The Scottish Union of Supported Employment (SUSE) has received a £5,000 grant which will help provide free transport to enable its users to access its Edinburgh-based ‘Peer Support for Work’ Hub more easily.
The Hub acts as a safe space for disadvantaged people who are looking for full-time employment, allowing them to come together and share their experiences in an informal setting. It offers its users the chance to discuss common issues, make new contacts, build new skills and increase confidence when searching for work.
The donation was provided by the Santander Foundation, which offers Discovery Grants to UK registered charities for projects that help disadvantaged people in local communities.
Established in 1995, SUSE was founded as an umbrella organisation for public, private and voluntary bodies interested in offering individualised support to secure long term, paid work for people with disabilities.
Elspeth Ferguson, Peer Support Network Coordinator at SUSE Scotland, said: “The £5,000 grant, very kindly donated by the Santander Foundation, will enable us to provide vital, safe and accessible travel for our Edinburgh Peer Support Hub members who are faced with barriers to mixing with their peers and to preparing for future employment.”
Emmie Radford, Branch Manager at Santander’s Musselburgh branch, said: “The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations every year to good causes throughout the UK. We are committed to playing a key part in the community and we are delighted to be supporting the Scottish Union of Supported Employment and hope the donation makes a real difference to local people.”
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Notes to Editors
Media Contact
Leonora Burtenshaw at Santander
Email: leonora.burtenshaw@santander.co.uk Tel: 020 7756 4543
Michelle Ramsay or Elspeth Ferguson
Email: michelle@susescotland.scot Tel: 0131 669 1133
About Scottish Union of Supported Employment
The Scottish Union of Supported Employment is an umbrella organisation for public, private and voluntary bodies interested in supported employment, social inclusion and the changeover from traditional resource centre based day services to programmes in the community.
For more information please visit: www.suse.org.uk
Santander Foundation
The Santander Foundation is at the heart of the Bank’s community activities, providing grants to small charities and social enterprises working with disadvantaged people to fund skills, knowledge and innovation projects across the UK. Discovery Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support three types of activity:
Explorer: improving people’s knowledge
Transformer: supporting skills and experience
Changemaker: innovative solutions to social challenges
Over the last five years, the Santander Foundation has provided £26 million in funding to 13,914 UK charities through Discovery Grants and Staff Matched Donations. For more information please visit: www.santanderfoundation.org.uk
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 31 March 2018, the bank has c19,500 employees. It serves around 14 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking; and 64 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.