Charities

Charities that are dear to my heart, are an important part of my life. The trouble about being an individual when it comes to charity is that there is only one of you. And one of you, with the best will in the world, can only respond to so much. In my case, it’s been a question – a reluctant question – of choosing charities that had relevance to the younger generation, in particular literacy and also to loved ones.’

So, the following are the main ones that I support:

Literacy is something that means a good deal to me. Literacy means not just that people can learn to drive and shop and travel, but, even more fundamentally, that they can feel that they belong. Being able to read and write well doesn’t just make you employable, it makes you able to enjoy and be satisfied by the things you can do with your own brain – and being reconciled to yourself, and who you are, is one of the first and biggest steps to confidence and a sense of self worth.

Trustee of the National Literacy Trust

The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK. It works to improve reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the Uk’s most disadvantaged communities where up to 40 per cent of people have literacy problems. Their research and analysis make them the leading authority on literacy and drive our interventions. Because low literacy is intergenerational they focus their work on families, young people and children.

Ambassador for Children’s Reading Fun for the Book Trust

BookTrust is the largest reading charity in the UK. We work to inspire a love of reading in children because we know that reading can transform lives. We give out over two million carefully chosen books to children throughout the UK. Every parent receives a Book Trust book in their baby’s first year.

Patron of Literature Works

Literature Works mission is to support, understand and advocate for the South West of England literature sector in all its contexts, for everyone, for all ages, and that sector’s place, growth, relevance and value in a national and international literature development future.

The disadvantaged young have been of huge concern to me. I’ve always wanted to help with something that affects the wider world. And that something, as far as I’m concerned, has to do with the young; for the simple practical reason that the young are our future. But not just any young – my concern is for the disadvantaged young – and so, more recently, I have become involved with these particular charities.

President of the March Foundation

The March Foundation has been set up to help children with special educational needs to reach their full potential outside the inevitable pressures of the mainstream classroom, and to achieve their own personal visions. They do this by working with teachers, students and parents towards quantifiable goals each year. Special Educational Needs children react and learn in a totally different way if they are taken out of their routine school and home surroundings, and parents and teachers have found that the response is positive and receptive.

Patron of Mulberry Bush

The Mulberry Bush is a forward-thinking, non-maintained Special School which for 60 years has very successfully provided high quality integrated care and education for severely emotionally troubled children aged 5 – 12 yrs who display chaotic, disruptive and aggressive behaviour or have relationship difficulties. This year I was honoured to become a Patron.

The Joanna Trollope Trust which is administered by The Gloucestershire Community Foundation.

The Gloucestershire Community Foundation is a Gloucestershire based charity, which raises money in the County, manages those funds for investment and distributes the interest to other charitable causes in the county. The Gloucestershire Foundation is one of 64 members and associates of Community Foundations in the UK.

I set up a Trust many years ago. I have always had a keen commitment to education, the disabled and the homeless and believed it was very necessary have a charity that could help in a very particular way. So, the chief aim of this Trust is to assist the young people of Gloucestershire overcome disadvantage. Many individuals and charities have benefited over the years and everyone is most welcome to apply

However, besides these those charities mentioned I also have ones chosen for personal reasons:

Trustee of the Royal Literary Fund

Royal Literary Fund is a UK charity that has been helping authors since 1790. It provides grants and pensions to writers in financial difficulty; it also places writers in universities to help students develop their writing.

Patron of Meningitis Trust

The Meningitis Trust: “Our vision is a future where no one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need to rebuild their lives.”

My youngest had meningitis at seven – it is a terrifying disease that can, in its early stages, so easily be mistaken for the simple cold and, without prompt action, can lead to devastating after effects and complications.

Patron of Chawton House Library

Chawton House Library is an internationally respected research and learning centre for the study of early women’s writing from 1600 to 1830. Access to the library’s unique collection is for the benefit of scholars and the general public alike. Set in the quintessentially English manor house that once belonged to Jane Austen’s brother, Edward; the library, house and gardens – plus an always fascinating calendar of events – make Chawton House Library a very special and memorable place to visit and enjoy.

Macmillan Nurses and Breast Cancer Care

My best friend died of breast cancer and these two charities offer practical and emotional support as well as support and information to people with cancer – and their families, friends and carers – from the point of diagnosis and throughout their illness.

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/
www.breastcancercare.org.uk

RNIB and in particular – the Right to Read Campaign

My own sight, without the miracle of contact lenses, is appalling. The RNIB helps anyone with a sight problem – not just with Braille, Talking Books and computer training.