The past 30 days or so have been encouraging in many ways. I have witnessed development within the charity, recognition for a member of the charity and assessments in medical areas which we haven’t been to previously.
Raising our profile on social media
The eagle-eyed among you will have seen that we launched two new social media accounts quite recently.
The charity now has its own Twitter account as well as an Instagram account. It is essential that the charity utilises a range of media to raise its profile and convey messages to stakeholders and supporters alike. I am a firm believer in talking to people in a way they like to be spoken to whether it be via email, telephone, web or a social media platform. To keep abreast on what is happening in the world of The Hospital Saturday Fund, you can follow us on Twitter by searching @HSFCharity and you can also follow us on Instagram by searching @HSFCharity.
Women’s Health & Family Services Meeting on 29th June 2017
I met Karen Witt, Women’s Health & Family Services Manager on 29th June 2017 to assess a grant application towards the cost of their peer support programme for women and girls who have experienced FGM (Female Genital Mutilation).
Women’s Health & Family Services works in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and surrounding boroughs. The charity campaigns to tackle inequality issues via health services designed, in particular, for women from the local Bangladeshi, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese communities (and, latterly, the eastern European and white communities). Their flagship programme is called Maternity Mates. Following a successful 3 year pilot, the programme has been recommissioned by NHS Tower Hamlets CCG to continue the programme in the borough.
The group also meets regularly and encourages men from the aforementioned communities to attend these meetings. Karen hopes this will prove useful in educating all about the harm this illegal practice is causing women and children.
Heart Children Ireland Assessment 20th July, 2017
I had a telephone conversation with Margaret Rogers, Chief Executive, Heart Children Ireland on 20th July, to assess a grant application towards the cost of a Family Psychology Support Service.
Heart Children Ireland is a support group for parents and families of children with a Congenital Heart Disorder (CHD). CHD is the most common of all birth defects affecting one in every one hundred children born at present. About half of all babies born with CHD will require heart operations.
The Charity also tries to support bereaved families whose children have died from CHD. One such service is the Psychology Support Service which has been provided by the Charity since 2011.
Margaret explained that the Family Psychology Support Service was originally funded by the Charity for a three year period, but it was hoped that as the service was extremely successful that the HSE would take on the funding of the project after the initial three years. Unfortunately, the HSE declined to support the Family Psychology Support Service due to funding budget cuts.
And finally…
Congratulations are in order. This year’s City Livery Club Root & Branch Award has been won by Keith Lawrey, a former Trustee of the Hospital Saturday Fund and a current member of our Grant-Making Committee. Keith has always been a fountain of knowledge for Livery Companies and this award of recognition, handed to him by the Lord Mayor at a Mansion House civic luncheon on 18th July, is richly deserved.
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