Volunteering: it all started at Tonbridge

During the Tonbridge floods in September 1968, an urgent request was made to Tonbridge School to help the residents of the town and the local farmers. 

We assembled just below the Rose and Crown and then boarded an army boat to be taken down the high street to the end of the town below the railway, where we helped the local residents clear their downstairs rooms of mud, damaged furniture and stinking wet carpets. All their sodden downstairs possessions were piled outside which then allowed the houses to start to dry out whilst the owners were left to rebuild their lives.

As I was in Judde House, the local farmer asked for help as his sheep were trapped in the flooded fields and so a group of us, in our rugby kit, waded through the flood waters (up to our armpits) to bring the sheep to dry ground. As you can imagine, it was very cold and so, after our exertions, we all stood in the shower room with our clothes on for the piping hot water to thaw us out!

At this time, I was in the fifth form and this was the first time I had volunteered. After that the opportunities to help the local community were less dramatic and for me, mainly focused on taking part on sponsored walks for various charities.

My time at Tonbridge was characterised as being very active with pursuits other than study, as my interests included the school choir, rugby, hockey and rowing, the school band, CCF, school and house prae, school and house plays, running school dances etc, with the net result that my A level results were below expectation!

After leaving Tonbridge in 1971, I went to a crammer to improve my results, but not long after starting, I realised that this was not for me, so after attending various interviews which included joining a merchant bank, insurance broker, lawyer and chartered accountant, I opted for the latter.

I trained with a medium sized firm and after qualifying I joined Coopers & Lybrand both in London and New York. Thereafter I joined an Investment Trust to focus on venture capital and afterwards I joined an overnight distribution business and co-led a Management Buy-Out which in turn was sold. At this point (1997) I had the opportunity to become more involved charity fund-raising and co-chaired the raising of funds for the Fountain Centre in Guildford for Macmillan which led to other Macmillan supporting activities. 

Life took another turn in 2006 when my daughter and I agreed that we had to do something ‘special’ to mark her degree from UCL and that decision was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which we did together in January 2007 whilst raising funds for Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). I was so impressed by VSO that I offered to help with their 50th celebrations at the Albert Hall and thereafter became an active supporter which included running their annual fund-raising carol concerts (St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Paul’s and Westminster Central Hall) and as I was now increasingly involved in China, becoming Chair of VSO China and joining the VSO Council. 

In 2017, VSO decided that the Carol concert was no longer part of their fund-raising strategy and therefore, having spent some 10 years running carol concerts, I wondered which charity would like a carol charity concert and as an ex- VSO colleague had moved to Carers Trust, I phoned her to ask whether they would like me to organise a fund-raising carol concert that December. The response was an immediate ‘yes’ and therefore I set about this new fund-raiser in tandem with The City of London Choir (under the baton of Hilary Davan Whetton (an ex-Director of Music at Tonbridge)) with whom I had organised all the VSO Carol concerts. 

One thing led to another and in May 2018, I was appointed a Trustee of Carers Trust and on 5th July, I had an audience with HRH The Princess Royal on assuming the role as Chair of Carers Trust.

Carers Trust’s mission is to focus on the interests and support for unpaid carers throughout the UK by working to improve support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenges of caring, unpaid, for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. The Trust also offers specialist services for carers of people of all ages and conditions and a range of individually tailored support and group activities.

This is done through a UK wide network of 110 quality assured independent network partners and through the provision of grants to enable carers to get the extra help they need to live their own lives.

With locally based network partners, Carers Trust can support carers in their homes through the provision of replacement care, and provide them with information, advice, emotional support, hands on practical help and access to much needed breaks.

A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support.

Anyone could be a carer – a 15-year-old girl looking after a parent with an alcohol problem, a 40-year-old man caring for his partner who has terminal cancer, or an 80-year-old woman looking after her husband who has Alzheimer's disease.

The role of the unpaid carer was alien to me, however as I started to understand more of their work, it readily became apparent that most of us will become an unpaid carer in our lifetime. Today, there are approximately 7 million unpaid carers in the UK which includes approximately 350,000 young Carers (under 18) who effectively give up their lives to help either one or both of their parents or their siblings or in some cases, caring for the whole household. The statistics are that 3 out of 5 people throughout the UK are likely to become an unpaid carer in their lifetime.

Life does not normally prepare people to become carers as within a household, life events occur which thrust new immediate care responsibilities onto a spouse or sibling, which in turn creates stress as people are unprepared. This is where Carers Trust and its network partners can help, as whether it is just being somebody to talk to, or help in finding out how the social services can help and the allowances which are available, or discussing the practical aspects of caring, including the grants which are obtainable and finally, the respite care which is accessible to the unpaid carer. 

As we all know, our national social service budgets have been under significant financial strain, which when passed to our local authorities, results in significant budget constraints which necessitates the voluntary sector taking up the state’s tasks.

Unpaid carers save the state £132bn worth of care every year and act as a main support to our stretched health and social care systems.

As you can imagine, in the current COVID environment, the work of Carers Trust and other frontline charities have increased dramatically whist at the same time, fund-raising has been significantly more challenging. Carers Trust is more fortunate than some charities, as it does not rely on holding fund-raising events nor having a retail presence but must rely on significant donors, whether private or corporate who luckily have been very supportive. Additionally, more recently, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has provided funds for grants.

Finally, to mark HRH The Princess Royal’s 70th birthday, we are in the process of launching a new fund, The Princess Royal Respite Fund for Carers to help exhausted carers to look after their own health and wellbeing. Even a couple of hours a week to enjoy a walk or a chat with a friend, pursue a hobby, go to a gym or have a music lesson, or to have time for a GP appointment can make a huge difference, especially when our local carer services can provide high quality replacement care that carers can trust.

If you think that you can help us improve the lives of unpaid carers, I would be delighted to hear from you.

John McLean OBE (JH 67-71)
jmclean@carers.org
www.carers.org