The newsletter for British Red Cross volunteers and staff

in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset & the Channel Islands

This particular issue came to the fore when 158 asylum seekers were placed in a hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset in late September, due to an accommodation shortage elsewhere. Many had fled their homes facing persecution, followed by traumatic journeys to safety.

The local authority were not even aware of their presence for 4 days until people presented at A&E and the needs of this group (including several pregnant women, children and those with medical issues) were not being met. When the Red Cross found out via the grapevine, it responded.

Red Cross staff and volunteers quickly set to work, providing basics such as clothes, nappies and hygiene packs, as well as facilitating access to doctors, midwives and health visitors. It was a real team effort across our Refugee Service, Support in Emergencies and local Red Cross shops to gather the goods and support needed, as well as close working with local partners and the community who wanted to help.

Media relations officer Rebecca McIlhone worked with local teams to gather the real stories and get

them to the public, in the face of some incredibly negative reporting and even a street protest.

Blogs and press releases were published from this and Jamie Piriou (senior services manager for Refugee Services) was invited onto BBC Spotlight to tell the story behind the headlines. Thanks to this work a very positive article later appeared in The Mirror. Certainly a good start with our new strategy strand the ‘difference our voice makes’ and speaking up for people in crisis.

We can only help vulnerable people like this through our donations and funding. Through fantastic events such as the Grand Summer Fete in Guernsey, Red Cross Week and Lulworth Castle Country Fair to name a few, together with gifts via wills or in memory, regular direct donations and the vital income from our Red Cross shops and commercial training, we can respond to crisis whether it’s on your doorstep or appearing through your television screens.

We thank each and every one of you who has helped to raise or have given funds to the society in 2014, so we can continue our vital

work in ‘refusing to ignore people in crisis’.

Decem

ber

20

14

Doing what the British

Red Cross does best -

helping vulnerable

people in their crisis As 2014 draws to a close we have a lot of amazing work to look back on. From our responses to severe winter weather across our area at the start - including the lengthy Emergency Response to the flooding in Somerset, to our continued success in developing new Independent Living services such as in Torbay and our work responding to an increasing cause of crisis; that of modern slavery, human trafficking and the way in which asylum seekers and refugees are ‘abandoned’ and at times treated with hostility by the media.

Above: Read the full blog online at: http://blogs.redcross.org.uk/refugeesservices

A p

artic

ula

r thank yo

u to

Mark

Fors

yth a

nd

Jam

ie P

iriou fro

m D

orse

t Refu

gee S

ervic

es fo

r their w

ork

on ’O

pera

tion R

oadhouse

’ and th

e R

ed C

ross S

outh

com

munic

atio

ns te

am

.

The slow and peaceful (I

wish!) wind down to the

close of the year, crisp

frosty days, log fires and

thoughts about the year we

are leaving and the year

about to start….. and now

back to reality!

In terms of the year just gone I really think everyone

should take a deep breath, look about them, connect

with their colleagues, whoever and wherever they are,

and say thank you for all the hard work we have done.

It’s been a tough year kick-started by the responses

to the flooding and punctuated by events that we

didn’t expect or plan for, but in true Red Cross fashion

we did what we needed to do and made sure that we

continued to deliver services no matter what we were

also dealing with. This was true across all services and

I can only say thank you to all staff and volunteers for

keeping the show on the road despite massive

obstacles and pressures.

Over the past few months we have been touring the

area with the AMT Roadshows – meeting up with

volunteers and staff to talk about the new strategy but

also the other things that weigh on people’s minds:

the education review, the mobility aids review, the new

Chief Executive and all manner of things operations,

retail and fundraising. A great opportunity to talk things

over and definitely something we will repeat next year.

So let’s pause briefly and think about the year gone by

but then stand tall and prepare to deal with whatever

2015 might have in store with us. In the meantime

have a Merry Christmas and lets all raise a glass to a

prosperous and successful New Year.

Sarah Gibson

Operations Director, CDDSCI

Are you a tweeter? Follow:

IN THIS ISSUE

Page 4 How new projects are protecting vulnerable people against fire and getting them ready for winter

Page 5

How village agents are embracing

the ‘everyday first aid’ offer to give

life saving skills to their isolated

communities

Page 6 As Rick Squibb from the Red Cross hangs up his badge, we look at some of his highlights.

Page 7 An update on Safeguarding information for the area that you can cut out/copy and keep for reference

Page 8 Some dates for your 2015 diary, and contact details for our new area admin assistants.

Welcome to the Winter Edition of your Red Cross Local Life

Page 2

Thank yo

u to

all vo

lunte

ers a

nd s

taff w

ho su

pplie

d im

ages u

sed in

this e

ditio

n o

f CD

DS

CI L

ocal L

ife.

Above: Santa pays an early visit to the Red Cross Event First Aid team at the Christmas Lights switch on in Yeovil, Somerset, 15th November 2014. Pictured with Santa are volunteers Sadie Berners (left) and Val Breen (right).

SGibson@redcross.org.uk T: 01823 273721

As we celebrate 100 years since the first Red Cross shops

opened, three great new stores in Cornwall open their doors

Page 3

The First World War saw the widespread growth of fundraising for the Red Cross with its first charity shops offering a variety of luxury and unusual pieces. Known as ‘Gift Houses’, these pop-ups were a treasure trove of items that ranged from the exclusive to the bizarre. Donations included Egyptian tapestries, paintings, silver and gold alongside Great Danes, a Persian kitten and a pair of Pointers!

Nowadays Red Cross charity shops are more likely to attract donations of clothing, shoes and bric-a-brac but they still receive the occasional item that raises lots of money, while others raise just a smile!

The Red Cross shop in Torrington, Devon, was delighted to receive an original WW1 flying helmet. Manager Diane Burt explains: “It turned up in a bag of donated items one day and initially we were thinking of selling it as fancy dress but, on closer inspection, we decided it could be a genuine piece of history so we consulted a local expert who thought it was a genuine WW1 flying helmet. We sent photographs of it to the RAF Museum in London and had it verified as genuine. In the end we sold it for £380, which was a great result for the shop.”

In the last 12 months we have opened 3 new shops in Falmouth, Newquay and Bodmin, so we now have 5 shops in Cornwall.

Falmouth - Situated in Market Strand in a very good position for passing trade, Falmouth has traded very successfully and will end the year having exceeded expectations and with a healthy net profit. Shop manager Angela Riccobena and Assistant Manager Leah Russell have worked closely together to promote the shop within the town.

Newquay - Situated at the top of East Street in a prime position the shop opened mid season at the end of July therefore taking advantage of seasonal trade. It’s not without challenges - having traded for three months we are having to recruit a shop manager once again. However the shop is still performing above budget with the assistance of Elaine Nightingale the assistant manager and staff from the wider area.

Bodmin - More recently we opened our ‘outlet store’ in Bodmin, selling all items at £1.99 and below (all

stock having previously been on sale in at least one other store). Bearing this in mind, the shop took just under £900 on the first day of trading - a very busy day! Newly appointed manager Lorraine Houghton and assistant manager Andrew Wotherspoon are now working to recruit and develop a team of volunteers to enable them to process the high volume of stock required in an outlet store.

RFM Teresa Patton said “I would like to thank South 1 for their support in supplying stock for all new shops; the drivers for their hard work and patience in the storage and movement of said stock; the team members both volunteers and staff who have supported new shops and shop re-fits. We are also grateful for stock that we receive from area offices in Exeter, Taunton and Truro via our stock boxes”.

Elsewhere, prior to the opening of Bodmin, the bookshop at Plympton, Devon underwent a re-fit and we are about to undertake a major re-fit at our Plymouth Cornwall Street store in order to accommodate extra stock from an exciting new project; watch this space for more information at a later date!!

Right: Bodmin

opening day -

HR advisor Ann

Bennett who

supported the

recruitment

processes,

welcomes

waiting

customers

alongside the

team

Above: Volunteer Judy Rowe, who worked long hours

helping prepare all the shop openings, cuts the ribbon at

Newquay, whilst Cornwall President Rosie Jackson (left)

and VC Chair John Colverson (far right) open the doors.

Education & engagement co-

ordinator Deb Glennie and team

organised a series of very popular

exhibits showing aspects of the local

work by the Red Cross during WW1,

with some fascinating artefacts, old

news stories, uniforms and log books

displayed. Venues included a number

of schools and centres, and was a

major part of a ‘Living History day’

exhibition at the Somerset County

Museum in Taunton, where visitors

had the opportunity to be dressed in

uniform or treated as patients!

Karen Fear, who works in the admin

team based at Taunton, did an

additional 3 month internship working

with the education team to research,

locate archive materials and pull the

displays together, as well as taking

part in the events. Karen did a

fantastic job and explained “the

Internship was to research the

contribution made to the war effort

by the Somerset Red Cross and

complete a project on the Thankful

villages in Somerset, who do not

have War memorials. The villagers

wanted to remember their

contributions to the war effort at

home and abroad so these events

gave a focus for commemorations.”

Red Cross local history remembered

Page 4

The British Red Cross in Devon and Somerset is working with Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service (DSFRS) to help ensure vulnerable residents reduce the risk of a fire breaking out at home.

Since August the independent living team has been referring people using the home from hospital services in North Devon, Plymouth and Exeter onto the fire service for them to carry out home safety checks. The fire service visits include making sure homes have working smoke alarms, exit routes are clear and residents have access to fire safety information and escape plans.

With around 80 per cent of Red Cross home from hospital service users expected to be eligible for the fire safety checks more than 1,000 people in the two counties could benefit. Red Cross fire and emergency support service volunteers also work with the fire service to support people during and immediately after house fires so the organisation knows only too well the devastating consequences fires can have.

Sam Snelling, service manager at the Red Cross in Devon, says: “The Red Cross has a number of independent living services across Devon and Somerset that support vulnerable people, including older people who live alone and people with disabilities. By offering our service users the option of receiving a fire safety visit, we are able to help DSFRS keep vulnerable people in our communities safe from the risk of fire. People don’t have to accept a visit but we have found that most are pleased to receive one. We have been working closely with the fire service for many years to provide practical and emotional support to those affected by house fires so it’s great that we’re now also helping on the prevention side. The visits don’t take long and could save lives.”

Research studies into the causes of fires have indicated that some members of the community are much more at risk of having a fire than others. Preventing fires and limiting the damage they cause is a top priority for the fire and rescue service.

British Red Cross teams up with Devon

and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service to help

keep vulnerable people safe

Walmart donation helps the Red Cross build

winter and emergency resilience In August 2014 Walmart (the parent company of ASDA) made a donation to the British Red Cross to support work done in response to the winter floods. After some negotiation it was agreed that the funding should be split between Wales and CDDS as the two worst affected areas. CDDS received £76,500 to fund 2 projects. Project 1 sits in our Independent Living Services in Cornwall and will support people leaving hospital and ensure that they are prepared to cope with any weather related crisis. Aisling Allardice has been seconded to the role of project co-ordinator. Project 2 sits in our Support in Emergencies team and will work with the local resilience forums to ensure that emergency services planning takes into account the needs of vulnerable people.

Below: Karen (left) talks about our work with a

visitor to the exhibition in Aisholt Village Hall

Deb (right) gives the thumbs up after

treating Jim for a nasty head wound!

When CBFA co-ordinator Gavin Churchill met village agent Trudi Morgan at a Driving Safety Event in Corfe, Somerset, they were soon discussing how they could start to provide first aid education to isolated, excluded, vulnerable and lonely individuals in her cluster of villages, where very often ambulance response times are very slow. Once the Everyday First Aid package was explained it was identified the training could be offered free through the Somerset Skills and Learning Funding. A two hour session was arranged at Corfe Village Hall, then due to the success of the training, further sessions were arranged with 2 neighbouring villages and again at Corfe. Soon, village agents from other clusters in Somerset were in contact to arrange sessions in their locality. Gavin says “The work village agents do with vulnerable adults in rural areas is amazing, and for us to be able to provide a first aid package to them is of huge benefit for the individuals that are very often isolated and miles away from emergency services. Many of the clients the village agents deal with are elderly and involve either social care or mobility issues but the sessions were tailor made, so many of the clinical issues like heart attacks and strokes were covered in training. Feedback indicated that attendees enjoyed the simple learning methods.”

Lulworth Castle Country Fair raises £9,500!

Just one of many great fundraising events in 2014

OTHER NEWS

Cornwall Volunteer

Council Request The Cornwall Volunteer Council has at present six members and would like to welcome at least another three to six volunteers to become members for the next three years starting from January 2015.

The Council meet five to six times a year and members assist with range of activities including:

Supporting and communicating info to volunteers

Induction Workshops

Area forums

Talking about the Red Cross to local communities

Awards presentations

If you are interested please contact Tony Lilly on either e-mail at alilly@redcross.org.uk or telephone 01872 267961. Volunteer Council Chair John Colverson will then get in touch with you.

Nurses from Japan

visit Plymouth office

Nurses of the Japanese Red Cross Toyota College of Nursing visited the Red Cross office in Plymouth in September, to learn about all of our services as part of an exhange trip to the UK. They were particulary interested in our refugee services as they don't currently provide this type of support in Japan.

Page 5

Good news travels fast.. how rural village

agents are embracing everyday first aid

Lulworth Castle Country House Fair (Dorset) held on Thursday 16 October, raised a wonderful £9,500 in aid of the Red Cross.

Patron Sally Weld of the Lulworth Estate was delighted with the result from this growing annual event, which has now raised an incredible £64,000 since becoming a regular on the charity calendar in 2005.

Next year’s fair, set for 15 October, will mark the charity event’s 10th anniversary and organisers are reportedly making plans for something special.

Other events included Rick Stein’s Fish lunches in Falmouth, Open Gardens area wide and Bridgwater firework display and carnival which raised nearly £900. Thank to everyone who gave up their time to help collect and count money over the carnival weekend, and for your support at all the other fundraising events throughout the year.

Trudy says: “This year I have worked with the Red Cross on 5 occasions arranging First Aid sessions where I have booked the village hall and sorted out the publicity. The attendance rate has been high with about 15 parishioners attending each session. As I work in rural and isolated surroundings, I feel that it is very important that people are taught First Aid because the Emergency Services are so far away. The feedback from clients has been positive, they enjoy the Red Cross’ fresh approach to teaching First Aid and Gavin instils confidence in them. Comments such as “That was really worthwhile “and “I now feel equipped to deal with an emergency” are always made after a session. We are now running a repeat First Aid session in Churchinford because we have been requested to carry on the training. These courses are hugely popular and other village agents are contacting the Red Cross requesting training sessions.”

A big thank you to Rick Squibb as he hangs up his Red Shoes

Mobility aids driver/technician, super marathon runner fundraiser, volunteer Rick Squibb, is set to hang up his Red Cross name badge for the last time at the end of the year. It’ll be a big loss to the Area when remarkable Rick says goodbye after more than a decade in the society. Following a long and very successful career with the Royal Navy, Rick decided he wanted to settle down in one place and applied to be a driver for mobility aids in Dorset, he says: “I had to try and convince the interview team that coming from a ‘high flying’ job in London to a job delivering commodes around Dorset was the job for me. There was no climb down, the job of helping people in crisis is far more rewarding and over the ten years I have been a Mobility Aids driver I have had great job satisfaction.”

The diversity of the people he worked with also appealed to him and he is constantly amazed by the skills and dedication of the volunteers: “The volunteers are the back bone of mobility aids. They have all had careers and have so much to offer the Red Cross.” Not satisfied by the 9-5, Rick has also put in the hours as a Red Cross volunteer. Firstly as one of the first fire and emergency support volunteers in Dorset at the launch of the service in the county, then as an emergency response volunteer helping out in floods and storms around the Area over the years.

A keen runner, Rick put his hobby to good use and has raised over a whopping £10,000, running more marathons than most of us have had hot dinners, along with walking coast to coast, car washes, red shoe walks and of course the bucket collections. Summing up the best moments of his time working for the Red Cross Rick said: “Every time someone says to me ‘you are an angel’ or ‘you’ve made my day’ and other similar greetings such as ‘you made my Mum’s holiday special by delivering a wheelchair to the holiday park’ these are all my highlights!”

We wish Rick all the best for his retirement and thank him for all he’s done for people in crisis.

Page 6

Right: On 9th November 2014 Rick represented

the Red Cross in the remembrance Sunday

activities in London. Pictured in front of 10

Downing St with Rick are Sophie Smith (left) and

Jenny Peck (right) who were all part of the Civilian

Services Contingent at the Cenotaph.

With thanks to Victoria

Wood-Matthews (Internal

Communications Officer)

Page 7

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN,

YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS AT RISK

DON’T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT

If you are worried about the welfare of a child, young person or adult at risk of abuse or harm,

you should share your concerns. Even if your concern turns out to be unfounded, the safest

option is always to speak out.

All volunteers and staff must follow the relevant safeguarding policy and procedures

(safeguarding children and young people, or safeguarding adults at risk).

To find these, search for safeguarding on RedRoom or ask a member of staff.

What you need to know

Report any concerns you have about an adult

at risk to your safeguarding adults officer

(SAO) and/or line manager at the earliest

opportunity and within the same working day.

If you are concerned an adult is at immediate

risk of abuse, contact your local authority’s

safeguarding adults team.

TAKING ACTION

Adults at risk Children and young people

Report any concerns you have about a child or young

person’s welfare to your safeguarding and protection

officer – children and young people (SPO) at the

earliest opportunity, and within the same working day.

If you think there is an immediate risk of harm to the

child, contact your local authority child protection

team or the police.

Area Lead:

Sam Snelling

ssnelling@redcross.org.uk

Tel: 07841 261345

Christine Abbotts

cabbotts@redcross.org.uk

Tel: 01392 353273

Karen Young

kyoung@redcross.org.uk

Tel: 01392 353293

Area Lead:

Sam Snelling

ssnelling@redcross.org.uk

Tel: 07841 261345

Jamie Piriou

jpiriou@redcross.org.uk

Tel: 07834 335203

or 01305 268871

Mark Forsyth

mforsyth@redcross.org.uk

Tel: 07783 944626

Pamela Willerton

pwillerton@redcross.org.uk

Tel: 01271 318084

or 07711 854203

stephenbennett@redcross.org.uk T: 01823 273727

NEXT ISSUE: Please send us your stories!

Area Volunteer and Staff ‘Get together’ Next year we will be trying out one Area forum

to bring us all together on Saturday 25th

April—Registration 10.30am at Best Western

Hotel, Tiverton, Devon.

Further details will be announced early 2015.

West Somerset Railway ‘Musical Express’ in aid of Red Cross - 16 May 2015 Steam, music, stalls and fun on the heritage

line between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead,

Somerset. Look out for communications

soon from fundraising or in meantime please

contact Somerset President Philip Rowe MBE

for more details on 07834 518441.

British Red Cross National Assembly Saturday 21 March 2015 - Brighton Centre A great place to discover everything you need

to know about our fantastic work, catch up

with other staff and volunteers, and have a

brilliant day out. Along with the usual fun and

games, there will be:

a variety of stalls

interactive on-stage performances

a chance to have your say on the new

strategy.

Registration is only open until 31 December

2014 so reserve your space today online at:

https://brcassembly2015.eventbrite.co.uk

by emailing nationalassembly@redcross.org.uk

or by calling 020 7877 7264.

Dates for your diary

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to

CDDSCI area Local Life in 2014.

If we don’t know about, we can’t print it - so if you

have any letters, photos, event diary dates/reports

or news you’d like to share in the next edition of

Local Life, please send any text and photos to:

Page 8

Welcome to new members of

the area admin support team

Truro, Cornwall: Tom Hatherley THatherley@redcross.org.uk Tel: 01872 267950 Hours of work: Mon – Fri, 11am - 5pm

Poundbury, Dorset: Catherine Boyd CBoyd@redcross.org.uk Tel: 01305 214431 Hours of work: Mon – Fri, 9am - 3pm

Exeter, Devon: Tracey Conabeer TConabeer@redcross.org.uk Tel: 01392 361021 Hours of work: Mon – Wed, 9am - 5pm

Sophie Smith SSmith@redcross.org.uk Tel: 01392 361021 Hours of work: Wed – Fri, 9am - 5pm Please contact your respective county admin team regarding the following:

Booking/setting up of meeting rooms

Petty Cash requests

Accident, Incident and Near Miss Reports

Procurement Card requests

Property Maintenance issues, including utilities/cleaning

Requests for, or return of Mobile phones/IT equipment

Stationery requests

Raising invoices

Whereabouts sheets

Logging monies received (e.g. donations)

General admin support – faxing, photocopying, franking/post.