Approved charities

We are a small village school with parents interested in raising money to support the school. We are raising money for a variety of resources to use throughout the school.

A huge thank you for choosing to raise money for your North West Air Ambulance Charity.

In a split second unexpected things can happen that will change your life forever. It is in these moments that our crew of pilots and HEMS paramedics and doctors will be at the right place at the right time delivering vital pre-hospital care to the patient, reducing the risk of long term injury and saving lives.

Just as many critically injured patients would not survive without the service, your North West Air Ambulance Charity would not be here without you.

Our lifesaving service is funded by the generosity of people like you through donations, fundraising activity, lottery membership and through our network of retail outlets.

As a charity we need to raise more than £8 million each year to stay operational.
• £9 could fund one minute of a North West Air Ambulance mission.
• £250 could supply a primary response bag that carries the drugs and medical equipment our medical team needs to treat patients in major trauma incidents.
• £2000 could fund a year's supply of foil medical blankets, designed to retain body heat for patients in shock.
• £13,500 could fuel one of our aircraft for a month.

Welcome to Team NWAA, together we can make a lifesaving difference to people across the North West.

We transport by motorcycle, urgently required items (Blood, Platelets, samples, Doctors notes, donor breast milk, etc., between NHS hospitals throughout Lancashire and the Lake District. We operate out of normal working hours, during the week and all weekends and Bank Holidays totally free of charge, saving the hospitals thousands of pounds. Started in 2012 we completed 812 call-outs in the first year, we have now gone through 31,000 call-outs.

Working for our community; caring for animals; making a difference.
Oak Tree has been helping animals for over 110 years. We are passionate about animal welfare and believe that every animal matters. With our supporters help, in 2020 we were able to help over 2000 animals in our region through our community and rehoming programmes.

OutdoorLads runs a range of sociable outdoor activities for gay, bi men and trans guys right across the UK and further afield - activity based things like hiking, climbing, camping, biking, canoeing, scrambling, running and sailing. as well as purely social events.

We have three dedicated members of staff running our office, but it's important to recognise that everything else we do is done by one of our many, amazing volunteers.

Friendly and welcoming:
Our events are friendly and typically people get stuck in to make sure we all have a good time. The event leader will know who is on their first event and will make a special effort to make you feel welcome.

Experienced, or novice, it doesn't matter:
Whether you already have outdoors experience or want to try something new, whether you want to get fitter or just want to 'get out more', sign up for your first OutdoorLads event.

You’ll have a great time with friendly guys who all have a shared love of the outdoors.

We are support group who try to help people with Parkinson. We hold monthly meeting and we as having a therapy clinic at the medical centre in Ulverston once a month. We are trying to encourage more people with Parkinson to come along to our meetings.

PASIC provides practical, financial, social and emotional support to around 400 families who have a child diagnosed with cancer in the East Midlands. We fund support workers on the hospital wards, offer a range of free trips and activities, give emergency grants to struggling families, and provide support with making happy memories when a child isn't going to recover. Our vision is that no family in the East Midlands faces childhood cancer alone.

The PCD Family Support Group was formed in 1991 to:
Provide support to patients and their carers who have, or are suspected of having, Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) - a rare genetic lung disease
Bring PCD to the attention of medics who may come across PCD and continue to provide an up to date information service for them and the general public
To promote research to aid diagnosis and treatment of patients with PCD
Support the NHS and other bodies to ensure patients have access to diagnostic services and on-going care
Fundraise to support the above activities

We are a registered charity which is run by a committee of volunteer trustees. We are also supported by the PCD Medical Board which is a group of clinicians with an interest in PCD. This group is chaired on a rotational basis by Professor Andy Bush, Professor Chris O’Callaghan , Professor Claire Hogg and Professor Jane Lucas.

People First Independent Advocacy (PFIA) is a trusted and independent, customer-led organisation that has worked in Cumbria for over 30 years. With offices based in Carlisle, Leyland and Barrow, and staff based across West Cumbria, we have a deep understanding of the region, our communities, and their unique challenges.

Founded as a self-advocacy organisation in 1990, we believe in, and actively seek to create a society where each and every individual is treated equally, fairly, and where their rights, choices and beliefs are respected. We call this supporting people to ‘live their Best life’, and we help people achieve this by:

• speaking out fearlessly, for those who cannot speak out for themselves
• standing shoulder to shoulder with people as they work through their most challenging times
• challenging services to improve based on people’s real experiences
• building people’s skills so that they can lead healthier and fulfilled lives
• connecting people to communities, so that they feel included
We deliver a wide range of commissioned services and funded projects that are underpinned by the above principles and are all designed to ensure that people’s voices are heard in the decision-making processes which impact them and their care; and our community-based office locations across Cumbria & North Lancashire ensure our services provide wide reaching support to the vulnerable, disempowered, socially isolated, excluded and devalued communities.

Embedded within all our projects and services are the core approaches and aims of advocacy that have been pillars of our work and services since our formation and will continue to be so.

Advocacy involves a partnership between an advocate and an individual who may be feeling vulnerable, isolated or disempowered. Our staff, as advocates, provide support, information and representation with the aim of empowering and enabling them to express their needs and choices.

Our independence is vital to us. We follow the Advocacy Charter which ensures that we maintain our independence, at all times. Our Board of Trustees is made up of industry experts and people who currently use or have previously used our services.
For over 30 years we have supported vulnerable Cumbrian’s to have their views heard and we have grown to meet the community’s evolving needs whilst remaining true to our values and mission.

Project John is supported accommodation for 16-24 year old who have been homeless or at risk of homelessness. We support young people into independent living through developing their life skills, enabling them to lead a fulfilling life.

Pseudomyxoma Survivor is a small charity with a big heart. Supporting those affected by the rare cancer pseudomyxoma peritonei (or PMP), appendix cancers and other rare peritoneal malignancies, we provide emotional and practical support. This is through our online support community, our buddy programme, grant scheme and through supporting research.

Radio Lonsdale is a charity organisation that has been broadcasting radio shows to patients and staff of hospitals in the Furness area for over 50 years.

Tell us what you do. Do NOT use this box to make funding requests.
We provide free one-to-one confidential coaching to adults who cannot read by local volunteers in their community who are trained by Read Easy UK. The Read Easy programme is a complete course taking students up to Entry Level 3 which enables them to join the 'Skills for Life' classes offered by local education authorities as well as to read to their children (or grandchildren).

Our goal is to achieve a diverse and gender balanced workforce across the broadcast media and entertainment technology sector, specifically within the areas of engineering, technical operations, sales, marketing and business.

We open up opportunities for women by:
Delivering our award-winning annual mentoring programme in the UK, Europe, North America and across the APAC and ANZ regions;
Celebrating the skills and achievements of brilliant women across the industry through our annual Rise Awards;
Providing free membership (to all genders) with access to regular networking events, seminars, workshops and conferences;
Inspiring, educating, informing the next generation of talent through our Rise Up Academy programme. Those who benefit from joining Rise will be working in non-craft roles for broadcast manufacturers, service providers and broadcasters.

Nearly 11,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year in Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Effective treatment remains a priority within the NHS but it is expensive and there is little left over for non-essential items and facilities that may make all the difference to a patient's experience of the treatment process.

The Rosemere Cancer Foundation exists to provide those ‘extras’ wherever possible in both the Rosemere Cancer Centre and the local Cancer Units across the region.

Wherever you live, you can be sure that by supporting the Rosemere Cancer Foundation you will be helping to make a real difference to cancer patients in your local area.

The Rotary Club of Furness Peninsula exists to assist the community by giving our time and service where it is needed, be it at home or abroad and by identifying local, national and international charitable projects that we can raise funds for through our activities. We do community activities like marshalling at the K2B Elterwater base for the last 7 years, to provide walkers with encouragement, nourishment, water and soft drinks. We also organise social events for our members and families with the emphasis on having fun whislt doing good. This funding will assist the club to raise the profile of the club, increase our membership and serve those in our local community and abroad. Most importantly the funding will enable us to give those less fortunate than ourselves the opportunity to experience gifts of kindness and friendship that will make in many cases everlasting changes to their lives.

The Volunteer crews and lifeguards of the RNLI continue their lifesaving work of saving lives at sea. It is a lifeline to thousands of people who need us at sea and around the coast and return them safely to their family. Last year the RNLI come to the rescue of an average of 22 people a day who were in difficulty in or around the water.

We are an independently funded RSPCA re-homing centre, meaning we receive very little from the National RSPCA and therefore depend on generous public donations and fundraising activities. We rehome cats, dogs and rabbits.

We support young persons in South Cumbria by making donations for specialist treatment, special equipment etc. We also run a fleet of minibuses that are used by schools to enable youngsters to have the opportunity to take part in trips and get to school in the first place.

We are committed to making a positive difference to the lives of individuals who self harm and to those who support them. Our primary goal is to empower the individual to take responsibility for their own lives by offering counselling and trusting support.
Also we seek to eliminate the stigma and discrimination associated with self harm by creating greater awareness through training and education.

Samaritans Of Barrow, Furness, and South Lakes provides a listening service for people who are in distress, despair or suicidal. By providing a warm , empathic , confidential and non judgemental listening service, Samaritans aims to reduce distress and help callers talk through their difficulties and the options available to them. By doing this through telephone calls, emails, text and face to face calls in branch, Samaritans aim is to reduce the numbers of people who die by suicide.

Sarcoma UK is a national charity that funds vital research, offers support for anyone affected by sarcoma cancer and campaigns for better treatments. It is the only cancer charity in the UK focusing on all types of sarcoma.

Our mission is to ensure everyone affected by sarcoma receives the best treatment, care, information and support available and to create the treatments of the future.

Save the Children works in more than 120 countries, including the UK. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential.

Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.

We aim to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

We are a badminton club giving support and coaching to young people.

SHINE for Autism is a community led initiative driven by dedicated local parents, carers and professionals.  Our main aim is to create an autism friendly community by developing knowledge and understanding of autism, leading to unconditional acceptance and integration in our community. We hope to achieve this by:

- Providing resources, support and information for individuals with autistic spectrum disorder and their parents/carers.

- Providing the opportunity for parents/carers to meet in order to develop a mutual support network and enable sharing of skills, experience and knowledge within the group.

- Organising recreation facilities and opportunities for individuals with autistic spectrum disorder to develop social networks, friendships, peer groups and self-esteem.

- Providing workshops, online forums and 1:1 support for parents/carers to gain knowledge and strategies to enable them to support individuals with autistic spectrum disorder.

- Raising public awareness of the issues affecting individuals with autistic spectrum disorder and their parents/carers both generally and in relation to their social exclusion through fundraising and public training/awareness.

- Providing small grants to local schools/individuals to provide support/equipment for autistic individuals.

We are a small family run charity who support a nursery school and other organisations in The Gambia. We have supported the school for over three years,maid teachers salaries, paid school fees for all of the children and provided school equipment and uniforms. We also support local hospitals and clinics by shipping hospital beds and equipment including wheelchairs, baby essentials and medicine.

Skiggle is a registered charity providing help and support to disabled people, their families and carers.
Our online marketplace is intended to allow our friendly community to rehome much needed supplies, providing support for disabled adults and children.

So, are you looking for disability care products, care equipment or care-based essential items?

Skiggle can help

We’re the only disability charity of its kind in the UK, and we exist to support people in unexpected and urgent times of need.

Because you never know when something essential might be forgotten, go missing, or need immediately replaced.

Our growing charity has a community of individuals across the UK who are willing to help others by providing and sharing consumables and equipment in times of need. Of the charities that help disabled adults and children, Skiggle are the only one to offer an Emergency SOS.

So whether you're running out of specialist feed, continence products, or suction catheters, Skiggle has a passionate community ready and willing to come to your aid.

Sharing in times of need.

South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support’s aim is for every mum and baby to have the breastfeeding experience that they want to have. We know that having good support throughout her breastfeeding journey makes a big difference to a mum. From social support and encouragement, to skilled support with breastfeeding challenges, we’re here to help mums reach their own breastfeeding goal, whatever that might be.

Our charity supports the health and well-being of local communities through the provision of hydrotherapy services at Sandgate Hydrotherapy Pool in Kendal. The Pool caters for people from across our region with short term needs (e.g. recovering from accidents or surgery) as well as those with long-term disabilities, providing a valuable service in what is recognised as a centre of excellence in this field.

SMA Support UK is the only charity providing emotional and practical support to families and individuals affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy across the UK. We also fund research into treatments and an eventual cure.

Springfield has supported vulnerable women for over 100 years. Our Refuge and Community Hub provide services that help people rebuild lives shattered by domestic abuse and help to positively support them to change their futures. We help break down barriers facing those affected by domestic abuse in all its forms. We support both male and female survivors of Domestic abuse.

We are a newly formed group of parents, teachers and friends of our lovely primary school. We are trying to raise funds to help enhance the experiences and education our children have whilst part of the school.

Our PTA aims to raise extra funds to support school activities which might otherwise not be possible, as well as to build a social community with the school at the centre.
Our events are open to anyone to attend and we welcome participation from children, parents, grandparents and friends of the school.

We are the UK’s leading charity dedicated to conquering stroke. We rely on your support to provide vital services, campaign for better stroke care and to find better treatments.

There are over 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK with 100,000 strokes happening in the UK each year. That’s one stroke every five minutes.

Even though you are now twice as likely to survive a stroke compared to 20 years ago, stroke is still the fourth single largest cause of death in the UK.

We know we need to change how people think about stroke and challenge the myths surrounding it. We push for greater awareness of stroke and its warning signs and campaign for better stroke care.

We believe:
-strokes can and should be prevented
-everyone has the right to make the best recovery they can after stroke
-research has the power to save lives and ensure people make the best recovery they can.

These beliefs drive us forward to change the world for people affected by stroke.

Local football club for junior age group under 7 up to under 16 age groups.

Around seven young people aged between 13 and 24 are diagnosed with cancer every day in the UK. They need expert treatment and support from the moment they hear the word ‘cancer.’ We’re the only charity dedicated to making this happen.

Test

The Birchall Trust is a registered charity providing therapeutic support to people whose lives have been affected by sexual abuse and rape in South Cumbria and North Lancashire. The main service it provides is one-to-one counselling delivered by specialist counsellors and therapists for adults, young people and children over the age of 4. This includes pre-trial therapy for those individuals going through a criminal justice process. Support and information are also provided to partners and other family members to enable them to help their loved one on their journey of recovery.

A variety of training opportunities are provided in the local community which focus on raising awareness and prevention. Working in partnership with a range of organisations, training is provided to vulnerable young people as well as to professionals.

The Birchall Trust has been working in the local community for the last 28 years and has established an excellent reputation for its specialist knowledge and expertise. It operates from a set of shared values that ensure service users are treated with respect, understanding and compassion.

The charity was founded by Christine Birchall in 1991 and was initially called the South Cumbria Rape and Abuse Service. Christine was inspired to set up the service after she watched a BBC documentary highlighting the lack of support for victims of rape and sexual abuse. Christine set about gaining qualifications in counselling and set up a local support service, running from an attic room in Kendal with £300 and a telephone contributed by British Telecom. The service was initially run by Christine supported by two volunteers.

From these humble beginnings the charity has developed significantly over the years. After initially having its main base in Kendal, the charity moved to 60, Hartington Street in Barrow in 2000 where it has had its main offices and counselling rooms for the last 19 years. Following Christine’s death in 2006, the organisation decided to change its name to the Birchall Trust. This was not only to recognise Christine’s work but also to give the charity a more palatable and dignified name which was well received.

In 2010 the charity expanded into North Lancashire and now has 5 counselling/therapy rooms in Barrow, 2 counselling/therapy rooms in Kendal, 1 counselling room in Lancaster and 7 counselling/therapy rooms and an office space at a Community Hub in Morecambe.

The Christie charity provides enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to our patients and their families.

The Haven is a charity based in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire which provides counselling support for those who need it. The Haven is a charity so can provide low cost but good quality counselling.

Kirkwood Hospice provides specialist care, free of charge, to adults in Kirklees with advanced, progressive illnesses at any time from diagnosis to the end of life, respecting their individual needs and wishes. Care and support is also provided for their family members, friends and carers, both during the illness and after death. Through education, training and partnership with others, the Hospice improves care for everyone affected by a life-limiting illness.

The Lullaby Trust provides emotional support for bereaved families, promotes expert advice on safer baby sleep and raises awareness of sudden infant death.

Working with the NHS, we run a national health-visitor led service for bereaved parents, Care of Next Infant (CONI) programme, which supports families before and after the birth of their new baby.

We are committed to supporting research to understand why so many babies a year die suddenly and unexpectedly in the UK and to find out more about how to prevent these tragic deaths.

The Lullaby Trust operates nationwide across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We run an information line for parents and professionals (0808 802 6869) and a dedicated line for bereaved families (0808 802 6868). Both are free to call from landlines and mobiles.

We campaign tirelessly, lobbying government to keep sudden infant death on the public health agenda. Since we formed as The Foundation for the Study of Sudden Infant Deaths (FSID) in 1971 we have played a key role in the reduction of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by over 80%.

We are a charity that encourages the local community to help support the children of St Thomas by fundraising.

The Pulmonary Fibrosis trust is a UK charity run entirely by patients and carers to provide practical emotional and financial support to people living with PF.

Tigerlily Trust - local registered charity that supports bereaved families who lose their child at any stage during pregnancy, or later in childhood. They are dedicated to helping parents come to terms with their loss and provide much needed resources for parents both immediately following their loss and ongoing support throughout their journey, ultimately promoting a healthy pathway towards healing. They work within the Morecambe Bay NHS Trust area providing tangible remembrance items for bereaved parents, support groups and one to one support across the bay.

Treetops is the hospice for central and southern Derbyshire (including Derby city) and neighbouring areas of Nottinghamshire. We provide non-complex end-of-life care for adults, from diagnosis to death, and support their family. We:
• Help people with a life limiting illness to have the best life possible; and to stay at home for as long as possible, wherever home may be.
• Support families and carers throughout their loved one’s illness and onto bereavement.
• Equip those caring for people with a life limiting illness and working in an end-of-life environment, with the skills and knowledge required to ensure they provide the best quality care.
• Equip professional carers with the skills and knowledge required to ensure they provide the best quality end of life care.

Annually we care for 2,000 people, providing 34,000 hours of care. Our approach is person centred, providing not only for people’s physical requirements, but also catering for their emotional, social, spiritual, and cultural needs.

Unlike some hospices we do not have a bedded unit, our beds are in the homes of the patients we care for, where the need is highest.

Our Hospice at Home service cares for terminally ill patients in their own homes, providing high quality care for patients and emotional support for family members. The service enables patients to die at home, with dignity, surrounded by their loved ones. Last year, 1,059 local terminally ill people received end-of-life care at home and 2,766 people called Treetops when they had an urgent care request.

Our Wellbeing Team provides an extensive range of wellbeing activities to help people better manage their illness. Services include wellbeing activities (‘move-it’ exercise sessions, book club etc); complementary therapies such as reflexology, reiki, and aromatherapy; and a support & information service, including the provision of counselling. Last year, we had 5,813 wellbeing contacts in the hospice and through home visits.

We are one of the main providers of bereavement care in our region, offering bereavement counselling and emotional support, including counselling and play therapy for bereaved children. We work to engage and empower people and communities to have conversations about death, dying, bereavement and loss, ultimately enabling people to share their preferences and wishes about this. This helps to foster healthier attitudes towards death and normalises dying. Last year we provided 3,031 adult, and 1,173 child bereavement counselling sessions.

Our services are free of charge to patients and their families. Each year, we must raise more than £4.2 million to run. State funding only covers 30% of our care and supporting infrastructure costs. We must fundraise to pay for the remaining 70%.

Triple A is a Charity set up in 2016 to support Autistic Adults in Cumbria. We help to Navigate individuals who are Neurodivergent through their diagnosis and into their life beyond. We run social groups across Cumbria, deliver coproduced training and awareness raising to businesses and services, and also deliver 1:1 sessions to support people to understand their diagnosis and how it impacts day to day for them.

We are a competitive amateur swimming club; coaching & teaching swimming to children & adults from the age of 7 upwards.

Following a council announcement to sell Ford Park, the charity came together to rent the land and develop plans for its restoration, before eventually securing a loan from the Architectural Heritage Fund to buy Ford Park from the council in 2005. More recently, a sale of an acre of the park means that we are now debt free, working to secure a sustainable future – and continuing to offer so much more than just a park.

Ulverston Resilience Group provides community support throughout the LA12 postcode area, including help for those affected by Covid-19, providing volunteers for events, and assisting the emergency services when responding to major incidents, such as flooding.

Unique provides support, information and networking to families affected by rare chromosome and gene disorders.

The Circles Group is a club that is run for a selection of our more socially vulnerable SEN students on a Tuesday night after school. The aim of Circles is to build confidence and self-esteem within the student and to challenge them to cope with new social situations, with support. This allows them to develop strategies and understanding of how to deal and live in the wider community and move forward in their day to day lives.

Some of the activities that we do with the students include visits to a local coffee shops, the cinema, Conishead Priory and Ford Park. In school we do Yoga with a local instructor, craft and cooking activities, Sign Language, team sport activities and lots more.

At the end of the summer term we finish the year with a one night residential at a local Outdoor Residential Educational centre. This visit allows the students to be involved in activities which involve teambuilding interaction and trying new opportunities to build their own self esteem in a safe and secure environment suited to their individual needs.

Vision Support Barrow & District is the lead provider of support for visually impaired people in the South West area of Cumbria. It has operated since 1923 and runs a successful residential home, the Vision Support Centre provides home visits within the community.

Walney Wind Cheetahs are a free running group

This is a "Not for profit" Community Sports Club it has been in Barrow for around 60 years. Comprising of 2 bowling Greens and 3 Tennis courts and approx 70 members most of which are senior citizens. The club is looking to modernise it's facilities and attract all ages and capabilities.

Animal Rescue, Conservation, Care and volunteering of special needs people.

Our Aim
The aim of Scouting is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.

Our Vision
To be the explorer scout unit that delivers a challenging and exciting programme to meet the requirements of the Chief Scout Awards, Queen Scout Award and Explorer Belt and provides its members with the opportunity to experience local national and international events.