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The Bankers' Welfare Charity (BWC) provides clear, practical information, advice, services, and financial support to help individuals and families with the challenges they face. Our services promote wellbeing, maintain independence, and make the most of financial resources. Visit our website or call our helpline to find out more!
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1884 Bank Clerk’s Orphanage – we never built one 1984 Merged with Bankers Beneficent to support older people (Bankers Benevolent Fund) 2004 Included disabled people and families in crisis through cash grants 2008 – 10 Added Autism/Disability/Arthritis services 2011 New Brand – New name - added help line, full service web site, partner referrals Brief history
1.8 million connected to banking: • 400,000 working • 500,000 pensioners • 300,000 leavers • 600,000 dependants • All eligible for help • Capacity to help 5,000 people each year with 11,000 interventions via web, phone and case work • 552 individual clients received grants in year to 31 March 2011 • 110 partner service users with capacity for 600 and growing • £45 million in reserves , £1.6 million spent on directly supporting clients and £0.7 million spent on services and casework • Annual voluntary donations received from all major banks Facts and figures
Move from grants to a wider set of services to meet the real needs of people in today’s challenging world Promote self sufficiency and well being rather than dependency culture Work with expert partners rather than DIY to increase impact and client satisfaction Collaborate with others to improve speed to market at lower start up costand generate scale advantages to reduce operating costs Undertake client and market insight activities to drive all new service developments Programme manage all change to mitigate risks and ensure delivery on time, on budget, with expected outcomes Report on impact and engage stakeholders for potential future funding of capacity growth Our policies
Clear, practical information, advice, services and financial support to help me and my family with the changes and challenges in our lives Our services provide support in three main areas: • My wellbeing Help to deal with stress, traumatic and difficult situations to enable me to stay at work, help to manage health conditions and stay active • My home Maintaining my independence, help keep control & make the most of housing and care options • My money Making the most of my money and help to access benefits, maximise income and help to manage and/or plan for my future Our new offer – launched 16 May
BWC is your charity We have the experience to care & the knowledge to help! Email: help@bwcharity.org.uk Visit our website www.bwcharity.org.uk Call our free, confidential helpline 0800 0234 834 Want to find out more?
Clients we have helped • Helping out when crisis hits • Ann-Marie is separated from her husband. She has been off work on sick leave due to the stress of becoming homeless. Ann-Marie had to leave her privately rented flat as the owner needed the property for a family member. She has four sons , two of whom are still dependent. The family had to move in with her sister until the Council provided her with a temporary furnished flat for the homeless. • Ann-Marie was then given a permanent, unfurnished flat which was in a dreadful state and was told she would have to decorate herself. The flat had graffiti on the walls, no flooring or carpets, no kitchen units etc. She had no white goods or basic household items and because she is still classed as working, she was not eligible for a Community Care grant. We were able to assist her with a grant towards painting and decorating her flat to make it habitable as well as towards furniture and white goods. Since we have made the grant, Ann-Marie feels secure in a clean and comfortable permanent home which has enabled her to get on top of her • stress-related illness and return to work whilst also undertaking further training to update her skills. • “I would like to give you a huge thank you for all your help. Even though I have been re-housed in one of the worst streets in a housing estate in Glasgow, I can close my door to a nice, clean and comfortable place to live. The security and stability that your grant has provided me with has enabled me to return to work. We are slowly building our life back up again.”
Help with a much-needed family break Tracy Holyland worked for a bank for 12 years and lives with her partner Paul Wilkinson with their two children, Harrison (9) and Harvey (6). Harrison suffers from a life limiting rare genetic disorder and is physically and mentally disabled. Tracy and Paul are constantly looking for ways to improve Harrison’s quality of life, and in March 2010 requested help towards a family holiday in Egypt, their first holiday for many years. Thank you letter… “We just wanted to write and say a BIG thank you all so much, for paying for us to go on holiday to Egypt. Harrison woke up every day with a big smile which you can imagine made our holiday very special. As we have not had the opportunity to go on holiday in a good few years due to our circumstances we were amazed to see how Harrison had changed since our last holiday. He has gone from a little boy who didn’t really want to go swimming or join in with too much activity to a young man asking to go swimming frequently, and getting involved in as many activities and fun things that he possibly could, ranging from dancing in his chair at the mini disco to joining in with adult entertainment. Tracy and I smiled and laughed every day at how our little boy had grown up and at how much fun he was having and how much satisfaction he gave us. It was great being able to go with some of our immediate family as this gave us extra help and also some quality time for Tracy and I, which we get very little these days. We were truly amazed at how much fun and enjoyment Harrison had in the two weeks we had away and have realised how much happiness we have been missing out on with him. Our biggest thanks for making those two weeks so, so special. Clients we have helped
Clients we have helped The NAS helped us get £4,000 in unclaimed benefits we didn’t know about Andrew and Gemma Stead live in Kent with their two sons, Luke and Oliver. Luke was diagnosed with autism in 2007. Through our partnership with the National Autistic Society (NAS), the family received lifetime membership of the NAS, support through the help! programme and advice on their welfare rights. Andrew talked to us about the difference that the programme had made to his son Luke and his family. “Through the NAS we learnt what we were entitled to. They did a benefits check andwe weren’t claiming carers’ allowance. We never knew anything about it. We weregetting DLA (disability living allowance) so assumed that they would have told us if we were entitled to anything else. I realised that I had lost £4,000 in unclaimed benefits from the previous two years. That’s all sorted now, which has made a massive difference. We feel more confident and have managed to get some respite care, so we do get more help. We have phoned when we’ve been down and the NAS has managed to put us in contact with other parents that are in the same situation and that has helped.”
Clients we have helped • Help to get an interim care package from Social Services for my son • Adrian Singh from Manchester discovered that the BWC were working in partnership with LCD to support people with disabilities or with caring responsibilities at work during the banks diversity and inclusion week. • Adrian required more appropriate care support for his adult son who has Asperger’s and mental health issues. Following the intervention from Kim Dalton, our distance mentor, his son was offered an interim care package provided by Social Services. This was of course only the first step but has provided Kim with more time to identify a more suitable long term supported housing scheme for his son. • Adrian says: “Every parent wants their child to be supported in the best possible way and the opportunity to live independently in a safe environment. The process and paperwork required to apply for an interim package as well as a supported housing scheme is bewildering. Kim has been such a great help – I cannot thank you enough for helping us through this challenging time.”