Police Mutual, the not-for-profit financial services provider, revealed that it had provided just under £2.1m in 2017 towards wellbeing initiatives which help improve the lives of its 200,000 Police family members across the country with Metropolitan being one of the areas which benefitted.
“Wellbeing is at the heart of what makes life happy and satisfying. We know that one of the easiest ways to improve wellbeing is to be part of a supportive community, because a strong support network helps make individuals more resilient, content and fulfilled. The wellbeing initiatives we run – from financial education sessions and health screenings, and our BeFit4Life roadshows, through to Force for Good – have a positive effect on Police Mutual members and their families, as well as the people they interact with through work and their local communities” says Stephen Mann, Chief Executive of Police Mutual.
Between 2015 when the national community sponsorship programme, Force for Good, began and 2017, 40 projects have been successfully nominated by members of the MetropolitanPolice family. Today 12 December 2018 Police Mutual announces new 2018 Metropolitan recipients with 13 initiatives sharing £2,700. These include:
- Remember my Baby, a charity that offers the gift of baby remembrance photography to UK parents experiencing the loss of their baby before, during or shortly after birth.
Alison Bryan from Remember my Baby says, “When GDPR came into force in the early part of 2018, the charity was faced with an increase in costs in order to comply with the guidelines, due to our USBs not having encryption. The funds donated by Police Mutual went towards the new software required to ensure USBs are secure, meaning that the RMB community can ensure that our families receive their images safely.”
- Community Football Training in Westbourne, which was set up by Community Support Officer, Moshan Kazmi. He says,
“I work in a deprived area within Westbourne and anti-social behaviour is a key concern within the community. From speaking to local young people, I found that there was not much for them to do in the area, so I set up a weekly football session for youths from Westbourne and neighbouring areas. The project not only helped to break down barriers between the young people and the Police, but also ‘postcode barriers’.
“The funds received from Force for Good will be put towards purchasing new footballs and football kits, which will hopefully help the young people feel like they are part of a team.”
- 241 Squadron Air Training Corp, which provides activities including flying, leadership, adventure and citizenship training, BTECs and UK and overseas camps for over 100 youths aged between 12 – 19, with a high representation from socially deprived backgrounds.
Sergeant Christopher Chandler, who nominated the initiative says, “the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Redbridge Council and local Police have recognised the Corp as a positive force for social cohesion and community, providing positive role models to teenagers from deprived and disturbed backgrounds. From my previous work as a local Police officer I can endorse this.
“The contribution from Force for Good will be used to assist this year’s commitments and help prevent the exclusion of young people from deprived backgrounds.”
- Trendy Teens, a youth empowerment organisation based in East London which runs youth engagement and enrichment programmes.
- A project to help vulnerable adults, run by Lewisham Police and Lewisham Police Cadets with the help of Age UK. The project helps prevent elderly people from becoming victims, by clearing the front gardens of the most vulnerable as well as educating them on the types of scams that they may get caught up in.
- Trackspeed1-UK, a sprint training squad based at Crystal Palace Sports Centre, which provides training options ranging from a small development ‘academy’ to more advanced training for some individuals who are nudging international potential
- A winter night shelter for homeless males at seven churches within the Borough of Bexley.
- Fair Play at Youth United CIC, a dynamic initiative that delivers workshops with 50 young people who have or are likely to engage in violent knife crime.
- Hypo Hounds, a charity which provides training for dogs to help save the lives of type 1 diabetic children. Dogs are trained to alert the parents and keep the children from falling into diabetic comas.
- London search and rescue, a newly formed team, which helps to find vulnerable missing persons, and provide them with immediate aid and assistance.
- Britain’s first ’emergency services day’, a fun day which promoted volunteering in the emergency services and educated the public about using the services responsibly.
- MVP (Motivating Valuable People), a mentoring programme which works in partnership with Bexley Moorings, Bexley Council and the Metropolitan Police Service and focuses on children within the care system in Bexley Borough that are at risk of, or have come into, contact with police.
- The Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, which was set up by the mother of 16-year-old Daniel, who died from a drug overdose at a rave in Hayes, four years ago. The Foundation aims to educate school children on the danger of drugs and how to make safer choices.
Police Mutual’s support for the Metropolitan Police District is also demonstrated by the fact that in the last two years (2016 and 2017) Police Mutual has delivered locally 29 Financial Education courses in Metropolitan Police stations, reaching 479 members of the Police family with tools to help them manage their finances.
Since 2012, Police Mutual has supported over 600 Police Staff and their families with respite breaks, an important time-out when they needed it most such as when coping with illness, injury or a traumatic event like bereavement. As well as this, 35 free dementia respite breaks were provided across 15 different forces, to help those caring for a loved one with dementia, allowing them to take some time away from the normal routine of daily life.
Police Mutual is a financial services organisation that is more than 150-years old. It serves the Police family, including serving and retired Police Officers, Staff, Specials, and their family members.