GBCT’s latest newsletter is now available. You can read it below or download it, with full pictures, in PDF here.

• Latest News

The GBCT Chocolate Brownie Chat

During the week of 15 May we’re inviting all our supporters to join our new event, the GBCT Chocolate Brownie Chat.

Our previous Cake Bakes have been successful in spreading the word about GBCT and have most likely contributed to the increase in volume and variety of the grant applications we’ve received. This year we’re focusing on one special cake, a favourite of George’s, and one specific aim, which is to have a chat about GBCT over a brownie and to help spread the word further.

It’s easy to get involved and is a great excuse to enjoy some delicious cake! Find out more on our News page at www.gbct.org.uk/news.

Getting To The Hub Of It

One of GBCT’s latest grants is to Rise:61, a youth and community development charity set up by local residents to serve the residents of Bemerton Heath in Wiltshire. Rise:61 applied for support for their new Bemerton Heath Bike Hub project, which aims to provide vocational training and volunteering opportunities for the most vulnerable teenagers in their community, which is in the top 5% most deprived wards in the country.

GBCT is pleased to be able to support Rise:61 with a £6000 grant to enable the purchase of the cabin, which is needed to accommodate the teaching sessions. Teaching up to six young people at a time, the Bike Hub Manager, supported by adult and youth volunteers, will guide them in gaining qualifications in bike maintenance and cycle leading.

The project follows a similar model to established projects in London and is intended to help the young people develop workplace and business skills that will support them in finding employment in cycle shops, or elsewhere. Rrise:61 intends to have 20 to 30 young people engaged in year 1.

To date the site has been prepared and the cabin will be delivered soon. GBCT wishes them every success and looks forward to sharing updates on how the project progresses.

•  Updates from Grant Recipients

 In our previous newsletters we’ve been sharing updates about the great work taking place at All Saints Church in Weston, Surrey, following a GBCT grant. Since our last update, GBCT have been asked to provide support for further AED familiarisation sessions in the autumn, owing to the success of the three already delivered in partnership with the Church. We’ve also been sent a few pictures of our GBCT team in action. Well done again to Matthew Leopold and Iain Bennett for their great work.

•  Recently Awarded Grants

To support volunteering among young people, GBCT has provided a £1460 grant to Revitalise, who run the largest residential volunteering programme of any UK charity. Providing inspirational volunteering opportunities is one of Revitalise’s charitable objectives, which in turn supports its core objective of providing respite care in a holiday setting for disabled people.

GBCT’s grant will enable 20 young people to volunteer with Revitalise over a week long period at their Jubilee Lodge site in Chigwell, Essex. The grant covers the costs involved in hosting the volunteers, for example training, expenses and costs at the host centre. Typically Revitalise find that their volunteers report an improvement in attitude and understanding towards disabled people; improved job prospects; and increased community participation. We look forward to letting you know how the GBCT supported volunteers get on.

The enhancement of skills among young people is the aim of UK Youth. A charity that has been transforming the lives of young people across the UK for over a 100 years, their mission is to build a bright future for every young person. GBCT has provided a £1000 grant to provide up to 30 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with an educational break at their outdoor activity centre in the New Forest.

Typically the participants are not in education, employment or training. The staff work with them outside the classroom, beyond their normal environment, combining a tailored educational programme with extensive portfolio of adventurous outdoor activities e.g. zip wiring, to have a lasting effect on their personal and social development. The GBCT day is likely to take place in May and we plan to share an update in our next newsletter.

Our fourth new grant is to a previous GBCT grant   recipient who we provided an update on in our last newsletter. GBCT awarded a grant to Criminon in 2016 to support the enhancement of skills among young people, by providing distance learning courses for young offenders. The Trustees were impressed by what Criminon achieved and are pleased to continue GBCT’s support in 2017, providing a further grant of £1620 to support another ten young offenders.

•  Meet Our Volunteers – Faye Wilson-Cressey

In our last newsletter we introduced a new feature, to recognise the work of our volunteers. In this edition, we’re also going to share a secret and name the lady who is the inspiration behind our fantastic social media pages.

Faye met George whilst he was at Durham, through her now husband Ian, also a GBCT Trustee, who was at St Aidan’s College with George. Faye trained as a petroleum geoscientist and, having worked in the oil industry, is currently completing her teacher training to teach secondary geography in Surrey. Faye’s creativity and engaging style are clear in our social media posts (you might be able to spot when Ian is standing in!) and in the past two years GBCT has gone from zero to 400 followers across its social media pages.

Keeping the pages up to date is quite a challenge and Faye’s always on the look out for good stories to share, so do please share your news via our Facebook page or contact Faye via info@gbct.org.uk.

• Thanks to our Supporters

GBCT relies upon the generous donations of its supporters and the Trustees would, once again, like to thank all of GBCT’s donors.

The Trustees would like to convey a special thanks and also their condolences to the family of Mark Pini, a family friend of the Bairstows. Mark sadly died recently at a young age and the family kindly asked that donations in his memory were given to GBCT.

In other fundraising news, GBCT has been a winner! GBCT collected 50% of the proceeds from the Grand National sweepstake at Brompton’s Old Post Office Tavern. Collecting the ‘winnings’ from Neil Sands, who runs the Tavern, are Maria (George’s mother), Lucy (George’s aunt) and Honey.

If you’d like to make a donation you can do so via our website www.gbct.org.uk and if you’re raising funds for GBCT please let us know. We’d love to be able to say thank you and support you via our social media pages.

• About the Trust

The GBCT was set up in March 2014 in memory of George Bairstow and exists so that the difference George made to people’s lives can continue.

George was committed to charitable work and lived his life to help others. He died in November 2013 in a car accident, returning home from a volunteer duty with St John Ambulance on Bonfire Night.

The GBCT’s goal is to empower communities to make a difference by providing grants in support of:

• The provision of emergency aid
• Volunteering among young people
• The enhancement of skills among young people

•  Keeping in contact with GBCT

Visit our website at www.gbct.org.uk or email us at info@gbct.org.uk

Find us on Facebook at georgebairstowct for all the latest news and pictures and, don’t forget, we’re on Twitter too at gbct_uk.

Copyright © 2017 George Bairstow Charitable Trust. All rights reserved. George Bairstow Charitable Trust (GBCT), a charity registered in England and Wales (1155769).

GBCT’s latest newsletter is now available. You can read it below or download it, with full pictures, in PDF here.

• Latest News

GBCT’s 3^rd Anniversary – March 2017

In March GBCT reaches its third anniversary. We’ve set many milestones during our first three years, not least that we have now awarded over £43,000 in grants.

The GBCT has, and continues to, support communities across the UK in the provision of emergency aid, volunteering and the development of skills in young people. Our latest round of grants total in excess of £6000 and you can read all about them both below.

Thank you to all our supporters who have made our achievements possible.

Search, Rescue & First Aid in Surrey

GBCT’s latest grant is to Surrey Search and Rescue, a charity which exists to support the       emergency services in the search for missing children and vulnerable adults. The team of 75 volunteers is trained in rapid searching techniques and navigation to cover Surrey’s extensive rural land effectively. A member of the UK’s Lowland Rescue Service, the team have already been called upon over 400 times in their 6 year history.

GBCT has awarded a grant of £800, which will enable the purchase of first aid kits to be provided to every team member. Often working in difficult to access areas, the kits will support the team, who are all trained in first aid, in providing potentially life saving first aid safely and effectively whilst awaiting the arrival of further assistance.

You can follow the work of Surrey Search and Rescue by visiting their website www.sursar.org.uk or following their Facebook page.

• Updates from Grant Recipients

In our last newsletter, we reported that All Saints Church in Weston, Surrey, was soon to be running community first aid sessions with help from GBCT. All Saints installed a British Heart Foundation supported AED last year and GBCT provided a grant for a member of the Parish team to be first aid and AED trained.

Volunteers Iain Bennett and Matthew Leopold have now delivered a series of AED awareness sessions to over 30 members of the church and local community. After a busy day, Iain commented that “an AED is simple to use, yet it can save a life in the event of a cardiac arrest. It was a pleasure to visit Weston and give the community the confidence to use this brilliant piece of equipment”.

In 2016 GBCT awarded a grant of £1600 to Criminon, which provides distance learning   opportunities to serving prisoners and ex-offenders. In our September newsletter we reported that 56 young offenders were taking GBCT supported courses. The Trustees have now received testimonials from some of the young offenders GBCT has supported and their feedback is very pleasing. Below are some of the examples:

• JW took a parenting skills course and described how he now knew ‘how to raise a   responsible, polite, healthy child who will become a responsible member of society and will give so much to a community’.
• SG took a learning to learn course and wrote that ‘I now know if I reach an impasse when studying due to myself not comprehending specific components, I can apply the skills I’ve learnt to overcome and study effectively’.

The volunteers at Ulverston Inshore Rescue have been making good use of their GBCT supported 4×4 response vehicle. The team have posted a few pictures on their Facebook page of recent rescue and training operations, including the new vehicle with the team’s rescue hovercraft. In this case, the team supported Furness Coastguard in searching for a crashed paraglider, which they were thankfully able to confirm as a false alarm.

•  Recently Awarded Grants

Supporting both the enhancement of skills and volunteering among young people, the Helston Railway Preservation Society has been awarded a £3400 grant towards its Juniors Day Project. Set up 12 years ago, the Society aims to re-open a section of the Helston branch line and, by this,        re-introduce engineering skills to Cornwall with a particular focus on young people, so they consider engineering when making further education and career choices.

The Juniors Day Project builds on the work the Society has done with Duke of Edinburgh Scheme participants, the Prince’s Trust and Cornwall College. It will be an ongoing project that will provide a monthly opportunity for up to 20 young people at any session to gain work experience in an engineering environment. GBCT’s grant funds the majority of the Project’s start up costs, including safety equipment, tools, materials and travel costs. George himself was an engineer, studying engineering at Durham, so the GBCT is particularly pleased to be supporting the Helston Project. You can find out more about the Society and their work with young people at www.helstonrailway.org.

The enhancement of skills among young people is the aim of Armonico Consort’s           educational outreach programme, AC Academy. Armonico Consort is a critically acclaimed choir, orchestra and opera company, whose Academy provides free music education to young people across the UK. The aim of the programme is to nurture and harness the talent and prospects of young people, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds, inspiring a passion for music and performing arts, driving ambition, and providing life-changing training and performance opportunities.

GBCT has awarded a grant of £2200 to support a Choir Creation Programme at the Grace Academy in Coventry, which is based in a deprived area of the city and rated by Ofsted as in need of improvement. The Programme will deliver five workshops to up to 120 young people at the school (15% of the total number of pupils) and five mentoring sessions to teaching staff to equip them with the skills to lead a choir in the school over the long-term. The school will then be invited to participate in forthcoming performance platforms,   providing great opportunities for the students. You can find out more about AC Academy on Armonico’s website, www.armonico.org.uk/ac-academy

• Meet Our Volunteers – Matthew Leopold

GBCT is run entirely by volunteers, so to recognise their work, and hopefully inspire others to get involved with GBCT, we’re launching a new feature in our newsletter. In this edition, meet Matthew Leopold, who is one of our founding Trustees and was reappointed at January’s Trustee meeting for a further 3 year term.

Matthew met George at Durham University through St John  Ambulance (SJA) and continued to work with him in SJA’s Medical Response Team in London after university. Matthew is currently the Trust Secretary and, amongst other duties, keeps the minutes of the Trustee Meetings under Vivian’s watchful eye for grammatical correctness! Matthew’s SJA experience means he is also a key part of our first aid outreach work. Day-to-day Matthew works in marketing in Surrey and regularly shares his expertise for the benefit of the Trust.

In our next newsletter, meet Faye, the inspiration behind GBCT’s social media pages.

• Thanks to our Supporters

Once again we’d like to say a big thank you to all of our supporters. Over the Christmas period approximately £1000 was received in donations of various amounts from GBCT supporters.

GBCT also received a donation of £100 from the Christmas raffle at Brompton-by-Sawdon’s Old Post Office Tavern in December, followed in January by a donation of £200 from the Scarborough Dine and Dance Club. Neil Sands runs both the Tavern and the Club and is pictured below in the Tavern presenting the cheque to Vivian, George’s father.

GBCT relies upon the generous donations of its supporters and the Trustees would like to thank all of GBCT’s donors.

If you’d like to make a donation you can do so via our website www.gbct.org.uk and if you’re raising funds for GBCT please let us know. We’d love to be able to say thank you and support you via our social media pages.

• About the Trust

The GBCT was set up in March 2014 in memory of George Bairstow and exists so that the difference George made to people’s lives can continue.

George was committed to charitable work and lived his life to help others. He died in November 2013 in a car accident, returning home from a volunteer duty with St John Ambulance on Bonfire Night.

The GBCT’s goal is to empower communities to make a difference by providing grants in support of:

• The provision of emergency aid
• Volunteering among young people
• The enhancement of skills among young people

•  Keeping in contact with GBCT

Visit our website at www.gbct.org.uk or email us at info@gbct.org.uk

Find us on Facebook at georgebairstowct for all the latest news and pictures and, don’t forget, we’re on Twitter too at gbct_uk.

Copyright © 2017 George Bairstow Charitable Trust. All rights reserved. George Bairstow Charitable Trust (GBCT), a charity registered in England and Wales (1155769).

GBCT’s latest newsletter is now available. You can read it below or download it, with full pictures, in PDF here.

• Latest News

Learning the CPR and AED drills

The Surrey Army Cadet Force, Prince of Wales Royal Regiment Battalion, received a £1400 grant from GBCT earlier in 2016 to purchase four AED (Automated External Defibrillator) trainers to support delivery of full AED training.

Vivian and Maria Bairstow were delighted to visit the Battalion to present the GBCT cheque and see the first cadets, of 650 in the Battalion, learning new first aid skills.

Great Western Heartstarters

GBCT Trustee Ian Cressey attended the launch of the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity’s (GWAAC) new community training initiative, Great Western Heartstarters, on 12 October to see the GBCT supported training kit being put through its paces by Dr Johannes von Vopelius-Feldt, chairman of GWAAC’s Heartstarters Committee.

Presenting the GBCT cheque, Ian commended GWAAC on their work and explained how pleased GBCT were to be supporting GWAAC, because George himself had championed the British Heart Foundation’s Heartstart course whilst at Durham University. George was a key member of the Durham University LINKS Society that trained many hundreds of students.

•  Updates from Grant Recipients

The Parish of All Saints in Weston, Surrey, has now received its AED from the British Heart Foundation. GBCT have  previously awarded a grant that will enable a member of the parish team to attend a full first aid and AED training course.

The parish will run monthly CPR sessions for members of the local community to familiarise them with the AED and relevant first aid skills. Experienced GBCT volunteers will also be on hand at some of these sessions to support the newly trained first aider in delivering the sessions.

The chain of survival following a  cardiac arrest depends upon CPR being started early and the quick arrival of an AED. The growing network of GBCT supported AED’s in England is a key part of this chain, as is the outreach work that GBCT volunteers complete. In the Brompton area of North Yorkshire alone, GBCT has now supported five AEDs (see new grants). In an area where the nearest hospital is 10s of minutes away, these AEDs could become a key link in the chain of survival.

GBCT’s outreach work, which aims to familiarise communities who receive GBCT grants with first aid skills and / or their new AED has recently received a boost thanks to a grant from Exxon Mobil.

GBCT has received a £1000 grant through their Employee Volunteer Programme, in recognition of Ian Cressey’s role as trustee of GBCT. The grant has been used to purchase an AED trainer and CPR training manikins. Trustees Matthew Leopold and Ian Cressey used the new equipment for the first time during a talk about GBCT and first aid skills at George’s old school, Woodcote House. Nick Paterson, GBCT trustee and a teacher at Woodcote, describes how the boys really enjoyed an instructive and entertaining evening, even if they did get a bit loud practising the ‘Shout for Help’ part of DR ABC!

• Recently Awarded Grants

The enhancement of skills among young people is the aim of Toynbee Hall’s Make It! youth programme in London’s East End. Toynbee Hall works ‘on the frontline in the struggle against poverty’ and its Make It! programme is designed to break the cycle of poverty by empowering young people (aged 12-13) to make positive life choices. The core aims are to: increase confidence, social awareness and wellbeing; cultivate the ability to think critically; develop teamwork skills; and improve engagement with school. The aims are achieved via a mentoring programme and end of year residential trip. GBCT is providing a grant of £3400 that will enable Toynbee Hall to work with a community kitchen, Made in Hackney, during the residential trips to teach the 70 young people how to cook heathy food.

To encourage youth volunteering, GBCT is supporting the Cumbria Youth Alliance with a £1000 grant to fund five places on a residential volunteer training course, that will equip five young people with the knowledge and skills they need to be highly effective volunteers at community youth groups in the region. The Alliance’s research shows that 75% of Cumbria’s 200 groups are concerned about their ability to maintain services due to a lack of trained volunteers. The new volunteers will be given an introduction to youth work, as well as training in first aid, health and safety and safeguarding. GBCT is specifically supporting the residential training programme, as this is the most accessible for young people and a key enabler to youth volunteering. We forward look to sharing updates from the GBCT supported volunteers, as they complete their training and begin volunteering.

The provision of emergency aid continues to be supported by the expanding network of GBCT supported AEDs. The two latest AEDs will soon be operational in the North Yorkshire villages of Foxholes and Butterwick. GBCT have made a grant of £1000 to match funding already secured by the community, who will work with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service to commission the AEDs and arrange first aid training for local residents.

•  Thanks to our Supporters

October marked ten years since George arrived at St Aidan’s College, Durham, as a new                 undergraduate. In gathering to celebrate ten years of friendship, George’s friends from St Aidan’s College in Durham, ran a sponsored 10K in Bangor on Saturday 1 October in memory of George and his friend Peter Lent. Fundraising in aid of GBCT and the British Heart Foundation the team raised a total of £677. Our thanks to the team and their supporters, who are Emily and Will Webster, Natalie Dos Remedios, Chris Heath, Natalie Cornish, Kinga Roszkowska, Tim Sanders and Michael Hutchinson.

GBCT would also like to say a huge thank you to the students at South Hampstead High School who have raised £1000 for GBCT. In making the donation, Sandrine Paillasse, Acting   Headmistress and St John Ambulance MRT volunteer, described how the school’s Year 10 pupils were keen to enable other young people to learn first aid skills, after GBCT volunteers visited and ran a skills session for them earlier this year. Thank you!

GBCT would like thank all of our supporters, and we look forward to sharing news on the new grants, that you’ve enabled, in future newsletters.

•  About the Trust

The GBCT was set up in March 2014 in memory of George Bairstow and exists so that the difference George made to people’s lives can continue.

George was committed to charitable work and lived his life to help others. He died in November 2013 in a car accident, returning home from a volunteer duty with St John Ambulance on Bonfire Night.

The GBCT’s goal is to empower communities to make a difference by providing grants in support of: the provision of emergency aid; volunteering among young people; and the enhancement of skills among young people.

• Applying for a GBCT Grant

We are always keen to hear from communities who may benefit from a GBCT grant.

If you believe your community may benefit from a GBCT grant, or know of one who might, please visit our website where you’ll find our Grant Application Form.

Applications are considered by the Trustees every 2 to 3 months. Successful grant applications must meet one, or more, of GBCT’s three aims. If you have any questions, please get in contact with us via info@gbct.org.uk.

•  Keeping in contact with GBCT

Visit our website at www.gbct.org.uk or email us at info@gbct.org.uk

Find us on Facebook at georgebairstowct for all the latest news and pictures and, don’t forget, we’re on Twitter too at gbct_uk.

Copyright © 2016 George Bairstow Charitable Trust. All rights reserved. The George Bairstow Charitable Trust (GBCT), a charity registered in England and Wales (1155769).

GBCT’s latest newsletter is now available. You can read it below or download it, with full pictures, in PDF here.

•  Latest News

 Ulverston Inshore Rescue’s New 4×4

Earlier in 2016 we were pleased to announce a grant of £4000 to Ulverston Inshore Rescue, to support the purchase of a new 4×4 vehicle for their search and rescue operations. The new vehicle is now in operation, complete with its own unique GB sticker! You can keep up to date with the work of the Ulverston team via their Facebook page.

Community Outreach in Englefield Green

GBCT attended July’s Englefield Green Village Fair to spread the word about the new Community Public Access Defibrillator (CPAD) being installed at the Cooper’s Hill Recreation Ground. The Cooper’s Hill CPAD is the third that GBCT has supported. Matthew Leopold, Nat Johnson, Zoe Lawrenson, Ian Cressey and Vivian Bairstow provided first aid demonstrations to members of the community, giving them the opportunity to familiarise with a CPAD, and used GBCT’s new display banners and leaflets to raise awareness of GBCT activities. The Trustees would like to thank Exxon Mobil for their grant that enabled the purchase of the banners and leaflets.

•  Updates from Grant Recipients

 We were delighted to hear that Isabel Negri has become the 50,000^th recipient of the John Muir Award in Wales. In our March newsletter, we announced that GBCT had made a grant of £1500 to the John Muir Trust to support the expansion of the award in Wales. You can read the full article on the John Muir Trust’s website www.johnmuirtrust.org.

The third GBCT supported Community Public Access Defibrillator (CPAD) has been unveiled in George’s home village of Englefield Green on Sunday 25 September. The CPAD is located at the Cooper’s Hill Recreation Grounds, which hosts the Cooper’s Hill Tennis Club and Manorcrofts United Junior Football Club. The CPAD will not only benefit the members of those sports clubs and those visiting for matches in the various different competitions, the football club welcomes some 2000+ people over the weekend of its very popular tournament at the end of May, but is also available to serve the surrounding community. The football club also holds training events for the Surrey Football Association. Vivian and Maria Bairstow were delighted to join the Major of Runnymede in unveiling the new CPAD.

GBCT recently provided a grant of £775 to The Chatterbox Project in Manchester, to enable it to deliver a paediatric first aid course for twelve local young parents. The Project offers a range of community services and activities and approached GBCT for funding after a number of young parents asked them for help in gaining first aid training, which they couldn’t afford to attend elsewhere. The  Chatterbox team selected a course that met Ofsted standards for early years’ care, with the aim of also supporting the young parents working towards a career in early years’ care to take their first steps towards meeting that goal.

We’re delighted to hear that GBCT’s grant to CRIMINON, which provides distance learning opportunities to serving prisoners and ex-offenders, has enabled a further 56 young offenders at HMYOI Swinfen Hall in Staffordshire to begin a CRIMINON programme and 20 of the participants have already completed it. We look forward to sharing more updates from CRIMINON in our future newsletters.

•  Recently Awarded Grants

Ahoy Shipmates! GBCT are delighted to announce a grant of £7800 to the Ahoy Centre in south-east London. Ahoy is a watersports based charity, which aims to change people’s lives and build life skills through sailing and rowing. Offering opportunities for disadvantaged and at-risk young people, GBCT’s grant will support the training of six Ahoy Shipmates. Attaining Shipmate Gold and the Royal Yachting Association Assistant Instructor qualifications, the Shipmates then volunteer and support weekly activities for other members. At present about 50 young people participate in weekly activities, alongside over 40 training to be Shipmates.

Flying High is GBCT’s reputation as a supporter of community emergency aid provision. One grant has been made to the Great   Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAA) to support their new community initiative. Great Western Heart Start will provide training in the use of CPR and AEDs to schools and   colleges in the area. Delivered by GWAA’s critical care team, with the support of volunteers, the programme is anticipated to reach 800 12-18 year old students in its first year. The  Trustees have awarded a grant of £4600 to enable GWAA to buy the training equipment  For those who don’t know, George was a big supporter of the British Heart Foundation’s Heartstart course, helping to deliver the course to hundreds of Durham University students.

A second grant of £1600 has been made to the East Anglian Air Ambulance Charity (EAAA) to support their staff and volunteer first aid training programme. GBCT’s grant will allow the EAAA to become an accredited training centre, providing a cost effective approach of training all of their 100+ strong team of staff and volunteers. One of EAAA’s volunteers recently provided vital first aid whilst out in the community representing the charity, and the EAAA now aims to train all of its staff and volunteers in first aid.

The third grant to be made also supports emergency aid and volunteering. A grant of £450 has been made to the parish of All Saints in Weston, which runs a busy community site used by over a 1000 people per week. Having successfully applied for a defibrillator (AED) from the British Heart Foundation, GBCT’s grant will support a member of staff attending a full First Aid at Work and AED training course, which will also enable them to run monthly CPR training sessions in the community.

Lastly, a grant of £860 has been made to the parish of Willerby, in North Yorkshire, towards the cost of a Community Public Access Defibrillator (CPAD). The Willerby CPAD will be the third GBCT supported CPAD in the Brompton-by-Sawdon area of North Yorkshire.

• About the Trust

The GBCT was set up in March 2014 in memory of George Bairstow and exists so that the difference George made to people’s lives can continue.

George was committed to charitable work and lived his life to help others. He died in November 2013 in a car accident, returning home from a volunteer duty with St John Ambulance on Bonfire Night.

The GBCT’s goal is to empower communities to make a difference by providing grants in support of: the provision of emergency aid; volunteering among young people; and the enhancement of skills among young people.

•  You can make a difference….

We are looking for volunteers to join our Fundraising and Outreach Committee. The Committee presents a great opportunity to get involved with the Trust on a flexible basis and support the Trustees in expanding GBCT’s activities. Highlights for the committee include organising the GBCT Cake Bake and creating GBCT’s first Christmas cards.

Whatever skills and ideas you can bring they would be welcomed. We would love to hear from you via info@gbct.org.uk and we’ll send you more information.

• Keeping in contact with GBCT

Visit our website at www.gbct.org.uk or email us at info@gbct.org.uk

Find us on Facebook at georgebairstowct for all the latest news and pictures and, don’t forget, we’re on Twitter too at gbct_uk.

Copyright © 2016 George Bairstow Charitable Trust. All rights reserved. The George Bairstow Charitable Trust (GBCT), a charity registered in England and Wales (1155769).

The Trust’s newsletter is now available: Trust Newsletter – 22 August 2016.

You can receive future copies of the Trust’s newsletter by joining the mailing list.

The Trust aims to empower local communities to make a difference. George was only 26, but he was a young man who had managed to squeeze so many things into his short life. From ski instructor to St John Ambulance volunteer; top class photographer to brilliant baker, George developed an array of skills and the Trust aims to empower local communities around the UK to support other UK young people in enhancing their skills.

GBCT is supporting the Black E Project in Liverpool to run a ten session cookery skills and nutrition course for around 16 young people. The Black E was launched in 1968 as the UK’s first community arts project and today provides a range of youth arts and education opportunities in the community. George was both an enthusiastic and excellent cook and baker, so the GBCT is delighted to be able to support this initiative with a grant of £1800.

The John Muir Award is an educational initiative that delivers opportunities for outdoor learning, conservation volunteering and skills development to young people. The John Muir Trust is currently expanding access to the award in Wales with an aim to enable a further 6000 young people to participate. GBCT is proud to be supporting this initiative with a £1500 grant that will enable the training of additional providers.

A grant of over £1600 is being made to CRIMINON, a charity that works with young offenders to assist them in their education and rehabilitation so that they can make a positive contribution to society. GBCT’s grant will be used to fund further provision of CRIMINON’s highly regarded distance learning courses that cover a range of subjects including: reading and learning skills; self-respect and confidence; and problem solving. The Trustees understand from reviewing this application that nearly 50% of young offenders have no school qualifications at all, so are pleased to support this initiative and the young people involved in developing a range of skills that may often be taken for granted.

You can keep up to date with these projects and others on our social media – Facebook and Twitter.

The Trust aims to empower local communities to make a difference. One of the ways in which GBCT enables this is through supporting volunteering among young people. George was a great supporter of St John Ambulance’s LINKS (student) units and was a role model for many of their members.

GBCT is proud to be continuing George’s great work with young people and in furthering awareness of life saving first aid skills, by supporting Young Kent. A grant of £1500 has been made to enable the charity to deliver five of their ‘How to Save a Life’ sessions, which teach young people how to deal with every day first aid and emergency situations. In addition, a number of peer educators will be trained on the GBCT supported courses, which will help the charity in achieving their aim of training up to 3000 young people across the county. GBCT’s First Aid Outreach Coordinators are currently exploring how GBCT volunteers may also be able to help in delivery of the sessions, any GBCT supporters who would be interested in volunteering should contact Kat Stoner/Mel Watson via info@gbct.org.uk.

GBCT is also supporting the next generation of leaders in Bolton, funding 14 places on a Young Leaders Course at the Bolton Lads and Girls Club (BLGC) with a £1000 grant. BLGC is one of the biggest youth centres in the UK, with a membership of over 8000 children and young people. Following a successful pilot, BLGC is expanding its Young Leaders Project to train more young leaders to support the wide variety of activities that take place at the Club. GBCT Trustee Ian Cressey recently visited the Club and met a number of the young leaders and the Project Leader who were supporting the Junior Club for 8 to 12 year olds. The young leaders were running various activities, including arts, crafts, games and sports – the members were clearly having a great afternoon. It was also evident how much the young leaders were gaining from the experience of working with the young people, BLGC staff and supporters like GBCT. For example, young leaders Charlotte and Olivia led an extremely professional and informative tour of BLGC’s facilities. GBCT is proud to be supporting expansion of the project and the Trustees look forward to sharing updates on how the GBCT supported young leaders are progressing.

GBCT Trustee Ian Cressey meets BLGC’s Young Leaders and project staff (From left to right: Young Leaders Charlotte and Alex; GBCT Trustee Ian; BLGC Young Leaders Coordinator Liam; Young Leaders Olivia and Ruqayyah).

You can keep up to date with these projects and others on our social media – Facebook and Twitter.

The Trust aims to empower local communities to make a difference. One of the ways in which GBCT supports this is through the provision of emergency aid. George had a passion for this, he was an active St John Ambulance volunteer and also worked for St John as the lead manager for the Lord Mayor of London’s AED Project.

GBCT’s latest grant is to Ulverston Inshore Rescue in Cumbria. A grant of £3000 has been made to support the purchase of a new off-road vehicle to launch the lifeboat. The service was set up in 2002 following tragic deaths in Morecombe Bay and the service’s original vehicle is in need of replacement. The new vehicle will double as an ambulance and enable the team to launch their boat over a larger area, helping to mitigate a recent reduction in Coastguard provision in the area, and improve the chances of survival for those who get into difficulty in the Bay.

GBCT also continues to support the provision of Community Public Access Defibrillators (CPADs). Having successfully supported the installation of CPADs in the North Yorkshire villages of Brompton-by-Sawdon and Snainton in 2015, George’s home village of Englefield Green in Surrey is the latest recipient of a GBCT grant to support the installation of a CPAD. A grant has been made to the Coopers Hill Recreational Trust to install a CPAD at their pavilion, to be available for use by sports teams using their busy facilities and by the local community.

The Trustees look forward to being able to share pictures of both projects very soon.

 You can keep up to date with these projects and others on our social media – Facebook and Twitter.

The Trust’s newsletter is now available: Trust Newsletter – 29 February 2016

You can receive future copies of the Trust’s newsletter by joining the mailing list.

The Trust’s newsletter is now available: Trust Newsletter – 22 December 2015

You can receive future copies of the Trust’s newsletter by joining the mailing list.