What Difference Do We Make?

Civil Service Benevolent Fund

We receive regular reports from the Civil Service benevolent Fund about the individual cases supported by the ring-fenced fund. For example, we know that one beneficiary suffers from angina, diabetes, arthritis and partial blindness. Due to continuing weakening health the individual was moved into a Care Home permanently and her fees shortfall is now funded by us. In another case, a carer whose partner has had 10 years of medical problems including epilepsy and chronic arthritis was given a respite break to Bournemouth with our support.

BT Benevolent Fund

The £50,000 we gave to the BT Benevolent Fund in 2008 helped to accelerate their postal Contact Scheme. This helped them to identify people in need much more quickly. We are also providing funding for their new Care in the Community Scheme which went live in 2008.

Rowland Hill Fund

We share the cost of the mobility grants which the Rowland Hill Fund provide, significantly increasing the number of disabled beneficiaries they can help. We pledged up to £33,000 for this purpose in 2008 of which £22,343 was drawn down.

NHS Retirement Fellowship

Our grant of £25,000 to the NHS Retirement Fellowship in 2008 was used amongst other projects to develop Branch membership in the North East and boost their Benevolent Fund with much needed income.

Benenden Charity Trust

Our grant of £25,000to the Benenden Charitable Trust, which was matched by a donation from Benenden Healthcare Society, helped members with healthcare related problems which fall outside the scope of the BHS Scheme including, for example, one person who needed a specialist bed after 8 months in hospital having contracted MRSA and septicaemia.

Ministry Of Defence

Our grant of £10,000 helped to provide holidays for the bereaved children of MOD personnel. These are “fun” holidays enabling children to get together with others in the same situation, but they also include an element of counselling to help them come to terms with their loss

Overseas Service Pensioners Association (OSPA)

OSPA used the grant of £10,000 which we gave them in 2008 to top up their Holiday Fund enabling them to continue giving much needed convalescence and respite breaks to members who cannot afford a holiday.

Careways Trust

Our grant of just over £5,000 to Careways Trust provided a much needed shelter for mobility scooters.

Childrens Hospices UK

Specialist nursing care and equipment will be purchased with the grant of £10,000 which we gave to the St Oswalds and St Andrews Children's Hospices in the North East (where large numbers of civil servants work).

Crown Housing Association

We gave a grant of £20,000 to Crown Housing Association to enable them to install stair lifts to help avoid elderly residents in sheltered accommodation being re-housed because they could not climb stairs. Crown Housing Association was originally set up to provide sheltered accommodation for retired civil servants but now provides affordable housing for people who work in any area of the public sector, such as the NHS, education, ambulance and police services and local authorities.

NI Prison Officers

We awarded a grant of £6,000 to the Northern Ireland Retired Prison Officers Fellowship which made it possible for the widows and colleagues of the twenty-nine members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service who were murdered during the 'troubles', to visit the memorial to the officers in the National Arboretum in Lichfield, helping to bring closure to a very distressing period in the friends' and relatives' lives.

Health And Social Services Recreation Association (HASSRA)

A sponsorship scheme has been set up with a £5,000 grant for us to help disadvantaged or disabled sports people to pursue their chosen sport. Recently we have helped to pay for a specially adapted scuba diving suit and equipment, and helped a disabled “English and American Pool competitor” to compete in organised events.

Post office Orphans Benevolent Fund

With a grant of £5,000 from us, the Post Office Orphans Benevolent Fund was able to launch a fund to help youngsters with a musical or artistic talent fulfil their ambitions, under the banner of the "Rising Stars" project.

Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)

With our support, a sponsorship scheme has recently been launched to help disadvantaged or disabled sports people to pursue their chosen sport.