The Charities

The Golden Lion Children’s Trust is a charity dedicated to providing hope, help and happiness to children with special needs and underprivileged youngsters. The roots of the Trust lie within Gatwick Airport. Today the Trust maintains its links with the airport but is made up of people from a much wider field.

The charity has remained independent of any other charitable institutions and is completely self-financing. The Golden Lion Children’s Trust also remains independent of any regular corporate sponsorship although the generosity and support of companies large and small mainly from around Gatwick Airport and from the South of England are the major source of funding for the charity

The Golden Lion Children’s Trust differs from many other charities in that it never makes donations of money to specific organisations but ‘donations’ do consist of the provision of services, goods and more usually activities for the children.

The aim of the Golden Lion Children’s Trust remains as it was in the earliest days:

“to bring a little magic into the lives of the children with special needs”

To see more of the work of the charity go to www.glct.org.uk.

Outreach 3 Way, based in Crawley, was established by the late Reverend Edgar Wallace who was committed to caring for everyone within the community.  His work back in the 1970’s led to support for people experiencing homelessness, social problems or with learning disabilities. 

Now almost 30 years on, we continue his work by supporting people with learning disabilities across the South East to work, live independently and enjoy social inclusion – something we may take for granted. 

Our work is varied, ranging from providing 24 hour support for people with complex needs to helping people gain the confidence and skills to take on paid work.  Our Day Centre in Ifield offers sports, drama, art and a range of therapies as well as respite for carers.       

We welcome anyone who has a diagnosis of cancer along with their family members and friends.

We offer an information service, as well as full programme of complementary therapies, yoga and Chi Gung classes also financial and benefits advice.

Emotional support is one of the cornerstones of our service. We have a team of counsellors and coaches as well as a number of facilitated support groups, including one for families with young children who are affected by cancer.

There are ‘drop in’ sessions during the week, where members can meet together and find strength through shared experience.

There is no membership fee and all our services are offered free of charge to all who register with us.

The charity relies solely on the voluntary donations of members and the financial support of local companies and organisations.

The NSPCC’s purpose is to end cruelty to children.  Its vision is of a society where all children are loved, valued and able to fulfil their potential. 

The charity provides 180 projects and services including a national child protection helpline and ChildLine  Their local services aim to make sure that children and young people affected by abuse get the help they need for both them and their family.  The West Sussex Project is based in Crawley and provides recovery services to children and their carers, after domestic abuse has been experienced.  The project provides assessments and post assessments for young people and their families. Services include individual therapeutic work and group work for children and their non-abusive carers. 

The NSPCC also lobbies the UK Government and trains professionals, organisations and communities to create an environment in which all children are cherished.

Sussex Community Foundation inspires local giving to meet local needs. We raise funds on behalf of charities and voluntary groups in Sussex and give grants to those groups working at the heart of our community. Often these are smaller organisations that do not have the profile of larger charities but for whom a small grant can make a big difference. Since we were set up in 2006 we have awarded over 600 grants totaling £1.4 million. We have supported a wide range of groups including help for homeless people, youth clubs, older people’s groups, sports clubs, arts festivals and many more.

St Catherine’s Hospice is a charity dedicated to providing specialised end of life care and support to local people, their families, friends and carers.

For 25 years we have been providing high quality hospice care, free of charge, to people living in Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and East Surrey. Hospice care is based on the belief that each person is more than their illness, and that each of us has unique physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. St Catherine’s responds to the needs of each individual, helping people achieve the best possible quality of life.

Providing this highly personal, holistic approach to care requires time, skill and experience from a multi-professional team. We care for people in the hospice, in their homes and in nursing homes. We also offer training, advice and support to other health professionals.

Through expert assessment and regular monitoring we aim to relieve pain and symptoms of illness

We enable people to receive care, treatments and therapies directly, wherever they live, through liaison with other healthcare professionals and by providing 24 hour telephone support.

We help people retain their independence and sense of control by providing practical help, equipment and advice

We provide ongoing support to families and carers in bereavement, from simple practical advice through to counselling services

We critically rely on voluntary donations and legacies and our care is only made possible thanks to the generosity of supporters and volunteers.

We depend almost entirely on the support of local people, companies and trusts, with just 19 per cent of our running costs provided by the NHS.

Each year we need to raise over £4.6m in voluntary income to ensure we can keep providing our vital services to those who need them.

The Sussex Air Ambulance flies fast, direct and unhindered at over 150 miles per hour to reach the whole of the county within a matter of minutes. It has a crew of highly trained doctors and paramedics on board, who can treat and assess the patient at the scene of an incident and then transport them to the nearest major hospital or specialist unit, in a fraction of the time taken by a land ambulance. On average they flew 2 -3 missions per day. At a yearly cost of £1.6 million or £4,500 a day, support from the people of Sussex is essential to keep it flying, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and give us all peace of mind should we ever need it. Since the charity relies almost entirely on donations the continued support of the public is vital to ensure the future success of the Sussex Air Ambulance.

Thank you for your support.

The Trust is the largest voluntary organisation protecting the wildlife and countryside of Sussex, existing to safeguard the habitats of Sussex, both urban and rural and to look after the plants and animals that live there - today and for future generations.

The Trust now has more than 32,000 members and manages 3,500 acres of land in 32 nature reserves, which include some of the finest wild places in Sussex. We speak out, and are listened to, on all the major environmental issues that impact on life in Sussex. We play an important part in educating children about the environment at our education centres at Woods Mill Reserve, near Henfield and at Seven Sisters Country Park, near Seaford. At Woods Mill we also house the Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre which now holds over 2,500,000 species records across Sussex.

Young Epilepsy looks after children and young people aged between 5-25 who are very severely disabled as a result of epilepsy and other neurological conditions.

The young people we look after need a very high level of care and because of their complex disabilities they cannot live at home with their parents or attend mainstream school. Our specialist school, college, medical centre and residential homes, provide 24-hour care for these young people, who are sadly unable to lead normal lives.

Young Epilepsy is the only place in the UK which specialises in helping young people with epilepsy and we ensure that every student is able to get the most out of every day. Our students suffer from regular and difficult to control seizures which can be very distressing and means that life can be very difficult for them.

We thank the membership of GDBA for the support they are giving.

CCVS is an independent charity that offers advice, information, help and support to local voluntary and community groups. We make sure that the interests of the voluntary sector are taken into account by local government and other statutory authorities.

CCVS is recognised as a major source of support and information for local voluntary and community groups, ensuring that the interests of the voluntary sector are taken into account by local government and other statutory authorities.

We do this by providing: Information, Resources, Guidance, Support and Development, Liaison and Representation, and Training.

In 2010, CCVS provided one-to-one support for more than 300 local groups, placed 129 volunteers in roles with local charities, helped support Crawley’s older generation, children, young people, families and its homeless, and promoted good community relations.

Welcome to Rockinghorse, the charity that makes life better for sick children in Sussex and Surrey.

"Rockinghorse has made a strong impact upon the experience of some of the most acutely unwell young people who receive care for mental health problems across Sussex." Nick Clark, Chalkhill Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit

Rockinghorse is an independent charity, which aims to make life better for sick children in Sussex and Surrey by ensuring medical facilities for children and young people are as cutting edge, comfortable, friendly and accessible as possible. Many of the children we support have complex disabilities, health issues or short life expectancies.  Their families and carers need our help too, which is why we now support respite centres across the region as well as hospitals.

Chestnut Tree House is the only children’s hospice in Sussex and offers specialist palliative care to children and young people suffering from life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. Life-limiting means that the children are not likely to reach adulthood and includes disorders such as Muscular Dystrophy, Cystic Fibrosis, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, multiple disabilities, cancer and progressive genetic disorders.

Chestnut Tree House provides support for the whole family – both at the hospice and in the home - offering psychological support, care following bereavement, end of life and respite care, and sibling support.

We are currently providing care for 240 children but for every child we are caring for, there is another child in Sussex we are not yet reaching due to lack of funding.

It costs £2.5 million per year to provide our care services. Families are never charged for their care and the hospice receives hardly any government funding at all, so it relies completely on the generosity, help and support of the people of Sussex.

For over 50 years Young Enterprise has been building a connected world of young people, business volunteers and educators, inspiring each other to succeed through enterprise. 

Each year, our business volunteers inspire over 300,000 young people aged 4 to 25 years. Our programmes empower the next generation with the confidence, ability and ambition to succeed in a rapidly changing global economy.

With the support of more than 3,500 businesses and over 5,000 schools, colleges, universities and local communities, we are the UK's leading enterprise education charity.

Young Enterprise's mission statement is "to inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise." Its guiding principle is to do this through 'learning by doing.'

Our programmes range from 'Ourselves' for Primary school pupils as young as four. It takes students on an engaging story-based journey exploring the world of work, saving, earning, decision making and teamwork. They culminate in Young Enterprise's flagship Company Programme which enables 30,000 15-19 year olds run their own real companies for a year with help from business mentors. Many of the scheme's alumni have gone on to outstanding business success.