Nov 16, 2023 | Events, Fundraising, News, Press Releases
A golf day organised by two Derby businesses has raised £2,000 for the county’s specialist child exploitation charity, Safe and Sound.
A group of 64 golfers took part in the event organised by Invictus Communications in Melbourne and German Automotive service and repair centre in Ascot Drive, Derby.
Jonny McPhee, managing director of Invictus Communications has been a long-time supporter of Safe and Sound including installing a new telephony system at the charity’s offices to ensure they could keep their helplines open.
He also nominated Safe and Sound to be the chosen charity for the recent East Midlands Business Awards which raised £13,000 to support their work.
He said: “Safe and Sound do an incredible job protecting and supporting young people and families whose lives are affected by child exploitation.
“Therefore, when we started planning the golf day with Ian Essex and the team at German Automotive, I was adamant that Safe and Sound would be a chosen charity for fundraising on the day.
“Our whole ethos is buy local, sell local and support local and I am delighted that we have once again been able to make a positive difference to this amazing charity.”
Tracy Harrison, CEO of Safe and Sound met with the golfers on the day as they teed off. She said: “Once again we are very grateful for the generosity shown by Invictus Communications and the businesses and individuals they work with.
“Every penny raised goes into directly supporting young people and families in our local communities through 121 and group support, positive activities and outreach work.
“We can only do this with the support of our local business community and I hope they all realise what a positive difference they are making to so many people’s lives.”
https://www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk/
https://www.invictuscomms.com/
https://germanauto.co.uk/
Nov 6, 2023 | Fundraising, News, Press Releases
The generosity of a Derby business owner will enable specialist child exploitation charity, Safe and Sound, to provide vital support to more than ten young people and their families over the coming year through match funding.
John Shaw, managing director of family-run Vibrant Doors in Sinfin doubled the amount raised at a recent music night to raise funds for Safe and Sound which supports and protects children, young people and families whose lives are affected by child exploitation.
That pledge, in turn, was match funded by Big Give – bringing the total raised for the charity to £5,800.
Mr Shaw set up Vibrant Doors at his kitchen table in 2012, and now heads up a team of 20 who supply internal and external doors and accessories to customers across the UK.
He said: “I was blown away when I attended the music night and learnt more about the incredible work that Safe and Sound do to support and protect children, young people and families across the county.
“I am Derby born and bred and, as a family business, we are all committed to supporting our local communities in whatever way we can.
“I am particularly passionate about supporting young people to develop their skills and confidence to progress in the workplace and most of our management team started here straight from school.
“Safe and Sound therefore match our company values and I am delighted that our support has opened the doors to match funding for the charity to provide support for young people and families who really need it.”
Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison added: “Any child, anywhere, can become a victim of child exploitation whether through online grooming or being targeted by individuals and gangs who prey on the vulnerabilities of young people.
“The youngest person we worked with this year is eight years old. We are also supporting a growing number of families because the impact of child exploitation has a ripple effect – potentially destroying lives and family relationships.
“The generosity of companies and individuals across the county like John and the Vibrant Doors team enables us to provide specialist 121 and group support as well as organising positive activities to build self confidence and providing much-needed outreach support within local communities blighted by child exploitation.
“We are so grateful that this donation opened further doors through the Big Give national initiative and this money raised will be a lifeline so many young people and families across the county who need support to move forward positively with their lives.”
The music night, held at The Venue in Abbey Street features some of Derby’s most successful and up and coming music and dance performers and was organised by Sharon Jackson, a former case worker at Safe and Sound who is the founder of Shield – a safeguarding and child protection training service.
Sharon Jackson concluded: “The music night was a fantastic showcase for local talent, particularly young and up and coming musicians and dancers from this area. As well as generating new audiences for these superb performers, it raised much-needed funds to help the charity expand its work across the county.”
For more information about the work of Safe and Sound, please visit https://www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
Oct 10, 2023 | News, News, Press Releases
Derby-based Parry Creative has completed the first stages of a brand development project for specialist child exploitation charity, Safe and Sound, which is designed to better reflect the expanded range of services it provides to local communities.
The team has invested their time and expertise into Safe and Sound after founder and Managing Director Laura Parry attended fundraising events where she learnt more about the charity’s work.
Work so far completed includes refreshing the branding of the charity’s on-going Butterfly Appeal, created icons which will ally to the different and expanded service areas and updating the marketing materials’ colour palette.
Further work planned includes creating templates for future marketing materials and ongoing support for fundraising events.
Laura Parry explained: “The charitable sector is facing so many funding and profile challenges in this economic climate that a strong and consistent brand identity which builds recognition and reputation is more important than ever.
“Having become established within the Derby business community we were keen to put something back and chose to focus on Safe and Sound because of the passion, dedication and energy shown by the Safe and Sound team and particularly CEO Tracy Harrison.
“The feedback to the work completed so far has been very positive and I hope that this will help the Safe and Sound team in their marketing communication activities in the future.”
Tracy Harrison added: “We are in the fortunate position that we have been able to grow our services and support more young people and families than ever before but that has led to our brand identity becoming rather messy.
“Parry Creative have taken the time to really understand what we do and how we do it and has used their expertise to provide the tools we need to better communicate with our target audiences in a clear and consistent manner.
“Pro bono support from professionals is a life line to charities such as ours as it enables us to improve our operations whilst utilising the income that we do have to directly support and protect children, young people and their families whose lives have been affected by child exploitation.
“I am therefore extremely grateful to Laura and the team for giving us their time and expertise on such an important project at this vital stage in our charity’s future development.”
For more information about Parry Creative, visit https://parrycreative.co.uk/ and to find out how to support Safe and Sound and the work they do in local communities, visit https://www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
Sep 20, 2023 | Events, Fundraising, News, Press Releases
A former soldier is returning to the boxing ring to raise money for Safe and Sound, Derbyshire’s specialist charity that supports young people and their families whose lives are affected by child exploitation.
Harry Sloman (22) from Melbourne now works in construction after serving in the Mercian Regiment. He will be taking part in an Ultra White Collar Boxing event on November 25 at Arleston Hall in Derby and is asking family and friends to sponsor him in his endeavours.
Harry explained: “I first took up boxing when I was a teenager because I was being bullied at school. It gave me the self-confidence and self-esteem that I needed to get me out of a black hole and I have since taken part in six white collar boxing events – winning all of my bouts.
“I am really looking forward to the training and then the event itself and I hope to raise a decent amount of money for Safe and Sound.
“The scale of grooming and child exploitation – especially in our local communities – really resonated with me because of how vulnerable I felt when I was younger.
“Feeling confident and in control of your life is so important to a young person’s wellbeing and safety so I felt this was the perfect way to raise money for Safe and Sound.”
Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison added: “We are very grateful that Harry has chosen to raise money for us in this way.
“Boxing is a key part of our positive activities programme for both young boys and girls to help build their confidence and resilience which are crucial to them moving forward with their lives.”
To support Harry Sloman, please visit his Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/harry-sloman?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=harry-sloman&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=ef18d6b4ccda46cc8e1d689f45413122
For more information about Safe and Sound and how to support what they do in local communities, visit https://www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
Sep 13, 2023 | Events, Fundraising, News, Press Releases
Some of Derby’s most successful and up and coming music and dance performers will come together for a special event in the city next month to raise money for specialist child exploitation charity, Safe and Sound.
The event has been organised by Sharon Jackson, a former case worker at Safe and Sound who is the founder of Shield – a safeguarding and child protection training service.
Keen to support the charity, Sharon has brought together a wide range of music acts including soul, rap, jazz, ballads, country Indie-rock as well as dance to perform on Friday October 6 at The Venue between 7pm and midnight.
The headline act for the evening are Indie/alternative quartet, Shadows Of A Silhouette, who graced the YNOT main stage this summer and are heavily influenced by their working class background and groups such as Arctic Monkeys.
The line-up also includes The Steve Frixou Band, Feurtado Beats, Samiie Licence, Jon Ryan, Henry John, Karolina, Richard Comfort, Sharon Jackson, the Nadia Dance Group as well as accomplished musicians and Safe and Sound team members Sheila Isles and Jamie Joseph.
Sharon Jackson explained: “The music night will a fantastic showcase for local talent, particularly young and up and coming musicians and dancers from this area, and to highlight the amazing work that Safe and Sound do in our local communities to support and protect children, young people and families whose lives are affected by child exploitation.
“We hope that it will generate new audiences for these superb performers as well as much-needed funds to help the charity expand its work across the county.”
Nathan Brown, who is a founding member of Shadows Of A Silhouette and performs lead vocals and rhythm guitar, continued: “We wanted to be involved in this event because we know and are very aware of the amazing work Safe and Sound does to protect vulnerable children from the many predators in our society.
“They have been relentless over the past 20 years in highlighting the need for more work to be done at all levels to safeguard children. Their work takes a lot of time and effort and is funded by charitable donations in the main. Without their voices, a lot of the voices of the vulnerable children would go unheard.
“It therefore means everything to us to able to be part of this music event to help raise money for the charity. Music is in our blood, and we get the pleasure of putting smiles on people’s faces when we take to a stage.”
Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison concluded: “Music and dance played a really important part in our 20th anniversary celebrations last year and made me realise just how many talented artists and particularly young people we have across the city and county.
“Sharon has done an incredible job bringing the music night together and we look forward to engaging with a whole new audience to raise awareness of the dangers facing young people both online and in our local communities and what we do to help them and their families move forward positively with their lives.”
Tickets for the over-18 music night are available at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/charity-music-night-tickets-706018238557?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&fbclid=IwAR09IGoYbDLTD7sgNABeW7dSyFo8MXLXFbLfkBjPHnIrVAhW-LAiDXVeg1Q and for more information about the work of Safe and Sound, please visit https://www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
Sep 11, 2023 | Fundraising, News, Press Releases
Derbyshire-based charity, Safe and Sound has become the first organisation to successfully win funding from British Safety Council to improve and support its staff’s wellbeing.
The funding of up to £10,000 was awarded to Safe and Sound through British Safety Council’s Keep Thriving campaign to improve workplace wellbeing.
Tracy Harrison, CEO of Safe and Sound, attended the first 3-hour workshop in November 2022 to help her and other small and medium organisations (SMEs) develop a wellbeing strategy, delivered by experts from British Safety Council’s Being Well Together programme.
Workshop attendees are invited to apply for funding six months after attending workshops with only the most effective and innovative proposals receiving approval.
Further awards will be made to other organisations taking part in workshops between November 2022 and March 2023. The money will help the SMEs to implement their wellbeing strategy and plans.
Commenting on why the money will make a difference and how Safe and Sound will make use of it to support its staff’s wellbeing, Tracy Harrison said: “I am delighted that our work to support our amazing team who in turn work so hard to support children, young people and their families in our local community has been recognised in this way.
“As a charity, we champion diversity, personal development and inclusivity and our team represents the local communities that we serve.
“This grant will enable us to implement our wide-reaching strategy to ensure the wellbeing of our staff who do an incredible job in sometimes the most challenging of circumstances and we are extremely grateful to British Safety Council’s Keep Thriving campaign for its support.
“Initiatives we are planning as part of our new wellbeing strategy include bespoke training, team building and wellbeing workshops.”
Safe and Sound supports and protects young people and families whose lives have been affected by child exploitation.
Commenting on the funding award, Mike Robinson, British Safety Council Chief Executive, said: “I am excited and proud that as a charity British Safety Council is supporting small organisations in this way, and delighted that Safe and Sound is the first recipient. I know the difference even a modest amount of funding can make to employers who lack the HR and financial resources that larger ones can use to support their staff.
“In its application Safe and Sound showed not just that it would use this money in creative and imaginative ways, but also that it would measure, evaluate and track the impact of its activities carefully, that it is listening to its staff to develop its plan and that it fits with the strategic needs of them and the charity.
“We look forward to working with Safe and Sound as it progresses on its wellbeing journey and hearing how it gets on with implementing its plan over the coming months.”
About Keep Thriving
Keep Thriving is British Safety Council’s campaign to help improve the wellbeing of workers, within and outside of the workplace, so that all of us can thrive.
As part of eight key calls to action, the Keep Thriving campaign is asking organisations and businesses to commit to:
- Appoint an executive director responsible for wellbeing, acting as a sponsor driving change
- Actively engage employees in determining workplace wellbeing interventions that work for them
- Adopt a holistic approach to health, safety and wellbeing, focused on training people to enable prevention and avoid poor wellbeing.
For more on the campaign: https://britsafe.org/campaigns-policy/keep-thriving/keep-thriving-campaign/
About Safe and Sound
Safe and Sound is a charity which transforms the lives of children and young people in Derbyshire affected by child exploitation.
It supports children and young people at risk from all forms of exploitation, largely sexual and criminal exploitation, but including arranged marriage, trafficking, gangs and country lines. Its aim is to support at the earliest opportunity with prevention and early intervention programmes. For more, visit: www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
About Being Well Together
The Being Well Together Programme is one or three-years, delivered by both British Safety Council and its award-winning mental wellbeing sister charity Mates in Mind, to help them improve the wellbeing of their workforce.
It includes access to an online portal with key resources as well as a support manager and options for audit, consultancy, and training services.
More information is available here: https://www.beingwelltogether.org/
