Blackpool Carers' Centre is currently recruiting for a Young Carers' Activity Co-ordinator (Maternity Cover) and a Young Carers' Champion. For more information please visit our Employment page.

On Saturday the 21st January 2012 Blackpool Carers Centre will be holding it's Diamond Ball at the Hilton Hotel, Blackpool from 7pm until late.

This spectacular event, in aid of Blackpool Carers Centre, celebrates the selfless work of unpaid Carers throughout Blackpool.

The evening will include drinks and canapes on arrival, three course dinner with coffee and a host of entertainment throughout the night including an Awards Ceremony and dancing until the early hours.

This is the ideal event at which to hold your late Christmas party and also support a worthwhile, local charity.

Click here to download the poster!

We will shortly be opening our first ever charity shop at 165a Church Street, Blackpool, close to St John's Primary School.

We are all working hard to get everything prepared, but now need your help! If you have any items which are in a good, clean condition that you no longer want, then please donate them to us. We're interested in everything- clothes, books, toys etc. You can either drop them off at The Centre on Robson Way between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, or take them to the shop once it is open, or call Sarah on 01253 393748 or 07873 408421 who will arrange for items to be collected.

We are also recruiting volunteers to help out in a variety of roles such as working in the shop, collecting and sorting stock etc. If you are interested and want to find out some more information, then please call Sarah on the above number.

Remember- your unwanted items will help to raise money for a LOCAL charity that supports LOCAL carers. Watch this space for more details!

Blackpool Carers Centre's quarterly magazine "Caring Times" is now available to download. Click here to download your copy today.

Blackpool Carers Centre has today applauded Blackpool Primary Care Trust for supporting carers. Chief Officer, Michelle Smith, said "We're delighted to see that Blackpool PCT has increased their spending on services for carers in this area and we applaud their continued support."

You can download the full press release here

The Community Foundation for Lancashire held their inaugural Spirit of Lancashire Awards at the De Vere Village Herons' Reach, Blackpool on Wednesday 2nd November and Blackpool Carers' Centre were delighted to be nominated for the Health and Wellbeing Award, which is given to a project that works towards improving the health of people across Lancashire and encourages the social wellbeing of residents within a community.

Applications were invited from the voluntary and community sector from any groups who were awarded funding from the Community Foundation since March 2009. These nominations were then shortlisted against award criteria by a panel of judges.

Once the shortlist had been created, each nominee was visited by one of the judges in order to assess the impact of their work and how it has changed lives across Lancashire. The judging panel then reconvened to discuss their findings and decide upon the overall winners.

Trustees and staff attended the evening and were absolutely thrilled when Blackpool Carers' Centre was chosen as the winner of their nominated category.

Michelle Smith, Chief Officer said "The team work so hard so it was great to have that work recognised; also quite humbling to see the great work being carried out throughout the county."

Well done to everyone involved.

Find out everything that has been going on at Blackpool Carers Centre in our annual report. Click here to download the report.

Jaymelea Hurren is a Blackpool Young Carer, who has been looking after her mother since she was a young girl.

Click HERE to download her story about how it feels to be more like the parent than the child.

Story courtesy of The Sunday Telegraph.

New Dragon’s Den star Hilary Devey is backing the Give Carers a Break campaign to push Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to give England’s five million unpaid carers the support they desperately need. The campaign by the country’s two leading carers’ charities, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care, aims to persuade PCTs to use Government allocated funding of £400m for breaks and other help for carers.

Millionaire business-woman Hilary, a long-term supporter of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, said: ‘As a former carer and a business-woman it makes perfect sense to me that carers should be supported in this way. Breaks from caring responsibilities make all the difference to the carers’ mental and physical health and well-being. It’s a sound investment that saves money in the long run because without breaks many carers are not able to continue as their health deteriorates and they end up needing care or hospitalisation themselves.’

Research from the two charities indicates that the vast majority of PCTs are failing to show how they will be spending the cash on carer services – in complete contradiction to government guidelines.

Nine out of ten (91%) PCTs still haven’t committed to using the funding to support carers. And while over half (54%) said they will revise their plans to support carers, carers fear they will miss out again if PCTs aren’t held to account.

Liz Fenton, Chief Executive, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers said, ‘As part of this campaign we’re calling on the Government to ensure every PCT spends their allocated budget supporting carers. Because the money is not ‘ring-fenced’, cash-strapped PCTs are not obliged to spend the money on carers and are in danger of diverting the funds elsewhere.

‘We applaud those like Sunderland PCT which has worked with Sunderland Carers’ Centre to give carers the break they deserve by investing £630,000 for extra services to support them.’

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For the full article go to Carers.org