Leonard Cheshire Disability
Encyclopedia
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, founded in 1948 by RAF pilot Leonard Cheshire
Leonard Cheshire
Group Captain Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO and Two Bars, DFC was a highly decorated British RAF pilot during the Second World War....
VC.
In 2006–7 it had a total expenditure of £143 million, placing it in the top 30 of UK charities.
History
The charity was originally known as The Cheshire Foundation Homes for the Sick, then in 1976 it became the Leonard Cheshire Foundation. In July 2007 it changed to its current style, Leonard Cheshire Disability.Cheshire started the charity in 1948 with a residential home for disabled ex-servicemen at Le Court, a large country house near Liss
Liss
Liss is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 3.3 miles northeast of Petersfield, on the A3 road, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border....
in Hampshire. By 1955 there were six Cheshire homes in Britain and the first overseas project was also started in Mumbai, India. By 1992 there were 270 homes in 49 countries.
Each of these "Cheshire Homes", as they came to be called were similarly set up; local communities came forward, assembled a group of volunteers, found whatever suitable accommodation they could, set up administrative committees and set about raising funds for development. This gave each Cheshire Home a "local" structure closely knit to the community they were serving while being affiliated with an international organization.
Aims
The charity is headquartered in London and its stated objects are "to relieve the consequences of physical and/or mental disability by the provision, in the United Kingdom and overseas, of accommodation, services and support for the spiritual, social, physical and/or mental wellbeing of disabled people, by such means as are charitable, whatever their race, nationality, creed, sex or age."Activities
It provides support to disabled people through a variety of different services including care at home, residential care and training. It describes itself as "the UK's leading voluntary sector provider of support services for disabled people". Its goal is to change attitudes to disability and to serve disabled people around the world.LCD's activities are particularly focused on guiding and encouraging the disabled to move toward independence and live life their way.
The Media and Press relations unit of the charity work on influencing public opinion about disability and raising funds for its various objectives.
It also organizes sports and other social events for disabled persons making for an inclusive environment for the disabled.
Related organisations
The Ryder-Cheshire Foundation was set up by Leonard Cheshire and his wife Sue RyderSue Ryder
Margaret Susan Cheshire, Baroness Ryder of Warsaw and Baroness Cheshire, CMG, OBE , best known as Sue Ryder, was a British volunteer with Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, who afterwards led many charitable organizations, notably the charity named in her honour.-Early...
at the time of their marriage in 1959. It now mainly operates in two fields:
- the rehabilitation of disabled people, through Ryder-Cheshire Volunteers
- the prevention and treatment of tuberculosisTuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, through Target Tuberculosis.
The Leonard Cheshire Disability & Inclusive Development Centre is a joint project by Leonard Cheshire Disability and University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(originally set up in 1997 as the Leonard Cheshire Centre of Conflict Recovery).
Cheshire founded the Raphael Pilgrimage to enable sick and disabled people to travel to Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
.
Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder is a charity which was founded in 1953 by Sue Ryder, with the creation of a nursing home in Suffolk, UK....
, a charity founded in 1953 by Sue Ryder
Sue Ryder
Margaret Susan Cheshire, Baroness Ryder of Warsaw and Baroness Cheshire, CMG, OBE , best known as Sue Ryder, was a British volunteer with Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, who afterwards led many charitable organizations, notably the charity named in her honour.-Early...
, before she met Leonard Cheshire, is also one of the 50 largest charities in the UK.
Further reading
- Morris, Richard. Cheshire: The Biography of Leonard Cheshire, VC, OM. London: Viking Press, 2000. ISBN 0-670-86736-7.