Newmarket Rotary Club raised a fantastic £3,000 from its 32nd annual Carol Concert at Tattersalls last December which it shared with two local charities that support family carers – Carers Trust Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Family Carers.
Dr Helen Brown, Chief Executive from Carers Trust Cambridgeshire, and David Grimmer and Sue York, Health & Social Care Project Managers from Suffolk Family Carers, were each presented with cheques of £1,500 on Tuesday, 14 February by Gordon Anderson President of the Rotary Club at Heath Court Hotel, Moulton Road, Newmarket.
Dr Brown said: “The carol concert was a fantastic event which raised the ceiling at Tattersalls. It is wonderful to see the role of unpaid family carers recognised and valued this way by the President of the Rotary Club, Gordon Anderson, and all Rotarians. This is a fantastic donation and will be used to support family carers through our Emergency Fund Each year as we need to raise an additional £200,000 to meet the very real needs of young and older carers especially, so I am very grateful to receive this very generous donation.”
Mr Grimmer said: “We are incredibly grateful to Newmarket Rotary Club for donating such a large amount. We will be allocating this to our ‘Opportunities Fund’ to support family carers who may require additional financial support. It will really make such a big difference, thank you.”
The charities were chosen by Mr Anderson as he has seen their work first hand and wanted to highlight their wonderful work being undertaken with family carers across Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Mr Anderson said: “Rotary is a worldwide organisation that is the largest contributor to polio eradication in the world (apart from state funding). It also provides water purification equipment and shelter boxes to send out to disaster areas and containing everything to support a family in the short term. Last year we also joined with two other clubs in South America to fit out a chemotherapy unit in Brazil.
“However, it is Rotary’s ability to meet local needs that touches the lives of most people, from providing funds to enable a young person to make an educational trip abroad, to a grant to help fund a day centre and the provision of free smoke alarms for the elderly. These grants of £1,500 each to Suffolk Family Carers and Carers Trust Cambridgeshire also fall into this last category. They are both very worthy causes and I am sure the money will provide much needed funds to enable these organisations to care for those who care for others.”
Carers Trust Cambridgeshire supports adult carers by providing Carer’s Assessments, Family Carers’ Prescriptions, the What If Plan? for emergency care planning, information, advice and guidance about respite care, groups and peer support. It supports young carers and young adult carers aged from 5-25, arranging trips and activities to give them a break from caring and helping them through education and into employment. For more information about Carers Trust Cambridgeshire see our website: www.carerstrustcambridgeshire.org, email [email protected] or phone 01480 499090.
Suffolk Family Carers provides information; advice and guidance to family carers of all ages across Suffolk to help them get the support they need to live fuller lives and has a range of services to support adult, young and young adult carers. The charity also has a specialist service focused on supporting those who care for someone with mental health issues and/or alcohol problems and substance misuse.
If you think you might be a family carer or you know someone who is, contact the charity for information, advice and support on their Information Line 01473 835477 or visit www.suffolkfamilycarers.org
* Photo shows Dr Helen Brown with Gordon Anderson.
