By joining the 200 Club (set up in 2008 to mark the 200th anniversary of the Fund) your annual donation of £200 guarantees that one additional prison leaver will receive a grant. With our administration costs being covered by generous benefactors, 100% of your donation will provide the prison leaver with training, clothes, accommodation or tools to start working. Below are quotes from just some of the c.1000 grants made each year to get prisoners back on their feet.
Beyond supporting the work of the Fund, members of the 200 Club are invited to the AGM in Court No. 1 of the Old Bailey and the reception in the Grand Hall. They are entered into a draw for a prize of either lunch with the Old Bailey Judges or a tour of the Old Bailey.
Example grants to individuals include:
Training for jobs and qualifications
Nearly two thirds of UK prisoners had no qualifications and no job before their sentence. The Fund gives grants for appropriate vocational courses.
*Dave was unqualified and had been floating round on a building site as a casual labourer. Thanks to the Fund he is now a qualified tower crane driver in regular employment.
Clothes
Most prisoners come out owning only the clothes they are wearing, which may no longer even fit, let alone be appropriate for a job interview or a family occasion.
*Nikki had been in treatment for six months. She had two children and had had a very difficult childhood. When her grandmother died she was able to buy a suit and shoes for the funeral as well as everyday wear. It was an external indication of what tremendous progress she was making in her life, and empowered her to join in a family event.
Tools of trade
In many jobs it is essential to have your own tools and equipment which the state does not provide.
*The Fund’s grants for tools enabled two young ex-prisoners to resume their jobs as electrician’s mate and plasterer