Trustee News

Charity coffers | David Cameron | Hard crosswords | Yorkshire | Johnson’s journalism | Vaccine passports Before asking for government bailouts (UK charities urgently call on PM to set up emergency fund, 17 February), big charities should spend their own reserves. Cancer Research UK entered the pandemic with over £300m in the bank; the National Trust had £320m. I would urge everybody to be as generous as possible to charities, but choose carefully. You don’t want to see your hard-earned gift being added to a cash pile in a bank vault.Ray KiplingFormer deputy director, Royal National Lifeboat Institution • Thank goodness David Cameron is available to publicly advise the PM on the necessity of eradicating poverty and investing in a just and green economy for the betterment of all (Be ‘muscular’ and drive green recovery, Cameron tells Johnson, 24 February). This is generally the part of the film where our tough, experienced team leader looks out across a sea of stunned expressions and announces: “We’re through the looking glass, people.”Karen AbbottMacclesfield, Cheshire Continue reading…

Pearl Parkin, eight, from Bath, becomes a different character each day to raise funds for Save the ChildrenCoronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverageDressing up helps children to hope and dream. For one little girl, it has also enabled her to raise more than £900 for charity in just 23 days. Eight-year-old Pearl Parkin has set herself the challenge of dressing up as a different character each day to raise funds for Save the Children through her fundraising page. Continue reading…

Campaign groups say blocking access to reliable news sources leaves a void to be filled by misinformation and hate speech Members of Facebook’s oversight board, which some have likened to an internal “supreme court”, have been called on to speak out or step down after the platform shut down swathes of media and key public information sites during a battle with the Australian government. The social media giant suspended pages – including those of government bodies and state health departments before the national coronavirus vaccine rollout – as part of a showdown with officials over a new law that would force it and other platforms to pay for links to news content. Related: Facebook’s Australia ban threatens to leave Pacific without key news source Continue reading…

Sizeable number of Send pupils were unable to return to school in September, according to surveyCoronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverageChildren with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in England have had their education “pushed to one side” during the course of the pandemic “for the convenience of the majority,” according to a survey of parents. The poll of more than 1,000 parents uncovered “widespread failure” to restore special educational needs provision when children returned to school in September 2020, with a “sizeable” number of Send children unable to return to school at all. Related: ‘We feel forgotten’: special needs teachers on helping England’s vulnerable children Continue reading…

Cancer Research UK and Comic Relief among charities who signed open letter to Boris Johnson Hundreds of the UK’s biggest charity names, including Cancer Research UK, Comic Relief and Samaritans, have signed a joint letter to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, calling on the government to set up an emergency support fund for the voluntary sector. They are warning that hundreds of charities could close in the next few months – or be forced to make major cuts to services – unless ministers create a fund to help voluntary organisations maintain their services. Continue reading…