Feb 15, 2019 | Events, Fundraising
A group of first-time boxers are limbering up to put their new-found skills to the test in the ring to raise funds for Safe and Sound.
Seven out of the 12 local people who have signed up to train with Fearon’s Gym & Boxing Academy and then compete in matches at The Spot on March 8 have chosen to support Safe and Sound and collectively have so far raised almost £1000.
Among them (and one of the oldest participants) is Marc Stevens (40), who is our Operations Manager here at Safe and Sound.
He said: “We have all been training for several months with Clive Fearon and are now looking forward to the night.
“I signed up to do this to get rid of some Christmas weight but also to play my part in supporting the vital work that we as Safe and Sound do to support children and young people in our local communities.
“Everyone has been actively raising money and I’m sure we will collect a great deal more on the night and after we have all proved our mettle!”
Safe and Sound chair Catherine Arkley concluded: “We are a small local charity and rely heavily on public funding.
“We are obviously delighted that so many of these brave individuals have chosen to raise vital funds to support our work across Derbyshire and we hope that Marc and his friends all emerge unscathed from the ring.”
To support Safe and Sound through this event, please visit the JustGiving team page below where you can also click through to Marc’s page to donate to him directly.
Donate to the team
Feb 11, 2019 | Fundraising
Thank you to our local Derbyshire Army Cadet Force for raising £1000!
Our local Derbyshire Army Cadet Force D Company have been fundraising for Safe and Sound this past year and have raised a fantastic £1000 which we were presented with yesterday at their Spring ’19 skills day at the Sinfin centre.
Working with hundreds of local teenagers, the Army Cadet leaders have first hand experience of some of the vulnerabilities faced by young people. The Officer Commanding D Company, Major Rob Palfreyman from Derbyshire ACF (Mercian) explained how Safe and Sound had delivered an awareness session for team leaders back in 2017 and knew how relevant the issues were to some of the young people they may be in contact with and decided to put forward the charity as their chosen Charity of the Year for 2018.
They have spent the last year raising money through various tasks and forfeits and way exceeded their target!
This amount of money could help to support a young person in Derbyshire over a number of months to move to safety following sexual abuse, working on a one-to-one basis with one of our specialist support workers.
Please find out more about fundraising for us, or naming us as your charity of the year.
Fundraise for us
Feb 5, 2019 | News, Opinion
We’re supporting this year’s Safer Internet Day to raise awareness of some of the potential dangers that young people face online.
Safer Internet Day (Tuesday 5 February 2019) aims to encourage everyone to use technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively.
Unfortunately, there is still a growing prevalence of criminals using the internet to groom children and young people for their own purposes. We’re joining hundreds of organisations today across the world to raise awareness of internet safety and particularly to highlight the potential dangers faced by children and young people online.
Our specialist case workers are currently working with around 65 children and young people aged between ten and 18 across Derbyshire who have been victims of or who are at risk of sexual exploitation – more than half have experienced some form of grooming online.
This ranges from young people sharing personal information with strangers online to increasingly sinister activity such as being coerced into sharing inappropriate images of themselves and agreeing to meet up face to face.
Online grooming is a growing threat with the increasing use of social media. An online predator is likely to attempt to build a friendship with a young person, finding things in common with them or things they feel concerned about that they can confide in them – this is commonly the start of the grooming process (both offline and online).
It is sometimes very quick or even over a long period, but a perpetrator will build up this relationship and later use the vulnerabilities they had identified initially to exploit the young person.
For example, initial contact online can turn far more dangerous and overtly predatory – asking the young person to send inappropriate photos and webcam images or persuading them to meet up. By this point, however, a young person may feel they trust the person on the other end of their phone and be more likely to agree to these things.
We feel it’s important to explain that children and young people are never to blame for what happens to them online. Although it is important for young people to be vigilant about privacy settings and who they talk to online – it is always the other person who is wrong for making these inappropriate approaches and ultimately, anything more serious which comes from this.
We reinforce the message that young people will not be punished for what they have said or done online but will be listened to and will be taken seriously.
Any inappropriate online behaviour should be reported to the police or CEOP – The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command.
Our team at Safe and Sound works on a one-to-one basis with young people to help them recognise the dangers that the internet can pose to them and to better recognise the warning signs of grooming.
Our awareness sessions in local communities also highlight the importance of parents and carers ensuring that young people have privacy settings on all social media networks, mobile apps and games and where they can get support if they are worried.
Young people and their families can also contact Safe and Sound for advice and support.
To find out more about the online grooming experience of a young person we’ve worked with, you can read Olivia’s story here.
Olivia’s Story
