CCFA is celebrating after receiving a £2,500 gift from The Patron’s Fund, which acknowledges the work of the charitable organisations for which Her Majesty, The Queen acts as a Patron, on the occasion of her 90th birthday.
CCFA is one of nearly 300 charities in the UK and the Commonwealth to benefit from this gift. The Patron’s Fund has been supported by a wide range of individual donors and businesses, as well as the proceeds from The Patron’s Lunch, the event on the Mall last June.
This gift will help further the work of the CCFA in supporting the sustainability of new, and long-established CCFs. Each CCF contingent is dependent on adult volunteers - and finding volunteers to join can be a real challenge. This is something that can impact both new and existing CCFs, particularly where the school sees a high turn-over of staff, or a change in Contingent Commander.
CCFA intends to use the gift from the Patron’s Fund to help formalise a mentoring programme for new Contingent Commanders. This is likely to involve organising local “meet-ups”, where new and existing Contingent Commanders can discuss ideas, and explore ways to work together.
It is hoped that these meetings will provide an equal benefit for established Contingent Commanders, who can benefit from fresh ideas, new faces, and working together on joint training. These face-to-face meetings will enable the building of personal relationships between volunteers in nearby schools. These grants would be given to support initial meetings. Once these relationships have been established it is anticipated that regular contact will become part of the way these contingents work together without any need for further financial support.
Sir Stuart Etherington, Chair of The Board of Trustees for The Patron’s Fund, said:
‘The Patron’s Fund is very pleased to be able to support CCFA with its valuable work. CCFA is among hundreds of organisations for which The Queen acts as a Patron, which between them make a difference to causes and communities in the UK and throughout the Commonwealth.’
The programme will launch in April, full details will be circulated to all CCFs.
For further information on The Patron’s Fund (Registered Charity No. 1164171), email [email protected] or visit www.thepatronsfund.org.uk