Royal seal of approval for charity fundraiser Paul
A Lichfield charity fundraiser has been commended by The Princess Royal for backing an organisation which supports victims of domestic violence across the county.
Paul Wright, 40, met the princess when she visited New Era’s Staffordshire Hub in Stafford on June 9, in her capacity as patron and president of the charity Victim Support.
Paul, the chairman of Lichfield Social Community Football Club, raised £3,000 for New Era through a sponsored climb of Mount Snowdon last year after being impressed with the support it gave to a friend who had suffered serious domestic abuse.
“It was a real honour to meet HRH Princess Anne and to be commended for my charity work was without doubt one of the proudest moments of my life,” he said.
“After seeing the support my friend received from New Era and the country going into lockdown I felt it important to not only raise money but more importantly raise awareness of this fantastic charity and the services it offers to those suffering domestic violence.
“Nobody should be living in fear and New Era offers those people the support they need.”
The princess spoke to clients and front-line staff about how the pandemic has impacted them, and heard how New Era adapted its services to ensure people continued to get the help they needed from its specialist advisors, either online, face-to-face, on a one-to-one basis and through group work, despite successive lockdowns.
During the 30 months from October 1, 2018, to March 31, 2021, New Era received more than 14,000 referrals and enquiries to its victim services, and over 900 referrals and enquiries to its perpetrator services.
The princess also heard about New Era’s work in the wider community, including its free domestic abuse Workplace Champions training programme open to employees across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Lichfield’s Tracey Taylor, who works for housing association, Bromford, and undertook the training, explained how she had put into practice what she had learned.
Not one to sit still, Paul Wright’s next fundraising challenge will be a 182-mile coast to coast walk of England in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital in August and then the Three Peaks challenge in October for New Era.
New Era’s confidential helpline for victims of domestic abuse is: 0300 303 3778. Alternatively, a live webchat can be accessed day or night at new-era.uk
New Era’s confidential helpline for people who want support to change their abusive behaviour is: 01785 601690 (Monday to Friday, 9am until 5pm).
