fewer people eligible to access it.
- The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust report Social care cuts - time for some home truths (Sep 2016) (https://www.caremanagementmatters.co.uk/social-care-cuts-home-truths/) finds that this is placing an unacceptable burden on unpaid carers and is leaving rising numbers of older people who have difficulty with the basic activities of daily living – such as washing, dressing and getting out of bed - without any support at all..
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