Can your business help young carers in Bristol and South Gloucestershire?
How does the scheme work?
Why support young carers?
How supporting this scheme can help
What are the benefits to your business?
Book a talk
How does the scheme work?
‘Every Penny Helps’ is simple and easy to administer because our charity has joined up with ‘Charitable Giving’, one of the longest established and largest HMRC approved Payroll Giving Agencies in the UK. ‘Charitable Giving’ will manage the scheme and any associated Gift Aid claims and make a very small percentage charge (4%) for doing so! All charges are removed from the donations so it will not cost your business anything at all – all you have to do is promote the scheme to your employees and encourage them to sign up!
‘Every Penny Helps’ is of course a voluntary scheme but affordable to all as the maximum an individual will donate per month is 99p. Deductions may be variable as the scheme enables the ‘rounding down’ of an individual’s pay to the nearest whole pound each month.
Why support young carers?
A young carer is a child or young person who takes on caring responsibilities normally only expected of an adult. A young carer is under 25 and helps look after someone in their family, who is ill, disabled, has mental health issues or misuses drugs or alcohol.
Many young carers have no choice but to look after parents or other family members, and many take on this responsibility without a second thought. But it is crucial that young carers get the support and help they so desperately need.
Caring for someone can have a huge impact on a young person’s life. From our own experience and evidenced by national research* we know that young carers face multiple disadvantages in their lives.
Young carers often miss out on their childhood. They can become isolated, missing out on playing and seeing friends. They also struggle at school due to missing lessons and being bullied for being different.
Their caring roles can lead to physical and mental health problems, such as injury from heavy lifting or stress and anxiety.
*Children’s Society report, Hidden From View 2013
Find out more about young carers by visiting the young carers section on our website.
How supporting this scheme can help
These small monthly donations can all add up to be really significant for a young carer. Like most young people, what young carers want is to meet friends and have fun! This money will help young carers get a break, by paying for a holiday, an activity weekend, a day out or workshop.
Taking time away from their caring role gives them the opportunity to recharge their batteries and just be a child for a change, without the weight of a caring responsibility. This can have a lasting positive impact on a young carer’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.
“Thank you to Carers Support Centre for making the sessions so enjoyable for the children. What you do is brilliant.” Joy, a parent.
What are the benefits to your business?
The benefits are:
- you will be supporting a much valued, hugely respected, local charity in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
- you will be demonstrating your commitment to supporting those in need in the local community.
- all the funds raised go directly to supporting young carers.
- your company can benefit from increased profile through publicity on our website, social media and regular newsletters to carers.
Book a talk
We are happy to give a short talk to explain in more detail how the scheme works.
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