A PIONEERING Coventry charity which was the brainchild of a Rugby man will celebrate its 50th anniversary in style later this month.
Carers Trust Heart of England – which began life as the Crossroads Care Attendant Scheme – will mark the milestone with a celebratory ball.
The charity, which support carers and those they care for, was born in 1974 after Noel Crane, a disabled man from Rugby who was being cared for at home by his mother, wrote to the makers of ATV soap opera Crossroads, prompting the launch of a revolutionary pilot scheme.
The hit TV show, which ran from 1964 to 1988, featured a character called Sandy who was left paralysed after a car crash. His mother Meg stayed at home to care for him, prompting her to set up a ‘Caring for Carers’ scheme.
Noel, a fan of the show, contacted producers to offer insight into how they could more accurately portray what life was like for a carer and the person they cared for.
ATV took Noel on as an adviser on disability issues – and even donated £10,000 to set up a pilot care project in Rugby which aimed to support unpaid family carers.
The project – the Crossroads Care Attendant Scheme – was a success, and was soon rolled out nationally.
In 1981, the scheme was set up in Coventry before expanding the areas in which it operated to include Nuneaton, Bedworth and North Warwickshire.
By 2012, Crossroads Care was supporting over 43,000 carers and their families through a network of local schemes. It merged with The Princess Royal Trust for Carers to form Carers Trust – which now works with a network of over 120 local carer organisations across the UK, supporting close to one million people.
In 2015, Coventry Carers’ Centre and Coventry Crossroads merged to form Carers Trust Heart of England, later taking over Guideposts Rugby.
Sarah Wakeman, the charity’s Fundraising and Business Development manager, said: “We are incredibly excited to celebrate this special milestone. It’s important that we celebrate our history and all of the fantastic people and organisations that that have paved the way.
“Our origins as Crossroads and our remarkable journey show the importance of working together as a community to make a difference. Carers Trust Heart of England has always worked closely with the local community to support some of the most vulnerable members of society.
“We are now excited to invite locals to join us as we celebrate this significant milestone and look forward to the next 50 years.”
The anniversary ball, which takes place on Friday October 11 at the Windmill Village Hotel in Coventry, will feature a three-course meal, a disco, a silent auction and a raffle.
Visit www.carerstrusthofe.org.uk/50th-anniversary-ball for tickets, available at £50 per person or £450 for a table of 10.
Email [email protected] to enquire about sponsorship opportunities or donate a prize.
Visit www.carerstrusthofe.org.uk for more information about the charity.
