6 Responses

1. some thoughts…
   Hi Susie
   Firstly we need to have a common understanding of the word “adopt” in this instance.

   Secondly we have the dilemma; TZ is an international community, to get widespread support from the membership you probably need to support an international charity…..international charities tend to be big, relatively high profile and therefore have a degree of clout already….the type of charity that could really do with the support is often the small, local, unsexy little charity struggling to keep afloat…but that may be a negative to folk in other regions.

   My suggestion would be to go for something like the http://www.ukcharitydays.co.uk type of thing though I accept that that is, by it’s nature a UK organisation…..and I am not sure that the founders actually want money (wow!)

   I doubt that this helps much!

   rus
   http://www.coach-and-courses.com

2. Wider options
   How about supporting a different charity each year which allows flexibility across countries and areas of interest?
   It would also be good to have a way of helping/encouraging members of the community to offer their skills to charities, particularly the smaller and more local ones. I do a bit for the Essex Wildlife Trust, but we could use a lot more help.

   http://www.penelopejohnson.co.uk

3. Adopting a TZ charity
   Susie
   I think it is a great idea. I am actively involved with a number of charities but one I’m not involved with – so have no vested interest – is St Loye’s (See http://www.stloyesfoundation.org.uk)I suggest it because it is essentially a training charity. And, unlike many of the bigger and sometimes better funded charities, it perhaps doesn’t get the profile it deserves.
   I don’t know whether it would be possible for TZ members to donate their time and skills but it would be worth checking.
   Graham

4. Charity begins at home…
   Hi Susie et al…

   yes http://www.ukcharitydays.co.uk is a great start – as are Grahams recommendations. I personally do a lot for the Red Cross and I am sure many others do their bit too.

   In the climate of looking at the environment, what about encouraging people (and TZ) to look locally.

   It would be useful perhaps to hear from the charities on the value they get from the ‘donations’.
   Could this be a regular feature.. a blog..
   Mike

5. Its a complex world we live in
   I think this should be balanced with the need to be green. Speaking personally, seeing that TZ is green and has some sort of green credentials and is actively reducing its impact on the environment would impress me more.
   Publicising green accreditation could be regarded as educative.

6. RNLI as a training zone charity
   In response to this question I cannot help but recommend the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) – OK, I admit to being biased!.

   The fundemental basis of the RNLI is that we Save Lives at Sea, however in order to be able to do this we need to ensure that our Lifeboat Crews and Beach Lifeguards are trained to a high standard.

   With this in mind the RNLI have built the Lifeboat College, which is a specialist facility where crew come and stay and are trained in many varying aspects…. not only boat handling skills, but Sea Survival, Search and Rescue, Navigation, First Aid, Firefighting are also on the list. So not only is the RNLI a charity that relies 100% on voluntry funding, but it also is very training focussed, so I feel it would be the ideal charity for the training zone to adopt, We also have a fundraising campaign dedicated to the crew training….. Train One, Save Many (see link for further info http://www.rnli.org.uk/how_to_support_us/appeals/tosm/tosm)

   Hope you all feel the same

   Tracey Saunders
   Training Adviser
   RNLI