Sue Ryder’s project that encourages prisoners to volunteer in its charity shops has been shortlisted. The project gives 13-week placements to prisoners to work in charity shops and offices, with training. After the placement, participants are encouraged to apply for a job within the shops and they are given a reference to take to future employers.
More than 600 prisoners have taken part and 5% have gone on to permanent jobs within the charity. The charity benefits from 60,000 volunteering hours each year from the Prison Service.
Pennies is designed to take the place of spare change in the age of people using cards to pay instead of cash, and online shopping. The ‘electronic charity box’ aims to capture spontaneous giving electronically.
Since being introduced in 2010, Pennies has raised more than £1 million from 4.5 million donations.
Hope for Tomorrow operates mobile chemotherapy units, which travel to patients under the mission of ‘bringing cancer treatment closer’.
Among the other organisations and projects shortlisted for the 2013 Charity Awards are Age Concern Kingston Upon Thames for caring for the elderly in their own homes and Islington Giving, which pools local knowledge to encourage community philanthropy.
The Charity Awards are judged according to the 10 Hallmarks of Excellence:
- leadership
- people development
- planning
- innovation
- enterprise
- learning
- impact measurement
- effectiveness
- accountability
- sustainability.
Organiser Daniel Phelan said the quality of this year’s cohort of shortlisted projects is as high as it’s ever been: “All the shortlisted charities have demonstrated exceptional performance against as many of the ten hallmarks of excellence as possible. I wish them all the best of luck on the night.”
Actress and writer Sally Phillips will host the awards on 13 June at the Grosvenor House Hotel. Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, news presenter Huw Edwards, philanthropist Katie Piper, Embarassing Bodies’ Dr Dawn Harper, TV presenter Gaby Roslin and talk show host Alex Jones will be among the other celebrity presenters.
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