I am Simon the Chairman of Cavell Nurses’ Trust.  Let me tell you a little bit about the charity;

There are over 650,000 registered nurses and midwives in the UK (not including those retired) and along with their healthcare assistant colleagues they form the bedrock of the health system and play a vital role in ensuring a high standard of patient care is maintained.

Many enter the profession as a vocation as well as a career, because they want to make a positive difference to the lives of people and often put others needs above their own.

Nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants often feel they should be able to manage their own problems and are trained to cope with situations that occur in their day to day work lives. This way of thinking often then extends to their personal lives making them reluctant to seek help for themselves. 

However, they too suffer from ill health, abuse, and disabilities and can find themselves facing hardship during their active career or into retirement. At Cavell Nurses’ Trust, over 50% of our beneficiaries are over the age of 60, highlighting the needs of retired nurses and midwives, often after a career of caring for others.

Nurse Edith Cavell’s legacy lives on through our engagement with all nurses, midwives and health care assistants in the UK:

• Through caring: Giving welfare and financial support in times of desperate need
• Through learning: Giving student nurses and midwives the encouragement to enhance their professional education
  

We are funded entirely by private donations and receive no statutory funding. To continue this vital work, we need to raise £1 million every year. 

The Centenary of Edith Cavell's death will be in 2015 when I will climb Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper, Canada and will be joined by supporters, nurses and the army.  We hope to raise the vital funds to continue the living legacy of Edith Cavell’s work and ensure that everyone that reaches out to us for assistance can be met. There are many small and large ways in which you can support us, you can simply tell people about the work we do so more people are aware of our services or you could volunteer your time and skills. You could hold a hold a coffee morning for us, take part in one of our challenge events or sponsor someone taking part. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  If you would like more information about the Trust please contact events@cavellnursestrust.org.