Charity News Daily: Causes, Fundraising & Volunteering

Refugee charities across the UK are warning of increased refugee homelessness this Winter as an unprecedented number of newly recognised refugees are sleeping rough.

Anela Anwar, Chief Executive of the anti-poverty charity Z2K has spoken to the Big Issue about UK Government plans to impose tougher benefit sanctions to drive people into work.

Since adopting Cancer Research UK as its nominated charity in 2016 employees of housebuilder Bellway have dedicated their fundraising efforts to the cause, and in 2021 they set a target of raising £3 million by the end of 2023.

The ALBORADA Trust, based near Newmarket, has donated £5 million to Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity.

The UK Health Security Agency has released the latest HIV statistics for England, revealing there were 3,805 new HIV diagnoses in 2022. The Government has committed to ending new HIV cases by 2030 but according to the Terence Higgins Trust, today’s data shows the progress that’s being made isn’t rapid enough to hit that target, nor is progress being felt equally across all groups.

Oxfam’s superstore in Oxford has announced it is now open six days a week with a range of activities and offers planned for October half-term.

According to new figures* 72% of the UK population say they're not planning on getting a new pet. The results come as the RSPCA faces the biggest rehoming crisis in recent memory.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the UK’s leading sight loss charity, has collaborated with Varjo, the global leader in professional-grade virtual and mixed reality hardware and software, and London-born artist David Van Eyssen, to present an exceptional art installation to be revealed during the week of the Frieze art fair in London. The event is running 11-15 October 2023.

Catherine Goodall, Policy and Influencing Manager at NCVO talks about the organisation’s work to address the gender pay gap – and explores what you can do to support change across the sector.
https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/narrowing-the-gender-pay-gap/#/

In response to the UK Government’s decision to approve the development of the Rosebank oil field, Oxfam has put out a statement.

https://www.oxfam.org.uk/media/press-releases/reaction-oxfam-response-to-the-uk-governments-decision-to-approve-the-development-of-the-rosebank-oil-field/

Greenpeace UK have also put out a similar statement against the decision to approve the new oil and gas field.
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/rosebank-oil-and-gas-field-approved-handouts-to-corporations-at-the-expense-of-the-rest-of-us-greenpeace-comment/

Woodgreen comments on the proposed ban of XL Bully types.
https://woodgreen.org.uk/news-events/woodgreen-response-to-proposed-ban-of-xl-bully-types/

RNIB has been trialing four different accessible voting solutions with blind and partially sighted voters, at an event supported by the Government and the Electoral Commission.
https://www.rnib.org.uk/news/rnib-tests-four-solutions-to-bring-accessible-voting-one-step-closer/

The Liberal Democrats have welcomed Help for Heroes to their annual party conference in Bournemouth to discuss how it will prioritise veterans at the next general election.
https://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/about-us/news/lib-dems-adopt-key-veterans-policies-at-annual-conference/

Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has published an evaluation of SSAFA’s Stepping Stone Home, which it calls “... a unique and invaluable service”.
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/news-articles/new-report-on-ssafa-s-stepping-stone-home-released

Mind has published a blog by Helen Cook called Winning at Work describing how she helped her workplace - the Awen Cultural Trust - to achieve a Gold Award for workplace wellbeing.
https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/winning-at-work-how-i-helped-my-workplace-to-strike-gold-for-staff-wellbeing/

Independent private schools would retain some of their tax breaks under a Labour government, after the party backed down on its pledge to strip them of charitable status.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/27/labour-backs-down-from-plan-to-strip-private-schools-of-charitable-status

This December, Oldham Athletic owner, and adventurer, Frank Rothwell, who is 73 - yes 73 - years old, will row 3,000-miles across the Atlantic, with the aim of raising 1 million pounds for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Donate to Frank’s fundraising for Alzheimer’s Research UK here: Frank Rothwell’s World’s Toughest Row Atlantic Challenge 2023 – JustGiving

https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/chair-of-oldham-athletic-travels-to-essex-to-train-for-3000-mile-charity-row-across-the-atlantic/

For National Inclusion Week, the NCVO Rainbow Network shares their thoughts on how to provide opportunities for making organisations more inclusive for the LGBTQIA+ community within your organisation.

https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/5-ways-embody-spirit-of-pride-year-round/#/

Patients and colleagues have been queuing up to congratulate a caring father who has supported people with sight loss in Luton and Bedfordshire for 20 years.
https://www.rnib.org.uk/news/praise-for-mark/

Hearing loss affects 1 in 5 UK adults, and yet there are currently no treatments that can restore hearing or prevent it from getting worse. One person who is seeking to change this is Professor Karen Steel, who discussed the biological causes of hearing loss at the 2023 Hearing Therapeutics Summit.
https://rnid.org.uk/2023/09/research-into-our-genes-is-bringing-us-closer-to-hearing-loss-treatments/

John Attrill, a full-time mechanic at Bembridge RNLI has added another string to his bow having just been passed out as a D class helm on Bembridge RNLI ’s Inshore Lifeboat.
https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2023/september/28/family-traditions-continue-at-bembridge-rnli

World-leading study, State of Nature, finds no let-up in the decline of our wildlife, with one in six species at risk of being lost from Great Britain.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/landmark-report-shows-uk-wildlifes-devastating-decline/

SSAFA have expressed their gratitude to the Army Central Fund (ACF) for its generous donation of £40,000 towards providing Short Breaks for service families who have a child with additional needs or a disability.
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/news-articles/acf-supports-children-living-with-a-disability

School in a Bag is aiming to send 200 bags in October and 800 in February.The bags will be taken to schools and orphanages in Taroudant in Morocco after the worst earthquake in the country for 60 years struck on 8 September.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-66914260

New figures from Macmillan Cancer Support for last week’s Macmillan Coffee Morning reveal how common cancer is amongst us

Help for Heroes & BLESMA selected to administer Veterans’ Mobility Fund

New analysis, published by Cancer Research UK, has revealed that the most deprived 10% of the population in England won’t be smokefree until after 2050.

Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity, has funded two researchers from Cardiff University to carry out projects aimed at finding new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

This October, Terence Higgins Trust is hosting a series of online workshops to support people to age well with HIV and improve their physical wellbeing. They're open to anyone in the UK living with HIV aged 50 and over. A link to further details on these workshops, including the dates can be found in the show notes.

Engaging GPs and primary care, Wednesday 4 October at 6pm.

Eating well for less (in partnership with The Food Chain), Thursday 12 October at 6pm.

Managing other conditions with HIV and ageing well, Wednesday 25 October at 6pm.

A celebration has been held in Belfast to mark the end of a unique initiative which has helped over 1,300 people living with sight loss.

A man from Lyme Regis took on the challenge of swimming the English Channel as a fundraiser for MIND and the RNLI, raising more than £7,100 to share between the charities.

You can still donate towards Harry’s fundraiser by visiting his JustGiving page: Harry's Solo English Channel Swim.

Wicklow RNLI's volunteers launched in the early hours of Sunday 24 September to assist a sailor, after their yacht had mechanical and electrical issues off Wicklow Harbour. https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2023/september/25/wicklow-rnli-comes-to-aid-of-lone-sailor-in-the-early-hours-of-the-morning

Charity Commission to review its handling of actors’ fund feud.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/25/charity-commission-to-review-its-handling-of-actors-fund-feud

Lanarkshire man completes Mighty Stride to raise money for The Haven Centre.
https://www.thehavencentre.com/post/edinburghkiltwalk

Football legend David Seaman MBE and over 200 supporters of the British Heart Foundation came together to shine a spotlight on hidden heart conditions and their impact on the nation every day.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2023/september/david-seaman-shines-a-spotlight-on-daily-heart-disease-deaths

The closure of a leading gender equality charity was described as "terrible news" for women across Wales. Chwarae Teg which is Welsh for ‘Fair Play’ said that a perfect storm of funding challenges, including the impending loss of financial support from the European Union was behind the move.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66861846

https://chwaraeteg.com/news/chwarae-teg-closure-statement/

A Bristol man braved desert heat, hypothermia and an attack by an angry rattlesnake on a coast-to-coast cycle ride across the USA. Simon Galpin, 55, from Bristol, raised almost £3,500 for the Stroke Association, a charity which helps people rebuild their lives after stroke.

https://www.stroke.org.uk/about-us/media-newsroom#/pressreleases/bristol-cyclist-braved-rattlesnakes-for-the-stroke-association-3273784