The adverse effect of the Pandemic to disadvantaged children and those suffering domestic abuse was well documented early in the crisis and urgent action was needed. The Savannah Wisdom Foundation were quick to understand these issues and proactive in offering help. In providing a donation to The Lord Mayors Fund we were able to help fund several organisations working in these fields e.g. Manchester Women’s Aid were provided with “move on” costs for several families to help into safe new accommodation; Independent Choices were able to fund an additional part time resource to add vital hours to their Domestic Violence helpline cover and The River were able to provide furniture for families moving on from refuge accommodation. In addition, we were pleased to hear that some of the funds donated were used for crucial work supporting vulnerable children such as The Children’s Society – helping provide more Therapeutic Practitioners and Barnardo’s – providing tablets and data to reach and maintain contact with those in the most vulnerable of situations.
Our Savannah Wisdom Director, Shalni Arora, has also been instrumental in securing a donation from The B&M Community Fund of £1m to provide a national programme of help to foodbanks across the country over the initial lockdown phase.
During the last few months, we have seen an increase in Community Cohesion and an outpouring of concern for those less fortunate in society; in contrast, Hate Crime is also, unfortunately, on the rise. Therefore, it made sense to offer continued support to those organisations we have already invested in – namely The Belong Network (to continue research into and the dissemination of Good Practice within cohesive and integrated societies) and The British Asian Trust (to continue their support in South Asia to ensure that families receive the food, medicine and critical essentials they urgently need to help them survive).
Further reading: https://www.beaconcollaborative.org.uk/shalni-arora-supporting-organisations-to-survive-and-thrive/