Charities & Good Causes

Funny Blood

Funny Blood raises awareness of rare blood conditions called Platelet Function Disorders (PFDs), signposts information to support families living with the little-known condition and fundraises for the ongoing care of sufferers at the Haemophilia Unit in Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

St Paul’s

St Paul’s Hostel is a purpose built hostel offering accommodation and support services to a total of 48 clients (46 in the hostel and 2 move-on flats). As well as food and a room every client who accesses St Paul’s is also allocated a key worker whose job it is to help clients identify their own goals and aspirations, and then offer the necessary support and assistance to make them achievable.

St Paul’s manage not only the hostel but also manage the Night Assessment Centre in the winter, a county-wide outreach service, resettlement service and a Dry House. In addition the hostel also offers a varied Life Skills programme in order to help people develop the confidence, self-esteem and skills necessary for successful independent living. This covers:

1. Practical Life Skills – those which relate to the day to day businessof independent living such as cooking, cleaning, budgeting and engaging with services effectively.

2. Softer Life Skills – allowing people to form relationships and develop social networks and the basis for making practical life skills relevant, including managing positive and negative emotions and developing the capacity to negotiate.

West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre

WMRSASC provides a free, confidential and non-judgemental service for survivors aged 11+ who have experienced any form of rape or sexual abuse at any time in their lives. Services include a telephone helpline, face to face counselling, email support, signposting service and an Independent Sexual Violence Advisory Service. WMRSASC also provides bespoke specialist training courses around sexual violence. WMRSASC offers volunteering opportunities and provides comprehensive accredited training on the impacts of sexual violence. Helpline opening hours are Monday and Thursday 7.30pm – 9.30pm, Tuesday 1.00pm – 5.00pm and Friday 10.00am – 2.00pm.

Contact Details:

Jocelyn Anderson
PO Box 240 Worcester
Worcestershire WR1 2LF

Telephone Helpline 01905 724514
Office Telephone 01905 611655
Email office@wmrsasc.org.uk

St Richard’s Hospice

St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with life-limiting illnesses and supports their families. Each year the hospice team supports over 2,600 patients and family members in Worcestershire.

The hospice works to help people make the best of their lives despite the effects of their illness. The care is tailored to the individual needs of each patient and cares for the whole person; physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Whether they need to receive 24-hour In-patient care, home care from our specialist nurses, visits to Day Hospice, or support from our Family Support Team, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, Citizens Advice Bureau advisor or our complimentary therapists – St Richard’s is here to help.

St Richard’s is an independent charity and relies on voluntary donations to fund the care of seven out of ten patients and family members. All our care is free to patients. For more information about our care and how you can help, visit www.strichards.org.uk or phone 01905 763963.

The Worcestershire Parent and Carers’ Council

The Worcestershire Parent and Carers’ Council(trading as the Worcestershire Parent and Carers’ Community or WPCC) is a local charity that supports children with disabilities/additional needs and their families. We support over 170 families across the County. We provide family based short breaks and activity days, ensuring that families that have a child with additional needs are able to enjoy quality time together within their community, having new, exciting experiences, and creating lasting memories. And most importantly, our children (regardless of their ability or disability) are getting the opportunity to enjoy their childhood.

Research shows that many families who have a child with a disability experience isolation. This can be in the form of social isolation, financial isolation, physical and emotional isolation due to lack of support from statutory services, not having the time or money to do things that other families do or as the result of discrimination or stigma. The WPCC aims to help alleviate this sense of isolation for families.
Through our activities, parents build confidence in taking their children out into the community, siblings get the benefit of meeting other children who, like them, have a brother or sister with additional needs/disabilities and parent carers are creating networks of support.
As well as supporting families to go out and about in the community, we also work closely with service providers helping to shape the services our children receive. We organise training and workshops for parent carers to support them in raising their child with additional needs, and we put a lot of work into raising awareness of the needs of children with a disability and their families within the community, providing training and workshops for professionals and students at the University of Worcester.

At the Worcestershire Parent and Carers’ Council, we take a holistic approach to our work; we are not just providing a service but we are shaping other services and influencing and encouraging the entire County to be more aware, supportive and engaging with children and young people who have a disability/additional need and their families.

The Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven

The Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven is a new charity which takes forwards the work of the Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven. The new charity was established when the Worcestershire Breast Unit opened in February 2016 on the site of the Worcestershire Royal Hospital. The money for the unit was raised through the fund-raising efforts of the wonderful people of Worcestershire who had the tenacity and heart to support the Campaign for nearly 6 years, raising the £1.8 million that was needed.

The Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven aims to make the new Breast Unit one of the best breast units in the UK, providing clinical services and assistance over and above what the NHS can offer. It raises funds to support two key areas:

1. The invaluable services of Breast Cancer Haven, who offer complementary therapies on site at the unit – the first collaboration of its kind.
2. Any clinical needs of the team over and above NHS provision to keep the unit at the forefront of patient care.

Breast Cancer Haven provide their services free of charge to patients every Thursday at the Unit. These include: time with a specialist nurse; one to one counselling; advice on healthy eating and complementary therapies – such as massage, hypnotherapy and acupuncture, all to help patients through their treatment for breast cancer.

The facilities in the Breast Unit maximise the skills of our specialist teams while allowing for treatment in welcoming and private surroundings. The space within the unit allows for us to offer further support such as Look Good Feel Better Masterclasses, Pink Pilates and Well-Being Evenings.

The Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven is an independent charity which relies solely on donations. For more information, please visit our website: www.worcsbreastunithaven.com or phone 01905 733 786.

Sight Concern

Sight Concern Worcestershire is the only charity dedicated to improving the lives of people with sight loss across Worcestershire. Our Vision is a world where blind and partially sighted people have the confidence to reach their full potential and the opportunity to play an active role in society. Our Mission is to support blind and partially sighted people to lead independent and fulfilling lives. We have been successfully supporting people with sight loss for over 130 years.

Midlands Air Ambulance

Midlands Air Ambulance is the charity responsible for funding and operating three air ambulances serving the communities of six Midlands counties: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands.

The charity’s three aircraft each carry a crew comprising pilot, two paramedics or flight doctors plus full life-support medical equipment. Operating from strategically located regional airbases, 90 per cent of the region is within reach within eight minutes.

If a patient reaches hospital within the Golden Hour (60 minutes after their injury) their chances of survival are dramatically increased. That is why the rapid response of the Midlands Air Ambulance is so vital in an emergency situation.

What is not widely known is that Midlands Air Ambulance receives no Government or National Lottery funding. Each Midlands Air Ambulance mission costs £2,500 and in excess of £7 million is needed each year to keep its three air ambulances operational, which is donated entirely by the public and local businesses, with four in ten of those we help funded by Gifts in Wills.

The charity is fortunate to count on tremendous public support and good will, but never takes this for granted. Winning and keeping hearts and minds is an essential and constant challenge. That is why it regards the real ‘helicopter heroes’ as not only the aircrew, but those often unsung ground heroes, its fundraisers.

New Hope

We are a non-profit specialist provision working with families who have children with disabilities and complex health care needs. New Hope Worcestershire is a charity and Company Limited by Guarantee (1149659) and a Community Interest Company limited by shares (7113542 England). Registered Office 35, Wells Road, Worcester. WR5 1NN.

Megan Baker House

Megan Baker House is a charity providing FREE Conductive Education Services at its centre in Herefordshire for children, teenagers and adults with special educational needs and physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, head injury, stroke, dyspraxia and early on-set Parkinson’s disease. In addition we also provide Conductive Education reach-out services at various venues.

Acorns

Established in 1988, Acorns Children’s Hospice Trust is a registered charity offering a network of care for life limited and life threatened children and young people, and their families, across the heart of England. These children and young people are not expected to reach adulthood and require specialist care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the last year Acorns has supported over 700 children and more than 1,050 families, including those who are bereaved.

Acorns is the only organisation that provides this level of care to these vulnerable youngsters whilst offering a range of support services to the whole family to help them cope at every stage of their child’s life and beyond into bereavement.

Deaf Direct

Imagine not being able to hear your child’s first words, or the birds singing in the morning. Imagine not being able to hear someone say “I love you”. Perhaps you’ve never been able to hear these things – or perhaps suddenly you’ve found it more difficult to hear people. Maybe you can’t hear the TV or radio as well as you used to, because you’ve lost your hearing through working in a noisy industrial environment.

1 in 6 people in the UK is living with a hearing loss. Hearing loss can affect anyone at any time, from babies and children through to grandparents. It’s something you can’t see, but which has an impact on all aspects of life, including education, employment, wellbeing and social isolation.

Deaf Direct is here to support people in Worcestershire living with hearing loss. Last year we helped 6,000 people manage their hearing loss and move forward with life.

Our Services include:

• Communication Assistance
• Community Outreach and Support
• Social Groups
• Training
• Equipment
• Youth Services, including residentials and short breaks for children and young people with hearing loss (these are free for participants)
• Information and Advice
• Advocacy
• Volunteering

It costs over £800,000 to run our services each year and we rely on donations to help people with hearing loss.

If you know or a loved one is living with hearing loss and you would like support, or you would like to help with fundraising, please visit www.deafdirect.org.uk, call 01905 746 301 or email info@deafdirect.org.uk.

Onside Advocacy

Onside is a Worcester based charity supporting local people across Worcestershire and Herefordshire who are vulnerable and disadvantaged as a result of disability, mental ill health, learning difficulties and age related health issues such as dementia. Our dedicated team of experienced staff and volunteers provide a wide range of services to ensure that people are treated fairly, are not exploited or abused and have access to the services and support they need.

We make a difference to the lives of over 3000 people every year. Every 30 minutes someone calls Onside for help. That’s 14 people every day turning to Onside for support; often a person at a very low point in their life with no one to turn to. We take the time to listen and understand the often complex issues people are facing and provide skilled advocacy or mentoring support or link them to one of our projects supporting community engagement.

Advocacy changes lives, empowering people and enabling them to have a voice and be heard.

We also have a number of social enterprise initiatives designed to provide work experience and volunteer opportunities to people facing issues such as mental ill health, learning difficulties and autism as well as raise vital funds to support our work.

Mix Bakery and Café, on St Pauls Street in Worcester, bakes and serves delicious breakfasts, lunches, snacks, homemade cakes and much more. Mix can also cater for events whether it is a business meeting, family celebration or social get together, Mix can create something to meet different needs and budgets.

Our Read and Ride bookshops are situated on Great Malvern and Shrub Hill train stations.

Rory the Robot Appeal

Worcestershire Community Foundation

WCF is a major charitable body for Worcestershire, running grant programmes and funds that reach many community groups all over the county.

Our aim is to support our communities and make Worcestershire a better place to live, work and thrive.

Our work is varied and has wide impacts every year, addressing real areas of need; we currently handle funds which reach women and girls, young people, older people and the arts.

In 2018 we have given out grants of over £150k to over 30 local organisations including: Deaf Direct, Ourside, Worcesterlive, Malvern Cube, Worcester Community Trust and local village halls.

In 2019 we are planning to launch a Mental Health Fund to help tackle the growing challenge of mental health issues in the county.

For further information on WCF and our work please contact Lucy Wells, Development Director at lucy.wcf@comfirst.org.uk/ or by mobile on 07909 111812.

Primrose Hospice

Primrose Hospice is an independent charity, offering support and advice to patients living with life limiting illnesses and their families in the North Worcestershire area.

Our Day Hospice at St Godwalds Road is open 4 days a week to patients. We provide a range of holistic care services, all focused on encouraging our patients to ‘Live Well’, including but not limited to: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, medical clinics, yoga, thai chi, creative workshops and complementary therapies.

We also contribute to palliative care for in-patients at the Princess of Wales Community Hospital in Bromsgrove, known as ‘Primrose at the Princess’, which is run by Worcestershire Health and Care Trust.

The Hospice could not function without our dedicated team of volunteers, who offer their time in a variety of areas.

As an independent charity, we rely on kind donations and fundraising events made by amazing individuals and businesses who support us in order to maintain and develop our high standards of care. We need to raise over £1.6 million per year in order to provide our services for free.

For more information about the hospice, or to find out how you could support through volunteering or fundraising, please get in touch!

E: info@primrosehospice.org
T: 01527 889796