Today we add our voice to the Big Support Small Campaign because the support we get from big charities is an integral part of our success as a small charity. Why? They make up the referrer network that supports us. This network includes GPs, hospices and charities serving carers. They serve carers in different ways to us but one that’s complements our work. Their carers become our beneficiaries.
Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice is a great example and is one of our top referrers. Charmain Felts, Social Worker and part of the Family Support Team at St John’s Hospice is a terrific ambassador. Together with Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice in Sheffield they have referred 18 families to After Umbrage to enjoy a free break at our Kingham Cottage. We would like to acknowledge the work they do on our behalf and celebrate their vital and valued contribution as part of the #BigSupportSmall campaign.
What is the Big Support Small Campaign and why is it important?
To mark the start of the Foundation for Social Improvement’s (FSI) Small Charities Week on 17 June, the Small Charities Coalition (SCC) launched the Big Support Small campaign to showcase great examples of support between charities of different sizes and encourage others to do the same.
The SCC is asking bigger charities and their supporters to explore the vibrancy of the sector and to celebrate it; the different aims, ambitions and sizes, from the micro to the millions. The campaign promotes examples of big and small charities supporting each other and benefiting from the approach.
Big charities are our eyes and ears
In order to meet the carers that become our beneficiaries, we rely on the dedicated social workers and nurses who work for big charities like Sue Ryder and the Carers Trust Cambridge Peterborough Norfolk. They serve carers of loved ones with life limiting conditions who qualify for our free breaks. They are our eyes and ears and a small team like ours at After Umbrage couldn’t operate efficiently without them. In fact, in the four years since we opened the doors of Kingham Cottage to welcome carers as free guests for a short break, we have had 119 families referred to us from big charities and GPs.
Join us in celebration
You can see why we are happy to join the #BigSupportSmall Campaign and thank those big charities that have helped us sustain After Umbrage. Big charities help us in other ways too – by providing us with funding. Before signing off, we wish to thank our funder, The National Lottery Community Fund and their amazing support over the past two years. Without it we wouldn’t have survived to be six years old which we celebrate in September this year.
#BigSupportSmall #NationalLottery25 #gratitude