Spotlight Series: Meet Walsingham Care
Our Spotlight Series will feature a different local organisation each time. Each interview will explore shared priorities and start conversations about the differences we can make in our local community
To launch our new Spotlight Series, Amy, our Communications and Events Officer, sat down with Debbie and Julie from Walsingham Care to find out more about their invaluable work in the local community.
Who is Walsingham Care?
Walsingham Care provides financial assistance to individuals or carers over 60, who are living in Elmbridge and are in financial need.
This year, Walsingham Care have directly helped 755 people, a 45% increase from the previous year. They have issued 341 grants and in total have reached 2048 individuals through a mix of direct grants, indirect support, and grants issued to other organisations.
When talking to them, the team's passion for their work was clear. They are keen that the charity reach everyone in the community who could benefit from these services, giving grants to numerous organisations working to alleviate social isolation.
"We know that older people can be harder to reach in the community", Debbie notes, and so she ensures they "support organisations that reach a wide audience of older people, as well as offering both one-off and ongoing support to individuals”.
When giving these grants, Walsingham Care prefer to focus on long-term impact. For Debbie, this mean nurturing "relationships between organisations and ourselves so that we are more than just a sticking plaster of temporary support", and funding "longer term help such as benefit checks, support packages and even care home fees when council support doesn't stretch far enough".
“We were made aware of an older person who was hungry. When we delved deeper, we discovered that his wife had dementia and he was struggling to cope. We stepped in and funded cooking support for the husband and a dementia group for his wife. This provided much needed respite.”
Working in partnership
A key example of Walton Charity working closely with Walsingham Care is the Partnership Fund 2024, which alongside Elmbridge Borough Council, is providing grants of up to £5,000 to projects that help vulnerable residents with their health and wellbeing. Any non-profit organisation or community group operating within Elmbridge is eligible to apply, particularly those that work to reduce social isolation.
The close working relationship between Walton Charity and Walsingham Care enables peer-to-peer mentoring to take place. Both charities share the same priority area: to alleviate financial poverty within Elmbridge. For Debbie, this common goal means “a lot of knowledge is shared between us as we all want to help the same people”.
Walton Charity also support Walsingham Care by offering discounted office space in Charities House, as well as providing funding to their organisation.
Changing needs of local people
Debbie and Julie have noticed the needs of local older people changing in the last few years. They have seen the impact of the cost-of-living crisis going “hand-in-hand with the lasting impact of the pandemic on the health of older people”. Debbie outlines this by explaining how in some cases, “a minor illness that wasn’t treated during the pandemic can become more complex, meaning that a person can no longer work”. She describes the knock-on effect this can have on their income, which then impacts the care they can afford.
Debbie notes the growing demand she’s noticed for community initiatives that get older people “out of their house and into warm places”. Grants from Walsingham Care fund organisations that run these community projects, showing how they can “step in financially to help people get back on their feet and empower them to not have to rely on charity long-term”.
“A 94 year old man was carrying his 95 year old wife up the stairs. Statutory services couldn’t provide a stair lift quickly enough, so we sorted it within a few days. Their safety was the most important thing on our minds.”
Support for unpaid carers
According to Debbie and Julie, “support for unpaid carers goes hand in hand with support for older people”, as grants from Walsingham Care can be used to provide equipment or respite care that not only “helps an individual get their independence back, but also gives their carer independence too”.
“One beneficiary that will always stick in my mind is a person with Parkinson’s and MS who was stuck in an unsuitable chair that tipped him sideways. Funding from Walsingham Care and Walton Charity bought him a specialist chair that could move between rooms, helping him become part of the family again and enabling his carer to go out without worrying.”
What motivates you and your team?
To finish the interview, I ask Debbie and Julie why the charity holds such meaning for them. After a brief moment of reflection, they share, "we’re a close team, where everyone can support each other through the emotional side of our work." They build on each other's thoughts, explaining how rewarding it is to witness the positive outcomes that stem from “fostering strong working relationships and implementing efficient results”. Most importantly, they emphasise the profound impact of their efforts and "how the lives of the people we help can transform so quickly”.
To read more about Walsingham Care, click here.
Interview by Amy Dixon, Walton Charity’s Communications and Events Officer