It’s that time of year again! If you do your shopping online, you could raise money for us at no extra cost to you! All you have to do is register, select us as your chosen cause and then from their site follow the links to 1000’s of retailers. Every time you spend, the retailers make a donation to us… easy fundraising 
Very interesting discussion paper by Prison Reform Trust called ‘Sentencing of mothers: Improving the sentencing process and outcomes for women with dependent children’…
…Over 9,000 women were received into prison last year, most of them for non-violent offences, many of them leaving dependent children behind. An estimated 17,240 children, including many under 5 years old, are separated from their mothers by imprisonment. The impact on children can be profound and long-lasting – including increased risks of mental illness and anti-social behaviour. Only 5% of children with a mother in prison are able to stay in the family home – and only 9% are cared for by their fathers. By contrast, most children with an imprisoned father remain with their mother…
http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/sentencing_mothers.pdf
We visited HMP Risely yesterday to be part of the Family Fesitival of Learning where prisoners and their families got to interact with a range of activities offered by the education department. We showcased what we offer and families had the opportunity to make a joint comic book called Ollie’s Adventures. Here is the last panel; what does Ollie do next?
Last night’s ITV Documentary ‘Her Majesty’s Prison: Norwich’ focused on maintaining family contact and included a bit about Storybook Dads (at approx 30 mins in)
Our CEO Sharon Berry, was the keynote speaker at South Devon College annual research showcase this morning. Very warm welcome and response to the 45 minute presentation.
We were so pleased to be awarded £38,000 at the Raise Your Hands wrap party as a result of being one of their six chosen charities for whom they raised funds for the past year.
Thanks guys! What a brilliant organisation you are. And we got to meet representatives from the other five charities, all of whom do fantastic work.
In 2014 we were chosen as one of six charities to benefit from Raise Your Hands; a fund raising network that supports small charities in the UK working with youth and children across a variety of innovative and unique projects.
Members who sign up donate a monthly amount (large or small) over the year which along with other fund raising events adds to a pot of money. At the end of the year members will vote for their favourite charity and the money will then be divided up according to the number of votes cast.
On 15th October we attended a Raise Your Hands fundraising dinner and auction where by the end of the night £171,000 was raised. Wow! That makes a total of over £186,000 raised from members and events. Voting will now commence for members to decide on their favourite charity. We find out at the end of November if we are voted to receive any of the money…
