Much Valued Recognition
Posted: May 10, 2012 Filed under: Community, CSR, Cyrenians, homelessness | Tags: Charity, Volunteering, Working with Businesses 1 Comment »The founders of Cyrenians pitched our tent way out on the margins of society. Our purpose is to be ‘out there’ for the people who are not generally cared for. A champion of unpopular causes. It goes with the territory that we struggle for resources. Or that people sometimes question why we are trying to help those who are deemed to have contributed to their own downfall. There are many causes and charities ahead of us in the queue for funding or charitable donations. That’s just how it is.
It was therefore with genuine shock and delight that I heard “Cyrenians” being called forward at last night’s Scottish Business in the Community Dinner and Awards to go up and receive the Social Enterprise Award from HRH Prince Charles. The particular commendation is for the impact our social enterprises make in combating poverty and getting people into a working life. It was also great that amongst the hundreds of guests applauding Cyrenians win were many people and organisations from the business community who are real and enduring contributors to that impact.
Standard Life provided the secondment that helped start our journey into social enterprise in 2005. J.P. Morgan helped us establish the programme that transitions trainees through our enterprise workplaces and into jobs. PwC has given invaluable business advice, especially in commercialising CORE. NHS Lothian has given access to the land for our Community Gardens enterprise. A team from Scottish Gas is helping us with processes and efficiencies. There are dozens of companies who support our social enterprises by being paying customers of our excellent Team Challenge Programme – too many to mention. And dozens more who donate goods in kind – like surplus food that we re-distribute to community kitchens through Cyrenians FareShare, which has been passionately supported for years by The Townhouse Company and Artemis.
Des Ryan receives the SBC Social Enterprise Award from HRH Prince Charles on behalf of Cyreniansrtemis.
Cyrenians Social Enterprises are helping 50 people a year into employment. More than 30 people a year are enabled to make other big changes to their lives by working in the enterprises. Between them the Farm, Gardens, Cook School, FareShare and organics recycling mobilise over 20,000 hours of volunteering, involve schools and dozens of community groups and support us in developing more environmentally and economically sustainable lifestyles.
After this becomes yesterday’s news and the tuxedo is closeted in mothballs we’re back to the hard reality of bringing in enough money to keep these good things happening for people in tough times. Let no-one think that the Award means we’ve made it! We’re certainly not fooling ourselves. We need – and make great use – of every bit of help we can get.So please be encouraged by this to help, and get in touch.
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It doesn’t cost the earth to make a big difference
Posted: June 24, 2011 Filed under: charity, Community, CSR, environment, volunteering | Tags: cyrenians, Environment, Food, Volunteering Leave a comment »Last Monday saw ‘stakeholders’ gather at the Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens for the launch of the report about what has been achieved there in just 18 months.
(R to L) Cyrenians Chair, Ian Jones, Tom Arnott (Operations Manager at the Royal Ed) and myself at the Gardens event
From being a wasteland there are 3 acres of land in full food growing production, beautiful woodland paths, an old orchard recovered and peaceful seating areas to just sit and enjoy the natural beauty of the place.
It has been achieved by an amazing combination of volunteers from all walks of life, local businesses, schools, community groups and people from the hospital itself. The place is a joy, as we heard at the event from some of the people who have contributed their sweat to it.
In times when we know there is not money around the Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens is a striking example of what can be achieved by connecting up the various assets already there in our community. Des
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Our Big Lunch and other stories
Posted: June 16, 2011 Filed under: charity, Community, Cyrenians, environment, Miscellaneous, volunteering | Tags: Community, cyrenians, Food, Volunteering Leave a comment »
Cyrenians Big Lunch Street Party
Over 100 people came along to yesterday’s Big Lunch at the Good Food Depot. Great hospitality from the team at Jane Street, great food and great mix of people. Community is all about putting ourselves out there and in the mix. Not knowing who you’re going to meet, what conversation is going to happen, what connections will be made… all the bits of wonderful serendipity that emerge. Or in our case, Cyrendipity. All sorts of good things happen in and from the mix.
I learnt on Andrew Marr’s Megacities last week – talking about the shape of things to come in urban life – that in Tokyo there are ‘rent a friend’ businesses. The wealthy and lonely can pay for someone to go to the rooftop golf range or to a cafe bar with them, so that they don’t appear to be lonely.
We need community like we need food. I bet you’ve never had a great meal on your own in front of the TV, have you, even if it was the finest ingredients and the best wine? It’s the sharing and companionship that makes a great meal.
A quick story in the passing of Prince Philip’s 90th. Many years ago I was at a reception for charity workers at Buckingham Palace. We were put in pairs around the imposing reception room for the royal party to circulate and greet us. I was put with a woman working for a major national childrens charity. Having made his way round to us the Prince peered at the badge on my lapel. ‘Ah, Edinburgh. I’m the Duke of that.’ He then turned to stare at the label on the ample bosom of my lady companion. ‘Ah, Barbados. Fine place, fine place.’ ‘No’, she replied drily, ‘it’s Barnardo’s actually.’
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This is not a story about cooking
Posted: May 31, 2011 Filed under: Cyrenians, Miscellaneous, volunteering | Tags: Charity, cyrenians, Environment, Food, Volunteering Leave a comment »John had been in full time employment before he experienced his heart attack and had enjoyed married live for 30 years and owned his own home. As well as causing memory loss and diminished concentration, ill health had crushed his self esteem and crumbled his confidence.
John was referred to the Cyrenians cooking classes by a health worker. He arrived at Cyrenians Training Kitchen with his support worker. His nervousness was almost overwhelming. John had to be continually persuaded, for example, that the actual size of the vegetables he was cutting were fine. He was petrified that the sauce would be the wrong consistency or that the amount of tomatoes in his Bolognese made the colour incorrect or that his cake clearly hadn’t risen to the right height.
Cookery Classes @ Cyrenians Good Food
As the weeks of cookery classes progressed, John grew and grew with confidence. Constant re-assurance from the tutors and the evidence of what he could actually achieve brought about a transformation. As he relaxed and progressed to the advanced cooking course he opened up about himself and his feelings. He no longer needed his alarm to be set to remind him to do things.
His tutor summaries: ‘I think the class had brought him out and reminded him that there was a life out there and that people would be interested in him. He also discovered he was capable and perhaps just not as damaged by his heart attack as he thought. It was a pleasure to watch and witness his increasing confidence and to be a part of him feeling better about himself.’
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Friends in Deed
Posted: April 11, 2011 Filed under: charity, Cyrenians, environment, Homeless, volunteering | Tags: cyrenians, Environment, Homelessness, Volunteering Leave a comment »Among the many ideas pushing their heads into the spring daylight is one to create something like a local charity version of a freecycle-type scheme. It would enable people to donate the specific small but important things actually wanted by the people we work with as they rebuild their lives.
Claire, one of our Homeless Prevention Team, was telling me that Julie needs a bike so she can get fit as part of her recovery. Another client needs the use of a laptop as they prepare for college. Another needs help with moving to their new flat. In fact we have a constant supply of opportunities for people to be good neighbours and friends in deed. Something like this would connect the gift with the need through the assuring agency of the charity.
This idea resonated with me because I’m having more and more conversations with people who want to do something practical about the growing social injustice they see around them. And something that really makes a difference. Giving time is often a problem, which prohibits regular volunteering. Donations to large anonymous appeals and telethons just don’t do it.
I’d be very happy to hear from anyone with thoughts on this or wanting to help walk this idea forward towards becoming a plan.
In the meantime, thanks to sterling work from our regular volunteer, Kathryn McQuillan, we are now able to launch our new Friends of Cyrenians supporters’ scheme. Please do sign up if you can. Regular donors form the backbone of Cyrenians ability to help people in crisis and take independent initiatives.
Click here to sponsor me on Cyrenians Water of Leith Walk on April 16th
A Canary in the Coal Mine
Posted: March 4, 2011 Filed under: charity, Cyrenians, volunteering, welfare benefits | Tags: Charity, cyrenians, Homelessness, Volunteering, welfare benefits Leave a comment »Appeals to our emergency welfare fund have quadrupled over the last few months.
We call it the Lesley Fund, named in memory of Lesley Sorrie who joined us from KPMG in the nineties and helped lay the solid financial foundation that has allowed the charity to grow and bring help to thousands more, and who died unfairly young.
Coming from KPMG, and a qualified accountant, Lesley taught us to question the value of every expenditure and ask what it did to progress our cause. It was a great lesson, not so much in being parsimonious but in always keeping our eye on our purpose.
Lesley was also one of the most personally generous and caring people I’ve met. She could deliver an icy blast to a manager who’d been lax with their training budget but always found a ‘creative’ approach if clients needed extra help with clothes for an interview or an alarm clock to get them up for their new training course: often rustling up some help in kind from home if Cyrenians didn’t have the money.
Today’s Cyrenian front-line workers apply to our Lesley Fund when they’re working with people who desperately need a bit of help and there’s nowhere else to turn. The things it does may not seem important to others or life changing but at the time the help can be fundamental to the person’s recovery or progress.
- Jill had done incredibly well to lose weight and get fit but this left her with none of her clothes fitting and while she got most of what she needed from charity shops the Lesley Fund helped out with getting a bra fitting and new underwear. Result; dignity and confidence
- Lea had got away from an abusive relationship and worked with us to get a new flat but needed to hire a man-with-a-van to move her personal belongings
- Having recovered from homelessness, John needed help buying a bed for his flat so that he could have his son to stay over as they rebuilt their relationship
Dean needed help with course books for college, Chris for the installation of the cooker in his new home, Marco to pay for counselling and Stevie for replacement glasses. And so on. Small things but imagine it in your own life?
Whatever is said, the State does not always provide, or provide enough. Not now, and less so in the imminent future as
Lesley Sorrie
the value of personal and housing benefits go down and living costs go up and local services disappear.
Little things like the Lesley Fund are like our canary in the coal mine, giving us early warning of bad things happening, which we should all heed.
Des Ryan
March 2011
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