Families and Islanders with disabilities given helping hand

Monday 15 August 2016

Islanders have been given a cash boost from the Channel Islands Co-operative Society.

Grants from the society’s Helping Hands initiative have been given to local charities NSPCC Jersey, Words and Numbers Matter and Les Amis. A total of £4,530 has been distributed across Jersey and Guernsey this year.

“As a community retailer, we recognise the importance of giving others a helping hand and it’s the same with charities. Even small projects can make a big difference, which is why the Helping Hands initiative was set up in 1995 by our former chief executive Allan Smith. Since then, around £250,000 has been donated to good causes across the Channel Islands,’ said Katey White, the society’s membership and community manager.

A £500 grant has been given to NSPCC Jersey’s Baby Steps programme, which helps mums and dads with identified needs prepare for pregnancy, birth and beyond. Last year, it won the UK 2015 Children and Young People Now Early Years Award.  

Selina Winter, NSPCC Jersey team manager, said: “The £500 gifted to us from Helping Hands has been gratefully received. The baby magazines and other literature provided give our service users up to date and relevant information on subjects we cover in Baby Steps, which enhances the learning they gain from attending the programme. We are also able to give a small gift at the end of the programme which means so much to our service users.”

The Words and Numbers Matter charity, which supports young people and adults to improve literacy and numeracy skills, received £500 towards the cost of leaflets that help to let people know that the charity is there to support them with their education. 

“The cost of producing them though is high, and without the donation, we would really struggle to find the money. As a charity we have no regular income, so we are really very grateful to the Channel Islands Co-operative Society for funding them,” said Fee Morris, administrator for Words and Numbers matter.

A £1,000 donation is helping the Les Amis charity in Jersey, which supports Islanders with learning disabilities, or associated conditions. The money from the Helping Hands fund will be used in a project that aims to create a card with useful information about an individual’s disability, which can be shown to members of the public discretely, when they need support.