Victim Support Cornwall Protects Its Assets
Cornish charity, Victim Support Cornwall is ensuring its assets continue to benefit the county after its merger with Victim Support UK. The charity provides emotional and practical support to the victims and witnesses of crime.
All the 77 regional Victim Support charities throughout the UK have merged into the national charity so that it can provide services more effectively to victims of crime, their families and friends.
Going into the merger Victim Support Cornwall’s position was unique as it was the only regional Victim Support charity with a commercial trading company used to raise money for its activities in the county.
Anna Roderick, a member of the charities team at regional law firm Foot Anstey Solicitors, negotiated the terms of the merger so that the charity’s assets and all the profits of the trading company will still have to be spent for the benefit of Cornwall. The trading company, responsible for running a Victim Support charity shop in Newquay and snack bars in Magistrates courts throughout Cornwall, will continue to be managed by individuals who live in the region and have Cornwall’s best interests at heart.
Sally Piper, the chief executive of Victim Support Cornwall and now Cornwall’s area manager, said, “Our main concern going into the merger was the possible loss of control of how our charitable funds are spent in Cornwall. However, we have managed to impose obligations on the national charity to protect Cornwall’s position for the long term. We were keen to ensure that decisions about how funds are spent are made in conjunction with people who live in and know the area”.
The services provided by Victim Support in Cornwall are free and wide-ranging. They include a Community Service to provide emotional and practical support to victims of crime, a Witness Service to support victims and witnesses attending both Crown and Magistrates’ Courts, an Anti-bullying in Cornwall (ABC) Initiative to help children and their families who are suffering as a result of bullying, the SUsie Project, which supports women who have experienced Domestic Violence and the Safe Project, which works with young people to address issues of domestic violence and promote healthy relationships. For further details of any of these services or to find out about how you could support the work of Victim Support in Cornwall please contact 0845 0567 999 or enquiries.cornwall@victimsupport.org.uk
Published 31/07/2008
