Donations
Post
Any cheques should be made payable to: The Mayor's Appeal Fund
Donations can be made direct to:
The Mayor's Office
Civic Centre
Oldham, OL1 1UJ
Telephone: 0161 770 4012
AGE UK Oldham
AGE UK Oldham is a forward-thinking local charity providing care services, information, advice and many social and leisure opportunities for older people living in the borough.
This includes their well-established ‘Out and About’ friendship group for all older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities here in Oldham.
They meet regularly and are the ‘family’ so many people need.
Their aim is to help, support and bring like-minded people together for friendship and companionship – with lots of laughter along the way!
Following the pandemic, like many of their projects and services, they have had to adapt how they operate and pressed the pause button on their social outings and meet-ups, but are excited and positive about the future when they can welcome back old friends and make new ones in a range of safe and tailored activities.
Andy’s Man Club
Andy’s Man Club was founded five years ago after the death by suicide of a young Halifax man, Andy Roberts.
It’s a group where men come together and talk. On average one man every 2 hours takes his life in the UK, it is often said a factor is that men don’t talk.
That is why Andy’s Man Club was born, to break down these stigmas.
At Andy’s Man Club you don’t have to be suicidal or have mental health problems, they just want to get men talking.
They are open to any man over the age of 18. In May 2017, Andy’s Man Club opened a group in Oldham and are now a proud member of the community and in the last four years, they have grown to almost 50 men attending.
In the tough year they have just experienced, Andy’s Man Club have supported men by offering online meetings which have continued despite 1:1 meetings resuming, offering wider support to men who are still in isolation or who don’t have a club close to where they live. #ITSOKAYTOTALK
Oldham Street Angels
Oldham Street Angels celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The volunteer led project started life as a street team supporting the night time economy, clubbers and any other vulnerable people on the street.
Street Angels has adapted its service in the pandemic and throughout the whole of lockdown to provide a safe takeaway service for food, clothes and other essentials to homeless and needy residents.
As the restrictions ease and businesses re-open Street Angels will return to their developing role on Oldham town centre streets.
The service will continue to work with those it helps inside their base, by working with other local agencies to support people with their essential needs, eg housing, health and addictions.
POINT
POINT is an Oldham based charity supporting children and young people with additional needs and disabilities. The charity currently supports over 2200 families in the borough offering information, advice, support, workshops and activities.
POINT has been resilient in keeping services operating during the COVID-19 pandemic and adapted new ways of working. Oldham residents have had stricter restrictions placed upon them and for longer than most of the country and this has impacted heavily on their ability to manage their own and their family’s health and wellbeing.
Families with children and young people with additional needs and/or disabilities can experience social isolation during normal circumstances, but these unprecedented times have meant crucial 1-1 support withdrawn, schools closed, and anxieties heightened.
POINT has not closed its operations down for one day since the start of lockdown in March 2020 and have seen a substantial increase in requests for support.
Terence O’Grady Social Club
Terence O’Grady Social Club was established in 1961 to provide social and leisure activities for people with learning disabilities.
The club meet weekly where members can enjoy varied activities as pool, live entertainment, art and craft and monthly discos, as well as having the opportunity to socialise with friends in a safe and secure environment.
Around 100 members attend on a regular basis each week and are supported by a dedicated team of volunteers.
Each year around 35 members enjoy a three day holiday in Blackpool, thus giving families a welcome break. The club is a registered charity and is affiliated to Mencap.
UKEFF
UKEFF was founded in 2009, to rebuild communities around the UK tackling food poverty and homelessness.
The aim is to restore social harmony and balance back into the community, which has had many unstable times. They have various initiatives focusing on community cohesion and improved understanding between different sectors of society, be they of a religious, cultural, ethnic or social-economic nature.
With the continued support of the Unitarian Chapel team, the charity was able to serve hot meals on a weekly basis to the vulnerable members of the community prior to the lockdown.
The last twelve months, UKEFF have organised food parcels, offered financial and emotional support and provided a hot meal and presents on Christmas Day to vulnerable members of the community.
The Oldham Food Aid Hub will continue with partners for the foreseeable future to harness the energy and the lessons of 2020, and work towards lasting change, and hope to be back at the Unitarian Chapel in the near future.
Maggie’s Oldham
Maggie’s Oldham provides free psychological, practical and emotional support to people with cancer and their loved ones.
The centre is warm and welcoming with expert staff focusing on the things that really make a difference to people with cancer, and their friends and family.
They provide help with stress and depression, managing side-effects, family support, helping with money worries and bereavement support.
The last year has been such a difficult time for people living with cancer and the Centre’s support is needed more than ever.
They have been supporting many visitors with more urgent and complex needs as people struggle with heightened stress, fear and anxiety caused by the pandemic whilst living with cancer.
All of their support is available through face-to-face appointments as well as online support groups, over the telephone, video call and email.
Inspiring Futures Partnership CIC(Inspire Women Oldham)
Inspiring Futures Partnership CIC(Inspire Women Oldham) is a diverse, multi-cultural community of women.
They support and nurture women through their co-produced “Dare to Change Pathway Programmes”. This approach enables women to re-connect and re-imagine their lives, promoting civic engagement, embracing and celebrating new power values.
Their belief in the tremendous changes that can be created when labels and coercive power are absent is their success. In the midst of Covid chaos Inspire has adapted and innovated taking the organisation and the women they serve completely online, seeing the demands for their service multiply three-fold.
A vision based on the premise that their focus is to become a better version of themselves so they can continue to serve women, their cause.
Their passion empowering them to carry on despite the devastating impact of the external environment.
Their focus and determination, to be part of the changes needed in our country if our most vulnerable women are ever to feel valued, heard and visible. Their motto “StrongHer Together”.
Other Charities
The Mayor is aware that during her year of office she will visit organisations within the borough whose needs become apparent to her at that time. She therefore wishes to reserve part of her charity total for those charities for whom a donation will make a big difference.