M&S Lichfield

Betel UK is a family of charitable Christian recovery communities who restore homeless and substance-dependent people to productive, independent lifestyles. Our purpose is to rescue those on the slippery slope of homelessness and addiction who want to rebuild their lives but can’t get into overburdened, under-funded rehabs. Betel offers entrance to new residents quickly, often within 24 hours of contacting us. One focus of our mission is to bring abstinence into the mainstream again, to declare and demonstrate that drug-free lifestyles are achievable and sustainable. We believe that people deserve the dignity to live free of life-controlling substances, rather than be led by policy and practice to expect life-long dependencies on prescribed opiates or alcohol. If addiction is a disease, our conviction is that it is an alterable disease of the will, self-induced, no matter how a person’s environment or genetics may predispose them. Hard-working Betel residents grow to understand the importance self-responsibility plays in their own long-term recovery. Our support services are free of charge making us be accessible to everyone regardless of financial means. Most of our funding for daily operations (over 85%) is generated through our charitable businesses and workshops, which train our residents to build employable skills. Betel residents agree to sign off primary benefits (Income support/Job Seekers Allowance) to further encourage their break with dependency in pursuit of building a strong and meaningful work ethic. Residents help to fund their own recovery by being involved in our charitable businesses. This significantly reduces the financial burden on their families and government, while restoring dignity and a sense of purpose. This meaningful work takes many forms, from the introduction to the necessity of daily chores in our residences, to working with our charity businesses. These are Furniture Restoration; House Removals/Clearances/Deliveries; Garden Maintenance and Landscaping; Tree Surgery; Charity Shop Retail Sales. We contract jobs with the local public, the government, businesses, churches and charities as our main means of funding Betel’s charitable activities. Betel is committed to expanding into all major cities in the UK and Ireland as properties/funding become available. We now have the climate in the UK to help provide a real alternative option to reduce crime and improve social cohesion. We're doing this by building relationships within the Criminal Justice Sector and local community organisations. Our men and women are willing to help fund their own recovery to a large degree and be an example to others needing help. Even so, opening new centres and developing new partnerships takes time and support. BETEL GIVES A HOPE TO THE HOPELESS AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE - YOUR SUPPORT CAN HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Willows Primary Academy is a large primary school in the north of Lichfield. We pride ourselves on being a very successful school. Staff enjoy working here and children enjoy learning here. It all goes towards providing children with a caring and secure environment. Children are given a wide range of opportunities at The Willows Academy. A considerable number (currently about 50%) of our pupils are in receipt of Pupil Premium funding. This is used to support and enhance these children in their learning. An important part of this is enrichment and providing our Pupil premium pupils with extra opportunities. We strive to ensure that none of our children are hungry. We provide breakfast for children that have not had any before arriving at school. We also provide a mid-morning snack of toast or fruit for any child that is hungry during the school day. We provide food support for families that need help with having sufficient food supplies. Our full-time Family Support Worker supports families in times of need to access our Local Food Bank. We run a free after-school cooking club to educate children in the cooking of healthy and wholesome foods.

St Giles Hospice is a registered charity offering high-quality specialist care free of charge for people living with diseases which are terminal or incurable as well as providing support for their families and carers. Patients come from across the hospice's catchment area, which ranges from Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Atherstone in the east, to Cannock in the west – and from Burton and Uttoxeter in the north, to Sutton Coldfield and Coleshill in the south. Care is offered at the hospice's centres in Whittington and Sutton Coldfield and in patients' own homes across the region. St Giles spends over £10 million a year providing its specialist services and with little more than a third of this funded by the Government, the registered charity relies heavily on donations and income generation from the local community. Our history St Giles Hospice is a registered charity founded in 1983 by the Reverend Paul Brothwell, originally to improve the care of local people dying with cancer. We now support people in our community whose illnesses may not be curable such as cancer, motor neurone disease, heart failure, MS and respiratory disease. We also offer support for families and helpers. Our dedicated team provides individually-tailored care either at the hospice or in patients’ own homes across our communities. The range of specialist services is provided free of charge to those who need it. Although St Giles receives some funding from the Government, we rely heavily on donations and fundraising. Our aim We are very clear in what we aim to do at St Giles Hospice. We understand that caring for one person to another is a very personal experience, not only to the individual but also the surrounding family members. We engage with people and the local community to tackle the taboos associated with illness, dying and grieving. We actively listen and learn from our practice and strive to improve what we do, alongside sharing what we know to those who wish to learn from us. We are pro-active in raising money to help fund our ability to care, all with the help of our carers and volunteers who work tirelessly to provide opportunities for families and friends to honour the lives of their loved ones. All of this is achievable for a number of factors, we have a wonderful web of connections and friendships but a big chunk of this is down to the excellent team we have who run and maintain the charity, those who specialise in creating these partnerships to help us fund our charity. Quality of our care St Giles Hospice was awarded the highest possible accolade of ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission in January 2020. For more information on the range of services we can offer, go to www.stgileshospice.com, email enquiries@stgileshospice.com or call at any time on 01543 432 031.