Derby-based So Good Kombucha is our joint anniversary supporter this January.
The entrepreneurial company was founded by Lesley So with the mission to provide the UK with a healthy and delicious fizzy drink alternative that is ethical, sustainable, and beneficial for the local community.
Naturally sparkling and slightly tangy, kombucha is a fermented tea with origins thought to go back over 2000 years to ancient China, where it was dubbed the & Elixir of Life for its many health benefits.
Lesley explained: “We are a small social venture with a big dream. We believe that work is good and that businesses should be a force for good.
“We, therefore, seek to employ, train, and empower refugees and others who are marginalised in society to give them meaningful work and enable them to come out of the social benefits system. This vision closely aligns with the fantastic work that Safe and Sound do to support young people and their families in new and emerging communities in the city who are particularly vulnerable to child exploitation.”
Family-owned funeral directors, Wathall’s, have donated five computers to Derby’s specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound which will be passed onto local families
in need.
The computers have been wiped clean of content and will be protected with high privacy settings before being given to young people who at present do not have access to computers to support their education.
Safe and Sound also took the opportunity to present Wathall’s with a trophy and specially designed poster to celebrate their nomination as Supporter of the Year which was decided by young people involved with the charity.
Helen Wathall MBE is the fifth generation of her family to run Wathall’s – Derby’s longest-established independent funeral directors. She said: “We were proud to be one of the companies who supported Safe and Sound
during this, their 20 th anniversary year. Therefore, when we replaced some of the office computers – we contacted Safe and Sound to see if they could be put to good use.
“I hope that they will be useful to young people who are still facing a challenging time catching up with their education which was so badly disrupted during the pandemic and will take the pressure off families who are struggling with the cost of living at this expensive time of year.”
Tracy Harrison, CEO of Safe and Sound, added: “Wathall’s have been an amazing support to our charity for many years and we are delighted to be able to pass on these computers to families who really need them.
“In these challenging times, donations such as this show what can be achieved to improve people’s lives by businesses recycling unwanted equipment to charities so that they can be given to those who need them.”
Safe and Sound also have an ongoing recycling programme for unwanted mobile phones and tablets which are recycled and a proportion of the profits are donated back to the charity. For more information about this and other ways to support Safe and Sound, please visit https://www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk/make-a-donation/
Picture shows, from left: Safe and Sound fundraising and marketing officer, Lucy Dey and CEO Tracy Harrison with Wathall’s managing director Helen Wathall and business development manager Bec Wathall.
Leading law firm Timms Solicitors have presented a cheque to Safe and Sound following its annual childcare conference for fellow professionals which focused on the impact of the pandemic on families and young people.
Timms is recognised as a leading Family Law firm with an experienced childcare team working across its offices in Derby, Burton-upon-Trent and Swadlincote. The firm organised its eighth annual conference recently in Derby which was attended by more than 60 delegates from across the East Midlands representing the legal, local authority and Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) professions.
Guest speakers included Tracy Harrison, CEO of Derbyshire’s specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound which has received £250 from donations at the conference. The same amount was also presented to Derby County Community Trust as part of Timms’ long-standing support for the charity’s wide-reaching community programme.
Timms Solicitors managing partner Fiona Moffat explained: “In this, our 130 th anniversary year, we were delighted to be able to reintroduce the in-person annual childcare conference. “Each event is focused on a different aspect of law relating to children and are designed to share key topical knowledge across the profession, giving advice and understanding to help everyone in their day to day jobs.
“It was particularly relevant this year to hear from a wide range of speakers who highlighted the widespread impact that the pandemic, particularly periods of lockdown, have had on the health, wellbeing and safety of young people and their families. “This insight is helping a wide range of professionals shape their approach to contact with families and gain a better understanding of the support available to them.
“Timms always donate to a charity as part of this event and we were delighted to again support Safe and Sound and DCCT who both have a very important role to play in supporting young people and families in our local communities.”
Members of Rotary Club of Derby Mercia have donated £1,000 so that more young people and families supported by local charity Safe and Sound can receive special recognition and validation of their recovery journey.
Safe and Sound have worked with Derby-based personalised gift company Colleague Box to create a bespoke ‘Hope Box’ for local young people and families who they work with. Each Hope Box, which cost £20, is filled with calming activities, treats and positivity messages.
Safe and Sound supports children and young people across Derbyshire who are victims of or at risk of child exploitation including online grooming, sexual exploitation, County Lines, trafficking, Modern Slavery and radicalisation. The team also supports families and raises public awareness across local communities about the dangers facing young people and the support available.
CEO Tracy Harrison said: “We are working with more young people and families than ever before with 1:1 and group support, positive activities, help to return to education or into work and practical support to help them move forward with their lives in a positive way.
“The Hope Boxes carry an important message to our young people and their families that they are not alone and are something that they can keep referring to and take comfort from in dark times.
“We have an ongoing appeal for businesses, individuals and organisations to effectively sponsor a young person or family member whose lives have been affected by child exploitation and I am blown away by the generosity of the members of Rotary Club of Derby Mercia.”
Rotary Club of Derby Mercia Chair for Community Activities Neil Armstrong added: “We know that the Hope Boxes are treasured by the young people and family members who receive them and were keen to support this important campaign.
“We hope the recipients they will gain further strength and self-esteem from the Hope Box as they move forward positively with their lives thanks to the support from Safe and Sound.”
For more information about the work of Safe and Sound and how to support them – including sponsoring a Hope Box – please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk.
Picture shows, Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison with the cheque and some Hope boxes.
More than 120 people gathered at Reach Events in Pride Park to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Derbyshire’s specialist child exploitation charity, Safe and Sound.
Young people and families who have been supported by the charity joined Safe and Sound staff and trustees, representatives from key partners including Derbyshire police, Derby City Council and local businesses who have supported the charity to mark the milestone.
Safe and Sound trustee Adam Buss was MC for the evening which included music and dance by city-based young people, a two-course meal prepared and served by Butler’s Pantry and a charity auction which raised more than £1,500 for the charity.
Guest of honour was Sheila Taylor MBE who founded the charity and is now CEO of the Derby-based NWG network of more than 14,500 practitioners working on the issue of child exploitation and trafficking within the UK. Mrs Taylor and the team at Safe and Sound were integral in Operation Retriever which resulted in Derby’s first prosecution for child sexual exploitation and abuse in 2010. The charity’s specialist team supported every young person affected by the criminal actions of 13 defendants who were jailed in total for up to 22 years for 70 offences.
She told the audience that, sadly, child exploitation was even more prevalent 12 years later and that Safe and Sound were at the forefront of innovative work to protect and support children, young people and families across the county.
“Safe and Sound’s role is vital both locally and to continue to improve practice nationally and I am proud of the work that they continue to do. We have got to stop these heinous crimes happening to our children and education is the key if we are to reach a point when there is zero tolerance to child exploitation.”
Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison thanked everyone who had been involved in the
charity’s work.
“We are proud to have stayed true to Sheila Taylor’s legacy of being a grassroots charity – protecting and supporting young people and their families in our local communities. Our dedicated team of professionals are committed to transforming lives through a wide
range of services from one-to-one and group support to outreach work and positive
activities.”
The evening also saw the presentation of several awards. The supporter of the year, chosen by the young people working with Safe and Sound, was presented to Natalie Bamford from Derby-based Colleague Box who, as well as raising thousands of pounds for the charity, has also developed the ‘Hope Box’ to provide young people with positive memories and activities.
Highly commended trophies were also presented to Wathall’s, Dains Accountants, Loates HR Consultancy, Cosy Direct and Rotarians in Derby.
The staff award went to Katie Turner who leads on a new service provided by Safe and Sound – Family Group Conferencing – which is a pilot programme delivered on behalf of Derby City Council to help keep families together in times of crisis.
And the young person’s award went to a 16-year-old local boy in recognition of the courage he showed in bringing a perpetrator to justice.
Chair of trustees Mark Richardson concluded: “The anniversary event was an incredible celebration of the charity but also a sobering reminder that child exploitation is a real and present threat to the safety and wellbeing of far too many young people and their families. We are grateful to everyone who has and continues to support the charity to ensure that our team will always be there when young people need us and that we can prevent
exploitation where and however we can.”
For more information about the work of Safe and Sound and how to support them, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk and for ticket information for the anniversary event, please email[email protected]
The contribution made by Safe and Sound to an innovative city-wide inclusion project has been recognised at a prestigious awards evening.
The Derby County Community Trust (DCCT) 2022 annual awards were held at Pride Park – attended by a wide range of participants, staff, supporters and stakeholders. The glittering event celebrated key aspects of the Trust’s work to make a difference in communities across Derby and Derbyshire – helping with their educational needs to improve their health, offering support, providing purpose or simply extending the hand of friendship.
The Inclusion Project which brings together DCCT, Safe and Sound, Baby People and Bridge the Gap, won the Community Impact Award in recognition of the outstanding contribution it has made to the wider local community.
The project has worked with more than 900 children and young people since its inception. Partners involved offer a huge range of activities aimed at increasing the capacity and capability of mainstream schools to provide effective inclusion interventions and support vulnerable students as well as delivery community-based hubs to offer further support.
Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison explained: “I am delighted that the Inclusion Project, which brings together expertise from a number of different organisations, has been recognised with this award.
“The DCCT awards are a highlight in the city’s voluntary sector calendar – highlighting the positive impact that they and a wide range of other organisations play in local people’s lives. “As a local charity, Safe and Sound greatly value the partnerships that we have in the city and county and look forward to developing these further to support people through challenging and sometimes devastating times in their lives.”
