St George's Police Children Trust
            "Providing a helping hand if the unimaginable happens"   
       

The Beginning: 
The care of children who came from Northern families of police officers that had suffered injury, disability or who had lost their lives, all began in 1897 when Catherine Gurney first founded the Northern Police Orphanage, later known as St George's House.

                                        
                                                                                          Catherine Gurney

Acceptance of the help offered to families affected and whose lives had been so dramatically changed was well received and made possible through the financial support of the participating Police Forces (see example below), along with donations from the public and businesses.

The Trust's Formation:
Over the years families needs have changed, this resulted in the closure of St George's House and its assets sold. The Trusts, originally established to administer these assets and provide support to police children in need, merged in 2006. Those charities, St George's Fund and Northern Orphans Trust then formed to become the St George's Police Trust - six years later this in turn evolved to become the registered charity known now as the St George's Police Children Trust.

So what began in 1897 is still operating successfully to this day. One can only imagine the immense satisfaction that Catherine Gurney would feel if she knew that her valuable work, that of helping the children of police families, was still being carried on well over a hundred years later.

         St George's House c1930      St George's Police Children Trust c2015            St George's House c1945

The St George's Police Children Trust charity provides support of a financial nature to children and young people throughout their school years and in many cases, further education. The Trust is governed by a body of some twenty trustees who set budgets, provide strategic guidance, and monitor the activities and progress of children and the families being supported - all of which is carried out to a detailed business plan and annual budget. 
The Trustees are drawn from the police staff associations of England, Wales and Scotland.     

How the Police Children Trust helps.
The Trust provides support for on or off duty incidents-
Following is a brief summary only of the grants and assistance provided by the Trust, for full details visit www.stgeorgespolicechildrentrust.org

The Charity aims to help ease the financial pressures on families that resulted from the loss of a police officer parent or, due to an injury or illness, are unable to work.
This financial support is provided throughout their school years and in some cases, into further education - each year more than half a million pounds is distributed to police families and more than 300 children and young people are supported by the Trust every year.

                                                        

St George's Police Children Trust Grants  
Support allowance and/or seasonal gifts are made by the Trust to beneficiaries in this category. The payments are assessed on a financial basis and a banding framework used. Funding can be made to this group for any eligible beneficiary whilst in full time education to statutory school leaving age, or up to the end of the school year in which they turn 19 years of age.

Weekly Support Allowance
May be payable to beneficiaries whilst in education up to the end of the school year in which they turn 19.
The amount paid will be dependent upon household income and the applicable support band.

Further Education Grants
These are available from the age of 18 to help support a course of study in further education. Beneficiaries will be eligible for a course of up to a maximum of four years or to the age of 25, whichever is the lesser.
The Trust's support is a fixed sum payable (not the whole course costs) in three equal installments throughout the academic year.
The Trust does not provide grants for "gap year" periods or activities.

Ex-Gratia Grants
The ex-gratia grants application process and criteria includes consideration of applications in respect of trade tools when leaving school to start work, musical instruments, text books etc. The merit of each application will be considered on a case by case basis.

                                                
 
Special Needs Grants
The Trust will support children who are deemed to be classed as having a special need. To be eligible the criteria is to be in receipt of the "children's award" as defined in the police pensions regulations. Proof of receipt will be required.

Holiday Home
The Trust has recently purchased a property in Harrogate which is to be used as a holiday home predominantly for our new and current beneficiaries. It's aim is to be a place for families to escape from the pressures of home - spending some much needed time together. A one week's respite stay at our holiday home will now be available to all current beneficiaries and, subject to availability, can be taken anytime. For further details, please check the website www.stgeorgespolicechildrentrust.org

How the Trust makes a difference to police families:

"It feels really special to get some money from the Trust at Christmas. When Dad was alive we always got gift vouchers from the police at Christmas, so it's nice not to be forgotten now that he's no longer here. It feels like the money is something Dad has left for us" (Elena aged 17, Cleveland)

"The support we received from the Trust meant Rhianna and I could move forward and start a life together.. It really was a turning point in our lives, giving me the boost to be independent." (Sarah, Lancashire)

"The money we received from St George's has made such a difference to the boys lives, it has paid for all the extras; extra tuition, sports lessons, music lessons, not to mention just helping to cover the costs of bringing up a family of five. The Trust has enabled our children to not miss out on all those extra things and has made life enjoyable. I can't begin to imagine how different our lives would have been without the support we have received. Can't begin to explain how grateful we are and so thankful for what they have done". (Rachel, Yorkshire)

"I had no idea what the St George's fund did before my husband's death; I just knew it was another deduction from his wages every month. The support we receive from the Trust helps us to not feel forgotten, that is really important" (Sue, Cleveland)

How you can help:

In these difficult financial times and, as the numbers of police officers continue to decline, we need more than ever before to source new ways of raising money so that we can continue to help those children in need.

The simplest way of helping is to make a donation to the St George's Police Children Trust.

By Post: St Andrew's, Harlow Moor Road, Harrogate, HG2 0AD. (Please make cheques payable to: St George's Police Children Trust).
Leaving a Gift in your Will: By doing this you are helping to secure the future of the charity, enabling it to continue supporting more and more families.

How this can be done is explained in detail by visiting the following web site:

www.stgeorgespolicechildrentrust.org/how-you-can-help/Donate

Gift Aid is a really easy way to make your gift go further. Gift Aid doesn't cost you or the charity a penny either ! The Trust claims a refund on tax that you have already paid - all you need to do is complete the Gift Aid declaration when you make a donation. For more information telephone 01423 504448 or you can download a form from the web site.

Newsletter:
The St George's Police Children Trust produces a regular newsletter - if you would like to stay up to date with all of the Trust's news or you want to make a fundraising enquiry visit the Trust's website link shown below:

Contact the St George's Police Children Trust:

Street address- St Andrew's, Harlow Moor Road, Harrogate. HG2 0AD
Telephone- 01423 504448
Web site- www.stgeorgespolicechildrentrust.org