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Charity begins at home but shouldn’t stay there

The detrimental effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on the charity sector is far-reaching and long-lasting. According to the Institute of Fundraising, charities are reporting projected losses of 48% to their voluntary income, with a third wiped off their total income.

This has an impact on the services they can offer but 84% of charities believe they could play a role in responding to the outbreak if they can access government grants and funding to help them.

With fundraising events postponed and public donations reduced, CRM’s Charity of the Year, Daybreak Oxford, has also seen a loss of income and a reduction in their services.  Daybreak is a vital local charity that hasn’t been able to offer respite days for people living with dementia during the pandemic.

Daybreak Emergency Appeal

Daybreak is looking forward to a time when the doors to their daycare centres can reopen so they can restart the transformative therapeutic work and help the family carers. To prepare for this day, Daybreak launched an Emergency Appeal and they’re well on the way to raising £50,000.

It’s been frustrating for CRM as we had to cancel our regular charity fundraising events earlier in the year but we have already raised over £320 for the Emergency Appeal via our Donate Day and are looking forward to getting back on track with some virtual fundraising in the autumn.

Supporting SSNAP

Daybreak is just one example of a hard-hit charity in the current climate and it’s not the only charity that CRM supports. Several members of staff volunteer their time and skills with local charities, including Alan Sowden, our Technical Director, who has close ties to SSNAP (Support for the Sick Newborn and Their Parents).

“Physical volunteering at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where the charity is based is currently on hold, in fact, both parents have only recently been allowed on the unit together,” explained Alan who has now taken on the role of Treasurer for SSNAP.

“Along with keeping an eye on the finances, I have been working closely with the charity director to identify grant funding opportunities. We have been adversely affected by our largest fundraising event, the Oxford Half Marathon being cancelled but we’ve managed to successfully obtain several grants which have helped to alleviate the financial impact.

“The charity has a big strategic focus on supporting parents through the emotional, practical and financial strains of having a baby in the unit. We also work closely with the clinical staff to support them. It has been great for me to be able to make a real difference to the charity, especially by identifying grant opportunities. With recent experience of having a baby on the unit for several months, it is a cause extremely close to my heart.”

Charities need our help more than ever at the moment and whilst we aren’t all in a position to help financially, volunteering opportunities to give your time or skills are still available, as our CRM team has found during the Coronavirus pandemic.

It is well recognised that volunteering through your workplace offers great benefits for the individual and the business. As a volunteer, you can develop new friendships, learn new skills and even feel happier and healthier. Volunteering doesn’t have to involve a long-term commitment or take a huge amount of time out of your busy day, here at CRM we made a commitment to employee volunteering in 2018 by offering our staff three hours per month to volunteer at a charity that means something to them.

Volunteering and charitable support add as much value to the business world as it does the charities and organisations it helps. Please keep supporting your local charities and look out for our events in aid of Daybreak Oxford coming soon.

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