The Leonard Cheshire Charity
leonard cheshire foundation
Having just put the phone down from talking to a nice lady at the offices of the foundation, I thought you might be interested to hear that (rather wearily) "we are NOT getting rid of the Leonard Cheshire name - we have been grossly misrepresented in the press". I suggested that someone in their office takes a look in here and gets a feel for the strength of emotion that we (ex)aviators have about the crassness of their move. I also suggested that if under 35s don't know who he is, then for Gawd's sake tell them!! She suggested that "it was felt that war heroes were a bit non-PC" and that "different approaches would be better" without telling the poor dears what he'd done before. I expressed the opinion that that was one of the sadder things I'd heard in a long time and who were the prats who thought this? Perhaps we should be told their names?
BTW all the jumbles of different case letters an aspirational sounding titles were sh5tcanned before the start. Allegedly.
The Ancient Mariner
(I could become a crabby old bastard if I reely reely tried)
BTW all the jumbles of different case letters an aspirational sounding titles were sh5tcanned before the start. Allegedly.
The Ancient Mariner
(I could become a crabby old bastard if I reely reely tried)
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Now if it was to separate his good name from this outfit http://www.cheshirehomesuk.co.uk/ , it may have made some sense. Being inclined to cynicism, I could suspect that they were cashing in on that letterhead; bearing in mind their address is in Manchester (Lancashire, as was).
For those of you who like a good conspiracy theory, we have http://www.johnnypops.demon.co.uk/po...g-the-dirt.htm !
Lets hope that a bloody brave man isn't quietly "airbrushed" out of the charity he founded.
For those of you who like a good conspiracy theory, we have http://www.johnnypops.demon.co.uk/po...g-the-dirt.htm !
Lets hope that a bloody brave man isn't quietly "airbrushed" out of the charity he founded.
Last edited by GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU; 6th Jul 2006 at 15:49.
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Standby for Direct Comms from HQ
Dear All,
I have been contacted , as promised, by a very nice lady from HQ who explained the situation regrading the Press reports and the distress the idea a name changed has caused outwith and within the organisation.
I have persuaded Judith Barnard that a statement within this 'thread' on PPruNe would do a lot of good and quell the emotions. This she will do ASAP
............ so standby chaps.
TG
I have been contacted , as promised, by a very nice lady from HQ who explained the situation regrading the Press reports and the distress the idea a name changed has caused outwith and within the organisation.
I have persuaded Judith Barnard that a statement within this 'thread' on PPruNe would do a lot of good and quell the emotions. This she will do ASAP
............ so standby chaps.TG
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Seems to me like they should spend some of their £120 Million on a bit of advertising and some info commercials to explain to the yoof, who Leonard Cheshire was, and what HIS charity does for people. Then they wont have to change the name.
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Leonard Cheshire name - what we're really doing
Hello everyone
Tartan Giant has suggested that I post a message to clarify the situation at Leonard Cheshire with regard to our name. Sorry for the delay – but it’s taken me a while to get registered and this is my first time on an online forum!
Here’s a letter from Bryan Dutton, our Director General, which appears in The Times and The Daily Telegraph today, which I hope brings some clarity to the situation. I’m afraid that the Daily Mail has misrepresented the issue – and other papers followed suit, publishing their ‘facts’ without checking properly with us. I have a couple of other points to add at the end!
Sirs,
I believe it would help the debate if your readers were aware of the facts about the consideration being given to the name of the Leonard Cheshire charity.
The purpose of the charity which Leonard Cheshire founded is to support disabled people. We do so on the basis of values set by him and which permeate every aspect of our actions, including the current consideration of our name. Despite being one of the largest charities in the country we are not well known. Whilst those over 65 know of the man and the charity, only 1 in 5 of those under the age of 35 recognise the name ‘Leonard Cheshire’ and an even smaller number associate us with the support of disabled people.
The reason we are reconsidering the name of our charity is in order to gain wider public support for it and for disabled people. We are exploring options that would give an immediate clear understanding of our purpose whilst still maintaining the name ‘Leonard Cheshire’ within it. That prime decision was made from the outset.
Some of the names suggested in the research we conducted were put forward by disabled people. It was important that the debate was as wide ranging as possible. Some of the names that have been trailed in the press had already been discarded during the process of consultation. It is noteworthy that the press-coverage has not included the more serious options which are still under consideration. I should say that in exploring a name change we are simply being practical. Political correctness has never entered our minds.
I can assure you that we will continue to promote Leonard Cheshire, our founder, his values and his philosophy. 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. His leadership and humanity were fundamental to the foundation of the charity. They will remain so in the future.
Today we have to find a new way to present ourselves that recognises and values this legacy but, at the same time, tells the general public what we do and has a modern relevance.
I hope this will place the debate on a sounder footing.
Yours faithfully
Bryan Dutton
Director General
Leonard Cheshire
You may be also interested to know that we invested over £250,000 in a brand new Leonard Cheshire Archive Centre last year, in South Derbyshire, with the intention of promoting Leonard Cheshire to a wider audience around the world.
We are also already beginning to plan how we will mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of our charity, which we celebrate in 2008.
I can assure you that we have absolutely no intention of severing our links with our founder: Bryan Dutton’s letter expresses that very clearly.
I hope this helps.
Regards
Judith Barnard
Tartan Giant has suggested that I post a message to clarify the situation at Leonard Cheshire with regard to our name. Sorry for the delay – but it’s taken me a while to get registered and this is my first time on an online forum!
Here’s a letter from Bryan Dutton, our Director General, which appears in The Times and The Daily Telegraph today, which I hope brings some clarity to the situation. I’m afraid that the Daily Mail has misrepresented the issue – and other papers followed suit, publishing their ‘facts’ without checking properly with us. I have a couple of other points to add at the end!
Sirs,
I believe it would help the debate if your readers were aware of the facts about the consideration being given to the name of the Leonard Cheshire charity.
The purpose of the charity which Leonard Cheshire founded is to support disabled people. We do so on the basis of values set by him and which permeate every aspect of our actions, including the current consideration of our name. Despite being one of the largest charities in the country we are not well known. Whilst those over 65 know of the man and the charity, only 1 in 5 of those under the age of 35 recognise the name ‘Leonard Cheshire’ and an even smaller number associate us with the support of disabled people.
The reason we are reconsidering the name of our charity is in order to gain wider public support for it and for disabled people. We are exploring options that would give an immediate clear understanding of our purpose whilst still maintaining the name ‘Leonard Cheshire’ within it. That prime decision was made from the outset.
Some of the names suggested in the research we conducted were put forward by disabled people. It was important that the debate was as wide ranging as possible. Some of the names that have been trailed in the press had already been discarded during the process of consultation. It is noteworthy that the press-coverage has not included the more serious options which are still under consideration. I should say that in exploring a name change we are simply being practical. Political correctness has never entered our minds.
I can assure you that we will continue to promote Leonard Cheshire, our founder, his values and his philosophy. 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. His leadership and humanity were fundamental to the foundation of the charity. They will remain so in the future.
Today we have to find a new way to present ourselves that recognises and values this legacy but, at the same time, tells the general public what we do and has a modern relevance.
I hope this will place the debate on a sounder footing.
Yours faithfully
Bryan Dutton
Director General
Leonard Cheshire
You may be also interested to know that we invested over £250,000 in a brand new Leonard Cheshire Archive Centre last year, in South Derbyshire, with the intention of promoting Leonard Cheshire to a wider audience around the world.
We are also already beginning to plan how we will mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of our charity, which we celebrate in 2008.
I can assure you that we have absolutely no intention of severing our links with our founder: Bryan Dutton’s letter expresses that very clearly.
I hope this helps.
Regards
Judith Barnard
