We’re here for you

Introducing Our New Head of Fundraising & Partnerships

At the end of April, Cara Donald, our previous Head of Fundraising left to take on a new role at the national charity, Papyrus. We wish Cara all the best in her new role, we know she will be fabulous and thank her for everything she has achieved at RSVP through her role as Head and before that, through her role as Specialist Trainer.

Following the sad feelings about Cara leaving, the great news is that we have recruited quickly into this role and from 24^th June, we are delighted that Paula Dower will take on the Head of Fundraising and Partnerships at RSVP. We can’t wait to give Paula a big-hearted welcome to RSVP.

Paula has worked in the charity sector since 2000 and for DASH (Disability Arts in Shropshire) since 2004, first as General Manager and Operations Director from 2012, when she began fundraising, raising over £1million through Arts Council England and grant-making trusts. While fundraising was part of Paula’s role, her focus on finance also ensured liquidity. Her organisational development skills saw DASH morph and grow through many changes during her time.

She has worked with a variety of stakeholders on numerous projects including volunteers, artists, council staff, Higher Education research staff, voluntary organisations, arts centres, galleries, museums, Arts Council England, trusts and foundations. One of her favourite projects was PROCESSIONS in 2018. Selected as one of one hundred organisations in the country to create banners to celebrate the first votes for women. Led by Paula, the DASH banner was created by over one hundred women and girls, who proudly paraded their banner in Cardiff shouting “WE ARE HERE!” on 10th June 2018.

Paula says: “It was such a fantastic day, and I was so happy to have been able to provide the opportunity for their voices to be heard.

I am thrilled to be working for RSVP to support and develop services to ensure survivors’ voices are also heard and believed.

As a survivor myself I know the importance RSVP’s work, and I feel really proud to be one of the team.”

Outstanding Charity of the Year nomination

We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) award for Outstanding Charity of the Year.

We’re in very good company! Other shortlisted charities Muslim Aid, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, Sense and Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer.

The winner will be announced at the annual dinner and awards event at The National Motorcycle Museum on Saturday, 7 December.

Thank you so much to the chamber for shortlisting us, and showing your big-hearted support to people subjected to sexual violence.

Good news!

We are delighted to announce that the Home Office has agreed funding to enable 10 organisations to work towards the Independent Accreditation Programme for the Quality Standards for Services Supporting Male Victims/Survivors of Sexual Violence, at no cost to the agency.

 

We are extremely excited that RSVP has been selected to be one of the agencies funded. We can’t wait to start working alongside the Male Survivors Partnership in conjunction with LimeCulture CIC. These standards, once gained, will apply to our counselling service giving extra reassurance to the male survivors we support.

Thanks to the Home Office, Male Survivors Partnership and LimeCulture CIC for this amazing opportunity.

 

Read more here.

Cuddly Donation.

 

THANK YOU!!!

We would like to say a huge thank you to a young person who recently kindly donated a bundle of cuddly toys to RSVP.

We were able to give these to children and young people who use our services which resulted in lots of big smiles.

 

We’re winners!

We are absolutely delighted to be one of only eight charities selected from more than 350 organisations to receive a 2018 GSK IMPACT Award. This prestigious national award recognises charities that are doing excellent work to improve people’s health and well-being. As part of our win we will receive £30,000 in funding as part of the prize, as well as expert support and development from The King’s Fund. We couldn’t be more pleased.

Two of our team have been in London this week, taking part in a Kings Fund hosted training programme. Four of the team will be at tonight’s award ceremony, where an overall winner will be announced, receiving an additional £10,000.

The GSK Impact Award is a prestigious award and a huge acknowledgement of the big hearted, bold support we show people affected by sexual trauma.

You can tune into the award ceremony live tonight from 7.30pm on the GSK Facebook page. Feel free to tune in and root for us 🙂

The Handbag Project

West Midlands Police have very generously donated 95 handbags and a wide range of toiletries too. These will be handed out to female sex workers who have faced or are at risk of sexual violence and abuse, and are accessing services offered via the new Red Project. The donations will mean women will receive everyday essentials in the handbags and information about support services too.

The Red Project is a West Midlands wide service offered by RSVP, Black Country Womens Aid (BCWA) and CRASAC. It’s a partnership which is funded via the Tampon Tax, specifically for female sex workers facing or at risk of sexual abuse. 

 

From left to right:

Clare, Prevention Worker from RSVP

Sally Simpson, Detective Chief Inspector from West Midlands Police

Alison, Butterfly Project worker from BCWA

Detective Chief Inspector Sally Simpson, Lead for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences, Modern Slavery and Sex Work at Public Protection Unit, West Midlands Police, acknowledges how female sex workers are often targeted and how the project will help to build relationships.

 

“West Midlands Police recognise that sex workers can be incredibly vulnerable as they are targeted for violent and serious sexual crimes.  For many reasons sex workers find it difficult to report offences and engage with the police.  The handbag project is a great way for WMP to work closely with our partners in RSVP/Black Country Women’s Aid/CRASAC to distribute vital safety information and information about support services such as Sexual Assault Referral Centres and National Ugly Mugs.  By supporting this project we hope to build the trust of sex workers so they may feel able to report either directly or through the outreach and prevention workers so that we can target those people who seek to cause them harm.” 

 

We are delighted to receive the donations from the police as they enable us to deliver items to those in the greatest need and get the project, which only started last year, off to such a great start. Thanks to all involved. 

 

Good news!

We are delighted to receive news that Garfield Weston Foundation will support RSVP through 2018/19. They will contribute to the costs of delivering counselling to sexual violence survivors.

By funding us for core costs, they are strengthening our foundations for the year, securing funding for counselling staff and contributing to overhead costs. Counselling is our busiest service; from 1st January we have received 393 new requests for counselling from adults and children who have experienced sexual abuse. The need for specialist, trauma-informed support is great, and continues to grow.

Thank you so much to the foundation, from the whole RSVP team, for recognising the importance of our workin our 40th year and boldly showing your support for survivors.

Festival of Trees

As Christmas trees and all things glittery are taken down across the nation we wanted to show you the tree that our survivor led craft group, Arts With Hearts decorated ,which also made a difference for abused children. You’ll then know where to come to if you still need some Christmas sparkles in your life!

In collaboration with Irwin Mitchell the tree brightened up the foyer of the ICC during December and was part of the NSPCC’s Festival of Trees. Irwin Mitchell sponsored the tree, with the sponsorship going to fund the NSPCC’s work. Our craft group were then invited by Irwin Mitchell to decorate it with the beautiful handmade decorations they made.

We’re sure you’ll agree that the tree was beautifully creative and unique, we thank Irwin Mitchell for allowing us to be involved but more importantly all the survivors who created the beautiful decorations.

 

New Online Support

We are delighted to launch a new online support package for survivors of sexual violence and abuse in Birmingham and Solihull.

‘A Taste of Recovery’ is a new way for survivors waiting for RSVP counselling to access practical support from RSVP; identifying the effects of sexual trauma and developing coping strategies for improved emotional wellbeing. The resource is created by Emily Jacob at ReConnected Life, it’s delivered in bite-size chunks, with the compassion and understanding of someone who has been there too.

We know that accessing support can feel daunting, and we know that time spent waiting for face-to-face counselling can be difficult. ‘A Taste of Recovery’ builds on what we know about the effects of trauma and offers a taster of our support services, that you can access immediately, from your own home.

This new support package has been made possible with support from the People’s Postcode Trust and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, and is also a development of the 2016/17 West Midlands PCC funded Cope & Recover project we previously offered.

 

We’re shortlisted in the running awards

 

We were nominated for a national award to acknowledge our work using running as a means of emotional wellbeing for survivors of abuse. Great news…we’ve been shortlisted! Now that we’re a finalist, we’d love to get your vote and nudge closer to winning the small charity award.

You can vote for us here https://therunningawards.com

If you are interested in trying out running yourself, in a safe and supportive environment, you might be interested in the weekly running group for survivors or the Run Talk (Walk) weekly event. Both take place at Cannon Hill Park in Edgbaston. They’re free to join and focuses on gentle running for relaxation and fun. Drop Lisa an email if you’re interested: lisa@rsvporg.co.uk