The third sector, i.e. VCSEs, plays a crucial part in our society and the infrastructure of our nation. We’ve said that, if every charitable organisation stopped delivering its support for just two weeks, the UK would come to a grinding halt.
Since I began work at 17, I’ve collaborated with charities and good causes - from junior football clubs to cancer charities, sleep charities, and everything in between. All these organisations have one thing in common: they provide help and support.
When I worked for The Community Scheme, I remember a police report was published about the importance of grassroots junior football clubs. At the time, we were supporting 32 of them across the north of England. The report stated that, if a town or village had a junior football club, it dramatically reduced crime in the surrounding area, and it also enhanced the development of the children attending.
These football clubs give children something to focus on and be proud of. At the same time, they instil respect, they show individuals how to work as a team, and they teach communication skills - all whilst improving the children’s athletic abilities. I can’t remember the actual statistics the report quoted, but I do remember being shocked at how much of a difference they made to an area.
We helped to support and introduce more teams to different areas, which had an impact across the UK. And that’s just junior football clubs. If you consider the impact the UK’s 168,000 charities will also have, covering a huge range of issues and needs, it’s quite remarkable, and something we should be proud of.
I want to reiterate that, no matter how big or small your good cause is, it’s crucial to our society and the infrastructure of the UK. This is why the third sector needs to be taken more seriously; we need to change the stigma around good causes and the general feeling that they’re not as important as other kinds of organisations.
Our aim at The Charity Hub is to give you the tools you need to standardise and develop your marketing to a professional level, and to make your good cause self-sufficient. We also want to present a united voice for good causes. At the moment, we’re small, but from small acorns come great oaks, and I know that, if we all work together, the sector can evolve and showcase the importance of what we collectively provide. It will also generate much-needed revenue that we all need to deliver our particular brand of goodness to the world.
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