This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (18th – 24th May) – shining a spotlight on the importance of looking after the mind as well as the body. More and more of the people we are helping require mental and emotional wellbeing support as a result of being injured on duty and we’re expecting this will only rise in the coming months as the impact of Covid-19 takes its toll on those in our emergency services. If you’re up for a bit of a lockdown challenge and some fundraising, we would love to hear from you. Email us: info@bluelampfoundation.org or drop us a message via social media.

Talented young DJ Charlie Rogers from Derbyshire did his charity set on Saturday night and raised a fantastic £295 for PC David Rathband’s Blue Lamp Foundation.  Charlie, aka DJ Rogers28, played the Foundation’s information video as part of his set and a video message from Trustee John Eames.  Charlie’s sister also got in on the act by recording a few songs she performed with her guitar.

Eleven-year-old Charlie has performed a number of these Saturday night sessions to raise money for different charities close to his heart.

You can see his Blue Lamp gig and his others here on Twitch:

https://www.twitch.tv/djrogers28/clip/CarefulAmazingPandaTBTacoLeft?filter=clips&range=30d&sort=time

Thank you Charlie and the rest of your family for their involvement and for the funds raised to help our emergency services heroes.

 

Reliance High-Tech, the leading independent security technology integrator and provider of lone worker protection services, is delighted to announce that its chosen charity for the year 2020/21 is the PC David Rathband’s Blue Lamp Foundation.

The Blue Lamp Foundation was founded in 2010 by PC David Rathband after suffering life changing injuries from being shot at close range by Raoul Moat. The charity helps those from the emergency services who have been injured, physically or emotionally, in the line of duty by providing funding and support towards, treatment, rehabilitation and out of pocket expenses.

Throughout the year Reliance High-Tech’s employees will engage in a range of activities to raise funds and help with the vital work that this charity carries out – activities that last year raised a magnificent £2,090 for SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity.

According to David Walton, Finance Director at Reliance High-Tech: “SSAFA was our first ever charity of the year and I’m really proud of how the Reliance team undertook a variety of fund raising activities, from the “big brew” to climbing the equivalent of Everest at our head office in Bracknell. This year we invited nominations from the team as to which charity we should support and the Blue Lamp Foundation was chosen. Given Reliance High-Tech’s close relationships to a number of police forces and the NHS, this is a perfect fit for us to give something back to such a worthwhile cause and the brave men and women of the emergency services who sacrifice so much for us.”

Peter Sweeney, Chairman of the PC David Rathband’s Blue Lamp Foundation, said: We would like to thank everyone at Reliance High Tech for choosing to support the Foundation over the next year. In the current climate, we know that emergency services personnel, along with many more key workers, are being pushed to new levels of demand. At some point, their coping mechanisms will slow down and on top of the physical assaults many are experiencing, they will reach a point whereby they can no longer effectively function with front line duties and will need support.  Sponsorship from Reliance High Tech will help us deliver this support.”

For further information please visit www.reliancehightec.co.uk

A charity set up to help people deal with life chaning injuries and illnesses is doing a series of podcasts to offer people a range of tools to help cope with lockdown and all the challenges that come with it. Well worth a listen! Thank you to Climbing Out for sharing the links with us.  Podcast link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1000882/3312346 / Video link: https://youtu.be/ZgrEPjR0RVY

Former PC Garry Cross is using lockdown as a way to raise money for The Blue Lamp Foundation.  It’s his way of using his time productively and to give back to the charity that was able to help him at this time of need.

Gary has embarked on a challenge of walking up his stairs to the height of Everest! He started with he aim of raising £250 but through his JustGiving page and interviews he has done on local radio, Gary is on course to raise nearly £1,000.

Garry said: “Due to the present Coronavirus crisis, and the  boredom of the Lockdown situation, I have decided to ‘summit Everest’ by walking up and down the staircase at my home. I will be ascending my staircase to the summit height of  8848m (29030 ft) The funds raised will show our appreciation of the outstanding  work carried out by our 999 services, and will  go towards helping in the treatment of ALL emergency services personnel,  including Fire, Police and Ambulance Service . The treatment includes mental trauma care as well as treatment towards physical injuries incurred during the course of their duties.”

Gary dressed as a 1930’s British Mountaineer during the final stages of his challenge!

Well done Gary and thank you to everyone who’s supported this challenge.

If you would like to add to Gary’s total and help him break the £1,000 mark, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gary-cross4

West Yorkshire’s Police chiefs have come together to donate a thousand pounds to a charity that helps injured emergency service workers.

The Blue Lamp Foundation was established in October 2010 by PC David Rathband after he was shot and blinded whilst on duty in Northumbria.

The foundation provides financial aid when members of the emergency services are injured in the line of duty and incur unexpected costs such as hospital parking, childcare, medical aids, transport to and from appointments.

Sadly PC David Rathband died in 2012 but the Foundation continues in his memory. Its role and remit has developed since then and it now supports members of the emergency services who have mental or physical injuries as a result of being injured whilst on duty.

The Foundation supports any serving member of the Police, Fire and Ambulance service who has been injured whilst on duty.

The donation was made by West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Mark Burns-Williamson and the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, John Robins using the Police Property Act Fund.

The Fund consists of money from the sale of property connected with crime. The Fund can only be used for charitable purposes.

Peter Sweeney, Chairman of the PC David Rathband’s Blue Lamp Foundation, said: “I would like to personally thank the Commissioner and Chief Constable for the donation of £1,000.

“PC David Rathband’s Blue Lamp Foundation has had a long-standing relationship with West Yorkshire Police. That relationship has grown over the years and West Yorkshire Police family have been involved in actively fundraising for our charity and, importantly, we’ve been able to support and help many of their officers on their road to recovery when they have suffered physical and emotional injuries whilst on duty.

“Thank you again to the whole West Yorkshire Police family from everyone here at the Foundation and, on behalf of those we will be able to help going forward, thanks for this donation.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), said: “I was delighted to be able to make this contribution to what is a really worthwhile cause. The Blue Lamp Foundation provides assistance to emergency service workers at a time of greatest need and makes an important contribution.

“The health and wellbeing of police officers, staff and emergency service workers in general is absolutely paramount. They risk an awful lot to keep our communities safe and it is only right that we reciprocate and do what we can to support them when they need it.

“I will continue to do everything I can to help support the welfare of officers and staff. Attacks on them are still far too common and I have previously shared the concerns of The Police Federation in that the recent Protect the Protectors legislation needs to be reviewed to ensure it is being properly implemented in line with the seriousness of attacks. Police officers and staff deserve all the protection we can give them in carrying out their work on our behalf.”

West Yorkshire Police Deputy Chief Constable, Russ Foster, said: “Day in, day out, Police officers and staff work tirelessly to protect the communities of West Yorkshire and any assaults against them – especially when they are simply doing their job – are unacceptable”.

“The seriousness of assaulting any emergency worker has been recognised in the sanctions provided by the new Assaults on Emergency Workers (offences) Act and we welcome this and as a Force, amongst others, we championed this new legislation.

“Those who are injured on duty will undoubtedly benefit from this donation and as a Force we will continue to do all that we can to protect and support our colleagues as they conduct their duties.”

Inspired and motivated to do something, having witnessed first-hand the impact of the London Bridge terror attack on his fellow colleagues, T/Inspector Steve Hewitt from the British Transport Police based in Croydon, set himself a challenge to raise money for the Blue Lamp Foundation and invited his family and friends to join him.

Booked for the last weekend in May, Steve and his team, including his two young children aged 8 and 10, will take on three peaks in three days!

Climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, Steve and his team hope to raise £2000 with this challenge.   They are already a quarter way towards meeting their goal with their JustGiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/UKAdventures

Steve said: “I wanted to do something positive after seeing first-hand the impact that the London attacks had on my fellow police officers.  I chose the Blue Lamp Foundation because this charity is a life line to those injured whilst on duty and sadly this is becoming more and more a daily occurrence.”

Blue Lamp Foundation Chairman Peter Sweeney said: “We rely totally on the fundraising efforts of our supporters and champions to be able to help our 999 heroes when they need us most.  We’re wishing Steve and his team all the very best with this challenge and encourage you to support them if you can via the JustGiving Page and help them meet their target.”

Kings College London is seeking your thoughts and views as part of a survey they are conducting among armed forces veterans.

Has your military service led you to question things?

Find our more here.

At PC David Rathband’s Blue Lamp Foundation we take your privacy seriously.  We have therefore updated our privacy policy in light of the new GDPR legislation.

You will find a copy of our updated Privacy Policy here and we urge to read this policy very carefully because it contains important information about us and:

• the personal information we collect about you, our users
• what we do with your information, and
• who your information may be shared with

If you have any queries, please email the Foundation: info@bluelamp-foundation.org 

The terrorist attacks in the UK last year left many people feeling the need to raise money for charity to help those caught up in events.  The staff at Barclays Bank felt so strongly that they hosted an emergency services themed cocktail evening to raise money for PC David Rathband’s Blue Lamp Foundation.  Money raised on the night and a matched funding donation from Barclays Bank brought the total to over £5k.  A magnificent total and lots of fun was had on the night!

Organiser James Baker, said: “I am convinced choosing such a brilliant and relevant cause was a major driver for the bumper sum collected across a relatively small division of Barclays.  Keep up the good work and I hope we can support you again soon.”

Barclays David Cummings, said: “I’d like to reiterate James’ comments below that we are delighted to support such a great charity and keep up the good work.”

Peter Sweeney, Chairman of PC David Rathband’s Blue Lamp Foundation, said: “A huge thank you to all those involved from the Foundation.  We have provided financial support to one of the families severely affected by the recent terrorists incidents in London and we are in discussions to help other officers who’ve received life changing injuries.  Every £ donated will go towards supporting these officers, and sadly the many others who will follow, to try and restore some normality in their own and their families lives.”