The CareTech Foundation, the care sector’s first independent grant-making corporate charitable foundation, has announced significant grants and collaborative support for its first three strategic partners at a top-level Houses of Parliament event hosted by Seema Malhotra MP, with support from celebrity ambassadors including actress and celebrity cake-baker Jane Asher and KISS FM DJ Neev Spencer.
The CareTech Foundation was founded by CareTech Holdings plc, a leading provider of social care services, supporting adults and children with a wide range of complex needs in more than 260 specialist services across the UK. The Foundation has ambitious, clear-sighted objectives to deliver meaningful impacts to communities in need in the UK and overseas and focuses on three key areas; physical and learning disabilities and mental health; supporting vulnerable people; and supporting the CareTech family and the communities in which it operates.
Barnardo’s, the UK's leading children's charity, and the British Asian Trust, which tackles poverty across South Asia, are two of the first beneficiaries and each will deliver £1M partnerships thanks to the Foundation’s support. This funding will enable Barnardo’s to develop a pioneering new app that will help care leavers transition to the challenges of adult life without family support. The British Asian Trust will use its grant to bring about a transformation in mental health services in Pakistan with its Mental Health and Wellbeing for all programme, with which the CareTech Foundation is also partnering with the COSARAF Foundation. The Foundation also unveiled funding for Skills for Care, which supports the adult social care
workforce in England, to attract more talented people with the right values to work in the sector. Pilot projects will explore different ways of encouraging young care leavers, and/or those from looked after backgrounds, into training or employment in adult social care. Hosted by the CareTech Foundation, Mike Adams, Trustee of the Foundation, announced the appointment of two new external trustees. Nicholas Cheffings, Chairman of Hogan Lovells LLP, and former PwC partner Karen Dukes have joined the board of trustees.
Haroon Sheikh, Chairman of the Foundation, and Jonathan Freeman, CEO, said: “Partnering with these three high-profile and sector-leading charities underlines our commitment to supporting people with a diverse range of needs. Through partners like these, the CareTech Foundation is able to provide much-needed support to vulnerable people across the UK and overseas. We are very excited about working with Barnardo’s, the British Asian Trust and Skills for Care and helping them to deliver these very important projects.” They added: “The CareTech Foundation is committed to operating with the highest of standards, probity and good governance and welcoming Nicholas and Karen as external trustees reinforces the importance we place on delivering these values.” Mr Freeman invited the heads of the three new partner charities to speak about what the grants and support will enable.
Barnardo’s CEO, Javed Khan, said: “We are extremely excited about this partnership with the CareTech Foundation and its support of our work with young people leaving care. They are some of the most vulnerable people in society, with figures showing 40 per cent of them aged 19-21 are not in education, training or employment. Barnardo’s hopes to design an app that will enable young people to access immediate helpful information in a way that truly works for them.” The British Asian Trust’s chief executive, Richard Hawkes commented: “Fifty million people in Pakistan have mental health issues, but there are hardly any services to support them. In the whole country there are fewer than 400 psychiatrists – one for every 125,000 people. Our new partnership with the CareTech Foundation will enable the British Asian Trust to hugely expand our work in this area and ensure more people receive the vital support they need.”
Skills for Care CEO, Sharon Allen OBE, added: “If we want to fill the 90,000 vacancies adult social care has every day we must work harder and smarter to reach more potential recruits from traditionally under-represented groups. That’s why I’m delighted to welcome the Care Tech Foundation’s support for our work to reach those people with the right values who are furthest from the jobs market. Its generous commitment will help the social care and health sector find great talent in new places and create a diverse workforce that represents the communities it serves.” Commenting on her appointment as trustee, Karen Dukes said: “I’m delighted to be involved in a foundation backed by the family behind CareTech plc. We have a great opportunity to provide funding to support mental health opportunities close to my heart.
