From the horse's mouth:* ............ http://www.leonard-cheshire.org/?lid=3887
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We believe that he [Grp Capt Leonard Cheshire VC] would have given his full support to reviewing our name. [yeh right!]
LC384 (LB)
Subject: Name Change
Date: 03/07/06
Core statement
The charity is committed to keeping Leonard Cheshire as part of its name, but has been exploring possibilities for how this can be enhanced so that it is immediately associated with disability. No decision has yet been taken on a new name and wide consultation continues.
In a recent awareness survey only one in five people under 35 had heard of Leonard Cheshire and an even smaller number know what the charity does.
In order to better support its disabled service users, who are at the core of everything the charity does, the decision was taken to explore options for an alternative organisational name that would immediately give a clear understanding of the purpose and nature of the charity, whilst still maintaining “Leonard Cheshire” within it.
Leonard Cheshire the man, the charity’s founder, his values and philosophy permeate everything the charity does and will continue to be promoted in all of its fundraising and communications activities.
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http://www.leonard-cheshire.org/?lid=3887
Leonard Cheshire name and relaunch
Next year we will be relaunching Leonard Cheshire in order to gain wider public support for the charity and for disabled people. As part of this we are reconsidering our name.
Despite being one of the largest charities in the country we are not well known - only one in five people under the age of 35 recognises the name ‘Leonard Cheshire’ and an even smaller number associate us with the support of disabled people. In view of this we are exploring options that would give an immediate clear understanding of our support for disabled people whilst still maintaining “Leonard Cheshire” in the name.
We are at an early stage, but whatever decision is taken, we will continue to promote our founder Leonard Cheshire, his values and his philosophy. His leadership and humanity were fundamental to the foundation of the charity. They will remain equally significant in the future.
Leonard Cheshire was a very modest man and worked tirelessly to find ways to support disabled people. We believe that he would have given his full support to reviewing our name. He cared for one thing above all else – the provision of a life of choice, independence and inclusion for all disabled people and he would use any means to achieve this end. We have to find a new way to present ourselves that recognises all of this but, at the same time, tells the general public what we do and has a modern relevance.
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http://www.leonard-cheshire.org/?lid=15
During 2004/05 the charity’s UK service user numbers stabilised at around 21,000.
Continuing the positive trend of recent years, fees and grants for service provision (paid largely by local and health authorities) rose by 8.6%, from £110m to £120m. Voluntary income also increased, by 6% (from £12.7 million to £13.4 million), largely reflecting an increase in legacies.
Whilst fees and grants pay for the basic support packages provided to our service users, they do not pay for the additional elements that bring them real quality of life, the projects that can truly be termed “charitable”.
They do not pay for Discover IT, our most recent IT based project that allows disabled people to take advantage, in a supportive environment, of the many benefits that modern technology can bring;
nor for our work with individual service users that promotes their greater involvement in the life of the charity and the wider community;
nor for our growing work with volunteers, which keeps Leonard Cheshire close to its roots and brings an invaluable extra perspective to all our activities;
nor for our campaigning work on issues that affect the lives of all disabled people.
Nor do fees and grants pay for the constant upgrading or replacement of services or the establishment of new services – new services that are often designed to address previously unmet need.
The residential services reprovisioning programme mentioned last year has made a solid start, and we anticipate further expenditure approaching £100m as the programme continues over the next seven years or so.
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Seems to me, if it ain't broke don't fix it! Mind you, I'm not a marketing whizz-kid wanting a fat fee or after changing a famous name because 1 in 5 under 35 year olds:mad: don't know their bloody history.
TG