Winners 2023

Jersey Charity Awards 2023 – Winners

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

Once again there were three categories for the 2023 Jersey Charity Awards:

• Outstanding Achievement for a Small Charity
• Outstanding Achievement for a Medium Charity
• Outstanding Achievement for a Large Charity

The awards were judged by an independent and diverse panel of judges comprising of Paul Routier MBE; local businessman Charles Humpleby; Arclight Solutions Ltd Senior Consultant Jane Galloway and Liz Le Poidevin Secretary of the Association of Jersey Charities, who were looking for examples of excellence, together with ideas and leadership to inspire and from which others can learn.

Prizes are to be awarded, for all 3 categories are as follows:
£5,000 to the winner of each category
£1,000 to the runner up of each category
£500 to the charity in third place for each category as listed below:

Outstanding Achievement for a Small Charity - Short List

• ALLMatters Neurodiverse Jersey
• Tiny Seeds
• Project Linus UK, Jersey CI
• James’ Ark
   

Introduction

This was, for a change, the easiest category to judge, as it was a unanimous decision on who was the outright winner, as the applicant addressed all of the set criteria, had gathered substantial evidence to back it up, and the application was exceptionally well written.

The work that’s been undertaken by these small not for profit organisations is quite extraordinary, especially considering that many are new start up charities, who are punching way above their weight, often addressing difficult sensitive issues. For example, infertility, for which Tiny Seeds has been set up, to support people in Jersey who are experiencing infertility issues.

All entrants in this category are dealing with island wide issues, such as the work of ALLMatters Neurodiverse, Jersey, whose mission is to spread awareness and provide support to individuals who are neurodivergent. And James’ Ark, which is seeking to promote equality for parents, raise awareness of the effects of family separation, and plug the gap in services for fathers separated from their families.

Project Linus is a purely voluntary organisation whose mission is to provide an island wide sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are in need, by donating gifts of new handmade quilts and blankets etc.

3rd: JAMES’ ARK

In third place, a new charity and the first one which seeks to support fathers to reconnect with their children, following separation.

The emotional impact fathers have from being separated from their children is often underplayed and through their mentoring scheme they are supporting fathers in understanding their role and how they can best maintain the relationship with their children.

They had gathered some good solid evidence and in a short period they have reconnected 51 fathers back with their children. At a time when 40% of fathers lose contact with their children, this is an achievement that has far reaching implications and is a positive step towards pro-equality, diversity, inclusion and fairness for fathers.

Well done to James’ Ark, an innovative charity with lots more to come!

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

2nd: ALLMATTERS NEURODIVERSE JERSEY

In second place, this really is an all-encompassing charity, dedicated to promoting the understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity, with a huge mission to spread awareness and provide support to individuals who are neurodivergent, including those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurological differences.

This is an organisation that really understands the importance of strategic thinking and the need for a good business plan, backed up with a sustainable income source.

It was good to read that they had thought things through from their beneficiary’s perspective and were aware of possible risk factors and how they would be mitigated.

A great achievement for a new small charity!

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

1st: TINY SEEDS

And the winner of the OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR A SMALL CHARITY, This is also a new charity working on raising awareness, reducing the stigma, and providing practical support for people in Jersey who are experiencing infertility or need the help of fertility treatment to conceive.

This is not just a self-help group. The charity has undertaken some substantial evidence-gathering into the effects of infertility, working with companies and other organisations to create best practice policies for employers, to better understand and help their staff who may be affected.

We particularly liked the collaborative and mutually beneficial way they had developed their relationships, by producing a toolkit of resources that helps employers, which in turn helps to reduce the stress of staff who are struggling with infertility issues.

Many congratulations for winning first place!

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

Outstanding Achievement for a Medium Charity -
Short List

• Autism Jersey
• Caring Cooks of Jersey
• Healing Waves
• Jersey Marine Conservation
• Jersey Women’s Refuge
• Salvation Army
   

Introduction

We all thoroughly enjoyed reading the applications in this category, which ranged from the vital work that Jersey Women’s Refuge continue to do, through to Healing Waves, which harnesses the ocean’s transformative powers, and Jersey Marine Conservation, which strives to protect the marine environment by gathering data in support of marine protection and bio diversity, whilst also raising awareness of the issues the marine environment faces.

Who hasn’t heard of the amazing work of the Salvation Army, who since 2020, in response to the pandemic, set up a food bank, which 3 years on is continuing to serve vulnerable people in Jersey, along with their ongoing pastoral care, which is at the backbone of this amazing charity.

As we face another unprecedented challenge, this time a cost of living crisis, both the Salvation Army and Caring Cooks have risen to the occasion by providing practical support, help and advice.

Autism Jersey have also introduced a Budget Kitchen programme, helping members learn to plan and cook nutritional healthy food. Their Adult Social Club provides a safe, inclusive, diverse and positive space, where members collaboratively discuss and agree what activities they want to undertake and forward plan.

3rd: JERSEY WOMEN’S REFUGE

In third place, the work that this charity undertakes sadly will always be needed, but it was great to read how they have been able to widen their service provision, to encompass clients with more diverse needs, including carers if required, in new fully accessible self-contained facilities.

This was a well thought out project, with a clearly defined budget and plan, which started with gathering the views and opinions of their existing clients, feeding into the vision and planning process.

This charity clearly has a great team of highly motivated staff and volunteers, who put the women and children they help at the heart of what they do.

Well done for taking third place in the awards.

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

2nd: CARING COOKS OF JERSEY

In second place, this charity once again responded quickly to changing needs, redefining their service to those most in need, who were more likely to experience the greatest negative impact of the economic situation and fuel crises.

They have clearly taken the founders vision, to raise awareness of the need of good food and nutrition and how crucial this is to a child’s development and ongoing wellbeing, to another level with their Food or Fuel initiative. So rather than relying on food donations in the form of Christmas hampers, they distributed vouchers worth £50, which could be spent on fuel and food, giving vulnerable families more independence.

This was a well thought out, targeted and collaborative initiative, with clearly defined KPI’s and objectives, as initially their target was to reach 400 vulnerable families, with the £20,000 raised. But they smashed their fundraising target, enabling them to distribute a total of 873 vouchers.

Congratulations on winning second place.

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

1st: HEALING WAVES, OCEAN THERAPY

And the winner of the OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR A MEDIUM CHARITY award. Without a doubt all the judges agreed that what this charity has achieved, in fulfilling its mission to bring to life the UKs first Surf Therapy Centre, in Jersey, is phenomenal and deserves the accolade of winning this category.

The centre not only provides the organisation with a base, but it also helps people with a variety of complex additional needs, such as wheelchair users, people with autism, ADHD and more and also their families, through their life changing ocean therapies.

They undertook a tremendous amount of research, planning, budgeting and collaborative working to make this happen, including consideration of the environmental impact.

Here is a lovely example of how a charity can build its supporter base and generate the additional funds that were required, above the Fiscal Stimulus grant, to create what is recognised as a world class centre that will benefit the island’s population for years to come.

We are delighted to award you the 1st prize in this category, of £5,000.

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

Outstanding Achievement in the Large Charity Category –
Short List

• Beresford Street Kitchen
• Brighter Futures
• EYECAN
• Jersey Childcare Trust
• Jersey Heritage Trust
• St John Ambulance

Introduction

This was one of the hardest categories to judge as all entrants had submitted excellent applications which had addressed the criteria set out in the application. In our eyes they are all deserving of an award.

We were impressed with the increased collaborative nature of the work of some of the island’s oldest charities, including St John Ambulance, especially with the development of their new Carers Programme.

Jersey Heritage do such a great job of looking after the Island’s major historic sites, museums and public archives, which define the Island. They hold the evidence for its historical development and act as the community’s memory.

Brighter Futures continues to make a big difference, enabling families in need to thrive, and we loved the way they used an evidence-based approach to monitor client satisfaction. They have an excellent grasp of financial aspects, linking clearly defined objectives with Return on Investment.

Beresford Street Kitchen go from strength to strength, never resting on their laurels. They developed a strategy to increase and diversify opportunities for their crew, providing a structured and holistic support and learning programme, with the aims of independent living, getting their crew into supported work and also increased life satisfaction, which has increased amongst their crew by 21%.

EYECAN have also been busy, introducing a new Video Magnifying project, the Children’s Spectacle voucher scheme and a new guidance booklet, which aims to enable those living, or working, with islanders with sight or hearing loss to obtain prompt and appropriate support.

Jersey Childcare Trust continue to deliver a variety of programmes, all with the aim of enabling children to have their best start in life.

3rd: JERSEY HERITAGE TRUST

In third place, this charity not only protects the island’s unique culture and identity, supporting the arts and heritage of Jersey, they also have a strong culture of volunteering, running throughout their work.

A great example of this is their highly collaborative Jersey Apple Cider Quilt project, which involved people of all ages in the creation of a unique and beautiful work of art – a nine-foot quilt, celebrating Jersey’s rich apple growing and cider making history, which will illustrate this important part of our history to islanders and visitors for many years to come. We particularly liked the way that this was the work of dedicated volunteers across the island and also expatriates, and that training was provided if required

Congratulations on winning this award of £500.

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

2nd: JERSEY CHILD CARE TRUST

In second place, this was a really well written application; it was great to see an organisation that explained how it had identified a shortfall in trained professionals and set about working collaboratively to grow the workforce numbers to meet the identified need.

Not only that, but in terms of the skills required across both the entire childcare workforce and within its own charity, it has been able to increase the support provided to children with disabilities by 40%.

We loved reading of the Outcomes Accountability Based approach, in measuring the impact of the various training courses and the demonstrable way in which budgets had been managed

Congratulations on winning this runner up award of £1,000.

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

1st: St John Ambulance

And the winner of the OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR A LARGE CHARITY. Every person on the island has most likely benefitted from the amazing volunteer effort of this charity’s team of staff and volunteers, but you may not be aware that they identified a significant need in the community and diversified their services to fill the gap by creating a programme for carers helping people with disabilities.

Working closely with the sponsor and drafting a detailed business case has resulted in a three-year sponsorship, enabling them to expand the Adults Carers Programme, enabling more people to participate, by providing respite opportunities for the people they are caring for.

Well done for winning this award of £5,000 which we are sure will be put to good use.

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

Outstanding Contribution to Charity Award

This year we have two outstanding contribution awards, one for a team and one for an individual.

There are 2 people who have worked exceptionally hard to build what was a small Facebook group of, primarily, parents with children who are neurodivergent, to a registered charity, focused on Neurodiversity being run by people who are neurodivergent. While there are other charities both locally and nationally who cater for select neurodivergent groups, there was no recognition of the co-presentation of these differences. The services offered by many of the other charities were being driven by neurotypical or economic drivers, as opposed to truly focused on what neurodivergent individuals will benefit from.

The two of them work brilliantly together, bringing different skill sets and complimenting each other's skills and difficulties. They bring their different experiences of neurodiversity, complimented by the wider committee, as well as their drive to ensure that the services provided by all, not just the charity, are inclusive and diverse, enabling as many “lost people” to access something new. The services currently offered by the charity are predominantly as a result of their extremely hard work and drive. We are hopeful for the future, as if they can produce this level of support in just 6 months of being a charity, just imagine what the next years will bring.

They are both full time single parents and registered home carers for their children. Not only do they run this charity and support parents on a daily basis they both also volunteer their time to sit on various other Boards on the island.

The team award goes to Niamh and Penny of AllMatters Neurodiverse jersey.

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

The individual award

The individual award is a sad story but with a lasting impact. The initiative for the sourcing, purchasing and placement of AED's for this charity from day one was led by our very own "Mr AED" Mr Mike Strong. Mike was a very passionate and determined advocate of this initiative and worked tirelessly to enable any request for an AED to be fulfilled. His knowledge and expertise was second to none and he worked alongside many agencies including the Ambulance service to promote the use of and increase the number of AED's on the Island. His volunteering led to around 80 AED's being sourced, delivered and situated for public use to potentially save lives.

Sadly Mike passed away suddenly in April this year whilst away on holiday with his family. His passing has left a huge void and not only his expertise with AED's has been lost but a true friend to the charity and also a big loss to the cardiac community in Jersey.

The award accepted by Mike’s family.

Image courtesy of Ryan O’Shea Photography.

For an Outstanding Contribution to Charity, the individual award goes to the late Mike Strong of Jersey Heart Support.