The Sussex Police Charitable Trust (SPCT) is a registered charity (charity number 257564). We are here to support our members amongst the Sussex Police family in times of need, hardship or distress by providing financial support, recuperative breaks, advice and guidance. Membership is just £2.50 per month and open to any employee or volunteer for Sussex Police. Sussex Police staff and officers who are members of the Trust when they retire remain members of the Trust for life. Our support is also available for our member’s dependant family members including widows, widowers and surviving partners of members. Please see the back page for details on how to join as well as other ways to support the Trust. The Sussex Police family work tirelessly to make Sussex a safer place to live, work and visit. We are here for them in their time of need.

A helping hand Newsletter Edition 7 - February 2020

Our Dragon Boat Team in action raising over

£1,900

for the Sussex Police Charitable Trust!

Dragon Boat Festival 7th of September 2019

I think this is such an

invaluable charity. It’s such a life

line to have such a service

whether that's for advice or

practical things to support difficult

challenging times in life.

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 2

Raise Free Donations When you Shop Online!

Create a free account at www.easyfundraising.org.uk and choose the Trust as your charity. Then use the search function to shop online with over 3,500 retailers including Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, eBay, Just Eat and booking.com.

Simply replace amazon.co.uk with smile.amazon.co.uk then choose the Trust as your charity and shop as usual. Amazon will then donate 0.05% to the Trust for all eligible purchases!

Did you know you can win up to £25,000 and raise free funds for the Trust through

Eastbourne Local Lottery? The Eastbourne Local Lottery is a non-profit lottery. Tickets are £1 each and 50p will come directly to the Trust for all tickets purchased where you choose the Trust as your cause. 10p is also provided to other local good causes and the remainder covers prizes and running costs. Anyone in the UK aged 16 or over can buy a ticket. You can to make a real difference for the Trust whist giving yourself the chance to win up to £25,000 each week! You can buy a ticket through the Eastbourne Local Lottery online: https://www.eastbournelocallottery.co.uk/support/sussex-police-charitable-trust or over the phone: 01323 332323. Phone line open 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Thank you to all our lottery supporters - you’ve raised £403 already for the Trust since

the lottery launched last year! Congratulations to our lucky winners so far and good luck!

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 3

What difference a year makes!

Thanks to our amazing supporters, fundraisers, sponsors and donors, we were able to assist 515 members of the Sussex Police family in 2019. We simply couldn’t have done this without you!

In addition to over 300 members receiving advice and guidance from our Trust Advisers, Julie and Pete,

over £70,000 was awarded in grants and over £30,000 was awarded in interest-free charitable loans.

162 people benefited from a recuperative break at our bungalow in Christchurch, Dorset.

Our members gave a fantastic £87,500 in monthly subscriptions with other donations and fundraising

topping £15,500. We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported us. Whether you sponsored us for the Dragon Boat Race, had a stall during A Piece of Cake week, donated to us during the year or supported us in any other way….you are all amazing!

And finally, a massive thank you to our patron Peter James for his continued support!

Peter and ‘Really Scary Books’ raised over £6,500 in

2019, bringing his total since 2016 to over £31,000! ‘Every time I go out on patrol or speak with any member of Sussex Police I am humbled by the work that you do every single day. You are such a major part of the glue that holds our civilised world together’

‘...This is one reason why it is so important to me to support the Sussex Police Charitable Trust, and the fantastic work they do year-round for the members of Sussex Police. From offering financial assistance - sometimes small, sometimes life-changing - to the use of their wonderful respite house in Dorset’

Excerpts from Peter James’ festive message, December 2019

Warnham Comrades Club £100

Co-op Bohemia Road, Hastings £50

Deanland Wood Social Centre £50

Midholme Residents Association £20

Eastbourne Local Lottery £403

Easy Fundraising £142

Pro bono legal support from Morgan,

Lewis and Bockius UK LLP

And many more….!

Centenary House Tuck Shop donated

over £900 when

they closed

NARPO branches raised over

£1,800 for us

The Dragon Boat Race topped

£1,900 & ‘A Piece

of Cake’ £300

The fabulous car wash event at

Framfield Children’s Home

raised £46

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 4

Health

Domestic

abuse

Benefits

Debt

Relationship

Bereavement

Cost of

living

Legal

Housing

What were the reasons for members getting in

touch with us in 2019?

And what were financial applications for?

Recuperative

breaks

Therapies to help

with mental health

Other

expenses Legal

expenses

Household goods/moving

costs

Hospital travel

costs

Food/living

costs

Disability

aids/adaptations

Other health related

expenses

Therapies to help with muscular/skeletal

injures/health

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 5

What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid allows UK charities to claim back the basic rate tax already paid on donations. This means we are able to claim, from HMRC, 25p for every eligible £1 that has been donated at no extra cost to the donor.

Wait… What? How does that work? OK, here’s a bit of maths (sorry!) Say you’re a basic rate tax payer. For every £125 you earn over the tax threshold you’ll be taxed 20% in Pay As You Earn (PAYE) – that’s £25 for every £125. Imagine you then make a donation of £100 to a charity – remember that was once £125 that you earned and HMRC took £25 of it before you even saw it. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell HMRC where you would like that £25 to go? Well you can: one of the nice things that HMRC does is to allow charities to claim, on your behalf, that £25 for charitable causes that you support.

How does HMRC know where I want my tax to go? Well, they’re not mind readers, and that’s why you might find charities asking you to sign a ‘Gift Aid Declaration’ form. The charity can then use the declaration to claim Gift Aid from HMRC on your behalf. So for every £100 you donate, the charity you’ve donated to can claim a further £25 (or for every £1 that’s 25p). If you donate to more than one charity, you will need to fill out a Gift Aid Declaration for each charity.

I’m a higher rate tax payer – are my donations treated in the same way? The charity can only claim the basic rate of tax (20%), however you can personally claim the difference back either through a self assessment tax return or by asking HMRC to amend your tax code. Have a look at the HMRC website: https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity

How do I make a Gift Aid Declaration to help the SPCT? We’ve tried to make this as easy as possible – you can either tear out the following form, fill, sign and send to us at The Sussex Police Charitable Trust, Sussex Police HQ, Malling House, Church Lane, Lewes, BN7 2DZ. Or email spct@sussex.pnn.police.uk and ask for a form to be sent to you. If you make a donation through ‘www.wonderful.org’ just tick the ‘Yes to Gift Aid’ box!

Is there anything else I need to know? You can include all donations from the last 4 years – just tell us about any tax years where you did not pay enough tax. If you’re a member of the SPCT, your monthly £2.50 is considered a donation. If you’re a tax payer and haven’t already completed a Gift Aid Declaration (or ticked the box on your joining form) please do get in touch and we will send one out for you so that we can make a claim to HMRC.

Last year we were able to claim over £21,500 in Gift Aid!

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 6

In conversation with: Di Roskilly, Chair of Trustees

Di Roskilly will be stepping down as Chair of Sussex Police Charitable Trust in 2020 after 5 years in the role. Here, we find out more about why she joined the Trust and what led her to become Trustee and Chair.

What is your history with Sussex Police?

I joined Sussex Police in 1984 and was posted to Hastings as a probationer. I then worked at various ranks on East Sussex and at Crawley, alongside HQ roles in Learning and Development and Youth Safety. In 2009 I was promoted to Chief Inspector in Ops Department with responsibility for Road Policing and then in 2012 became Superintendent with responsibility for Custody and Criminal Justice before moving to East Sussex Neighbourhood Superintendent and then becoming Divisional Commander for East Sussex. My final role before retiring in July 2018 was Temporary Assistant Chief Constable, People Services for Surrey and Sussex. During my career I was always passionate about helping others and alongside supporting the Trust, I was also Chair of Evolve the Gender Equality Network.

How long have you been involved with the Trust? I joined the Charitable Trust when I first joined the police 35 years ago. In those days they gave us a lot of forms to sign at our induction, which being young and new I just signed without question and we pretty much automatically became members of the Trust. I was so glad they did that as it was such a great service to belong to. It is different now as the Trust is something we need to raise awareness of to show how it can be of benefit to members. I became a Trustee in 2008 as I wanted to be more involved and support the Trust because I could see how many people it had helped, including close colleagues and friends. The Trust helped me and my own family when my husband was diagnosed with a muscle wasting illness many years ago and we had a much appreciated break in the bungalow after his first treatment. The trust also supported us with another break when my Dad was terminally ill which enabled us to stay closer to him for a few days and create some wonderful memories which I will always cherish and be very grateful for.

In conversation with…..Di Roskilly, Chair of Trustees

What do you love about the Trust and what could be improved? I believe the Sussex Police Charitable Trust is unique in the way it supports our members, and I love that it can help people in so many different ways in their time of need. We can offer a break, as I have mentioned, in the lovely bungalow in Christchurch, and also financial support in the form of grants and loans, and also provide a helping hand, guidance and signposting. It is also a completely confidential service, something which I think is hugely important to people – pride is a big thing in our service and people find it hard to ask for help, so knowing it is confidential helps with that. The biggest challenge the Trust will continue to face is maintaining and increasing the levels of membership through raising awareness of what the Trust can offer. If you are reading this and you are not yet a member – please do check us out and join, and please do spread the word amongst your colleagues. The Trust employees a brilliant team of people who are able to help, but you need to be a member to access the services. Even if you don’t think you will ever personally need help from the Trust, becoming a member will also help your colleagues who may be in need, so really is worth joining.

You are stepping down from your role as Chair this year. Is there anything else you would like to add? I will be standing down as Chair in April 2020 after a couple of terms as I feel it is the right time for someone else to take over. I know the new Chair will do a fabulous job in taking the Trust forward. The Trust continues to focus on ensuring the service provided continues to be relevant to our members, and to look at ways to ensure longevity of the Trust through careful management of assets. Working closely with other associations such as NARPO, Federation and Unison and staff networks are all also key to this. I would like to say a huge thank you to the SPCT team, the Trustees, Executive Committee members, Fund raisers, Champions and our Patrons Peter James and CC Giles York for all of the support you have given the Charitable Trust, and me as the Chair over the years, I really appreciate it and wish the Trust continued success in it’s important and valuable work.

The team at Sussex Police Charitable Trust would like to thank Di for her amazing support and professionalism. We wish her all the very best for the future.

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 7

‘The biggest challenge the Trust

will continue to face is maintaining and increasing the levels of membership

through raising awareness of what the Trust can offer.’

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 8

“I’m so grateful to the Charitable Trust for the

support they gave me” A personal testimony by Phil Duffy, SPCT Champion

I have been a member of the Sussex Police Charitable Trust for a number of years – and like most people (I think) I never really expected to have to ask for their help – and if I’m being completely honest, I never really understood what help the SPCT could give. In Spring 2019 my wife was diagnosed with cancer and very quickly underwent surgery, then went on to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It was a very long 9 months full of hospital appointments, consultants, new medical terminology and then even more hospital appointments thrown in for good measure. As a Dad to 4 young children I found myself very quickly transformed from full time Police officer/part time Dad to full time Dad and everything that entailed – school runs, after school clubs, homework, washing, and packed lunches (not to mention the latest playground gossip at the drop off!) as my wife was simply too unwell – sometimes not feeling well enough to leave the house for days at a time during her treatment. I hadn’t realised the impact that her treatment would have on both of us. A little way into her initial treatment a colleague reminded me about the Charitable Trust and I gave them a call – more out of curiosity than anything else. I explained my circumstances to them and quickly realised I was able to apply for a grant to help with a cleaner while my wife underwent treatment and I juggled her care and childcare. This was NOT an onerous process, just a simple phone call and a chat with one of the advisors explaining what was going on, then I got an email a few days later saying that my application had been agreed by the committee. It was then just a case of emailing invoices through and they took care of everything else. Having a cleaner was something I’d always seen as something of a luxury but not having to worry about cleaning the house was just one less thing to worry about during an exhausting time balancing everything else. I was also able to apply for a grant for some travel costs (some of my wife’s consultants were based in central London – who knew train travel into central London during rush hour was so expensive?), and also towards some complementary medicine to help with her recovery. For some reason I had always imagined that the Charitable Trust was for people who were destitute or in serious financial difficulty – I now know this isn’t the case. I’m so grateful to the Charitable Trust for the support they gave me and also for the ease at which they handled everything – I can honestly say that they took away some of the stress that I was going through during an exhausting and emotional time. I’ve been so impressed that I’ve made the decision to become a Charitable Trust champion and make sure others know what help and support they can give.

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 9

Recuperative Breaks at the Trust’s Bungalow In need of rest and recuperation? We may have the perfect spot!

If you are a member of the Trust, you are welcome to apply for a week’s stay in our lovely three bed bungalow ‘Bryony House’, which is located in the quiet, residential area of Highcliffe, Dorset. The bungalow is open to our members and their dependants who are experiencing the need to get away for some much needed rest, recuperation and relaxation. There is a huge variety of amenities nearby and its really not far from the stunning Jurassic Coast. Or perhaps take a relaxing walk in the New Forest?

For those not familiar with the area, it is worth taking advantage of the tips left by previous guests….such as their favourite places to eat, drink, play and explore. If you just fancy cosying up in the bungalow, it won’t disappoint….with its ‘home from home’ feel and lovingly looked after at the end of each week by our wonderful housekeeper Kat! It’s easy to apply for a break, just email spct@sussex.pnn.police.uk or give us a call on 01273 470 101 or 101 Ext 540703

We had a lovely time and it was fantastic to spend such quality time

together.

So happy to say everything was in fantastic condition and the whole

place felt lovely and clean.

Loved my week there.

That garden is sooo relaxing

as is the comfy sofa!

Thank you.

“An incredible weight lifted off our shoulders” Anonymised personal testimony

I’ve been a police officer with Sussex for 16 years and have paid in to the Charitable Trust throughout my career but never really understood what it did until 2016.

I married my wife in 2012, she comes from a big family and was keen to have children as was I and like most couples never considered there would be any issues. It became clear after we were married as time went on that we were not getting pregnant and were going to struggle to conceive naturally. We waited for two years to be considered for NHS fertility treatment all the while still hoping for a miracle and for my wife to become pregnant.

Even when we were eligible for NHS IVF my wife’s reproductive health was considered so poor that doctors felt there was little hope of IVF working, however luckily some final tests proved positive enough for us to proceed. We had two rounds of IVF as allowed in West Sussex which is hugely stressful both emotionally and physically. Our first cycle of IVF was unsuccessful, though after another unsuccessful “frozen” cycle my wife finally became pregnant but lost the baby through a missed miscarriage. That first miscarriage was the most painful experience of my life. Our second round of NHS IVF was much worse and failed without her getting pregnant.

We then faced a tough decision whether to continue with private treatment or to consider adoption. Fertility treatment is hugely stressful on couples and puts massive pressure on relationships. We didn’t always agree on things and I questioned spending all our savings for potentially nothing at the end of private treatment. It’s fair to say the marriage could have ended at any point during the treatment due to the stress and pressure on both of us.

Around this time I received an email about the Charitable Trust helping members through hardship, so I called them. I spoke to a really nice man who was happy to chat about my issues. He told me to call the CT back when we had decided on a course of action and they could support where appropriate with travel costs and suggested the use of their cottage for a break away to de-stress.

Throughout our treatment my colleagues, supervisors and the organisation were absolutely fantastic and I thank god that Sussex Police are progressive enough to support officers and staff with time off during fertility treatment. If I hadn’t been working for Sussex I don’t think I would have coped.

After deciding to press on with private IVF we engaged with several fertility clinics around the region. We wanted to be certain if we were spending in excess of £10k of savings we were going to the right place. We settled on a clinic in London we were happy with though there were daunting travel costs involved.

I re contacted the Charitable Trust and spoke to Julie who put me at ease just talking to her. She again suggested the CT could help with travel costs which would be an incredible weight lifted off our shoulders. After completing a small amount of paperwork we were granted up to £350 to assist with train fares etc. The money covered a huge chunk of our travel costs to London for appointments, procedures and scans. Although sadly we suffered another miscarriage during our private treatment I am happy to say we are now the proud parents of a four month old boy, our first child born in July 2019.

The margins involved in IVF treatment are so fine that support of any kind can tip the balance. I have no doubt the assistance and support I received from the Charitable Trust has been part of our success story.

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 10

Police Care UK

Police Care UK, previously known as The Police Dependants Trust provides a range of assistance for serving and former police colleagues and their immediate families. They provide emotional, practical, and financial assistance to colleagues who have suffered ‘harm’ as a result of policing. Although the term ‘harm’ is quite broad, this usually (but not exclusively) means physical injury or an adverse mental health condition. There are two types of grant that they can make - to police forces or to individuals.

In the last 5 years Police Care UK has made over £2m in grants to forces to assist them to mitigate or reduce ‘harm’ to their officers and staff (requests from Sussex were £5k of the total). In the last 4 years, we have paid over £800k in grants to individuals, with Sussex being granted £36,000 of this. For policing teams who have suffered the trauma of losing a colleague or dealt with any other deeply traumatic event, we can offer a wellbeing day. For more information, please go to: www.policecare.org.uk/get-help/organisations/wellbeing-grant/

Police Pensioners’ Housing Association

Have you retired from the police and are looking for a property to rent? The Police Pensioners’ Housing Association Ltd. is a Registered Charity founded in 1968 to establish warden assisted accommodation for Police Pensioners and their spouses, their widows or widowers from any police area who are over sixty years of age and are capable of looking after themselves. The first properties were purchased at The Croft, Yapton, West Sussex, in 1992 and the Association now owns almost all of the accommodation in this sheltered housing complex with the remaining three having owner/ occupiers. There are in total 28 apartments and four bungalows built on three sides of a courtyard. Many of the apartments enjoy a view across farmland to the South Downs and all look out onto well tended areas of the communal garden. The bungalows have their own private gardens. Each property is entirely self- contained with its own front door, many are at ground level and those on the first floor can be easily accessed by electric stair lifts. Ground floor apartments have a small private patio and the re are communal gardens. There is an ‘Emergency pull cord’ in every room, with a swift response from the resident manager or the 24 hour emergency call centre. Communal facilities include a large well furnished lounge and kitchen, a modern laundry room and an exterior drying area. A guest suite is available for visitors at a small charge. Similar apartments are also available at Kingfisher Court in nearby Middleton-on-Sea. Both Villages offer good facilities and many social activities. There are churches, shops, public houses and village halls all a short walk from the Croft or Kingfisher Court. The Doctors’ surgeries are close by and a courtesy bus for the local Supermarket stops beside the entrances to both developments. For more information, please contact Robert Davies on: 01243 586643 or secretary@ppha.org.uk

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 11

Sussex Police Charitable Trust Newsletter 12

You can help us by:

Joining the Trust for just £2.50 per month: www.sussex.police.uk/spct_join Applying to be an Executive Committee member. The committee is made up of current and retired members of the Trust. The committee meets monthly to consider anonymised requests for financial help from members. Becoming a Champion and helping to spread the word about the Trust. Making a donation to the Trust - we have collection boxes around the force. You can also donate via our page on Wonderful www.wonderful.org/charity/sussexpolicecharitabletrust with 100% of your donation and Gift Aid coming to the SPCT, via cheque or bank transfer or standing order using our account details below:

Name of Bank: CAFBANK Account Name: Sussex Police Charitable Trust Sort code: 40-52-40 Account Number: 00000698

Fundraising through a sponsored event, cake sale, coffee morning etc. We’d love to support you with any fundraising ideas you have. We can provide posters, leaflets, collection boxes and even a helping hand. You can also create a fundraising page on Wonderful. Leaving a gift in your will. Leaving a gift in your will is an amazing way to continue to support the causes you care about after you have taken care of your loved ones. If you would like to leave a legacy to the charity you will need the name of the charity "Sussex Police Charitable Trust" and our registration number: 257564. Buying a lottery ticket through Eastbourne Local Lottery and choosing us as your cause. We receive 50p from every £1 ticket sold! (See page 2 for more details.) Raise free funds every time you shop online by signing up to:

easyfundraising www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/sussexpolicecharitabletrust

AmazonSmile https://smile.amazon.co.uk Follow us and like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SussexPoliceCharitableTrust Please do contact us if you’d like to discuss ways in which you could support the Trust. Whatever you are able to give, it all makes a difference and goes a long way to enabling us to continue to help the Sussex Police Family.

Contact Details Telephone: 01273 470 101 ext 540703

E-mail: spct@sussex.pnn.police.uk

Post: SPCT, Sussex Police HQ, Church Lane, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2DZ

Website: https://www.sussex.police.uk/spct

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SussexPoliceCharitableTrust